FILE – Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto: Criticizes the “dilawans” for capitalizing his old quote against the Duterte family. INQUIRER.net file photo / RYAN LEAGOGO
MANILA, Philippines — Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto has taken offense to several “dilawan” (yellows) groups’ use of his old statements about political dynasties to match their current narrative.
Sotto said in a Facebook post that while he really made the remarks against political dynasties, which a Facebook group posted, some Liberal Party (LP) supporters falsely interpreted this as a criticism of a presidential candidate.
LP uses yellow in its emblem and logos, giving rise to the term “dilawan,” which refers to those aligned with LP and the previous administration.
“Maaaring totoo ang quote, pero last year pa at HINDI presidential elections ang topic!” Sotto said on Wednesday night.
(The quote may be true, but this was made last year and the topic was not about presidential elections!)
“Misquoted ng ibang Dilawan group para sumakto sa naratibo nila… kaso lang, naniwala ang iilang supporters ng Presidente at kaya nagalit,” he added.
(Some of the yellows’ groups misquoted me so that it would fit their narrative. But some of the supporters of the President believed it and were angry.)
Sotto shared a screenshot of Panay News’s photo quote of his statement, which stated that the mayor expressed his views on Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte.
Many administration critics have noted that it appears the Dutertes are working to keep Philippine leadership a family affair. The younger Duterte is expected to run for re-election in 2022. Senator Francis Pangilinan said earlier that a daughter succeeding his father is the epitome of a political dynasty.
However, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque stressed that it would not be a dynasty since the President disapproves of his daughter’s candidacy.
READ: ‘That’s a dynasty,’ Pangilinan says of possible Sara Duterte presidency
READ: Sara Duterte succeeding her father as next president not political dynasty — Palace
Sotto said he did not want the issue to become something bigger. However, he still wanted to remind people to be watchful and critical of any potentially misleading information, especially when election season is coming up.
“Laganap talaga ang fake news at dadami pa ito habang lumalapit eleksyon. Maging mapanuri. Hindi porket gusto (o ayaw) mo ang quote ay totoo na,” Sotto said.
(Fake news is everywhere and it is bound to increase and intensify as the election season nears. Be critical. It does not mean that you like the quote or dislike it that it is true already.)
“Dito sa Pasig, WORK MODE lang tayo. Wag nating intidihin ang maiingay na boses na mahilig gumawa ng intriga. Sa lungsod pa lang, ang dami na nating kailangan gawin; hindi ngayon ang panahon para makikisawsaw sa national politics. Masyado na tayong polarized bilang mga Pilipino. Basta sa Pasig, welcome ang lahat ng partido,” he added.
(Here in Pasig City, we’re just in work mode. Let us not mind loud voices who have been keen on sowing intrigue. Within the city alone, we need to do a lot. This is not the time to join in national political discussions. Filipinos have been so polarized. But in Pasig, all parties are welcome.)