Leni volunteers say Baguio heckling ‘unprovoked’
Jillian Robredo —INQUIRER PHOTO
BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines — Volunteers that accompanied the youngest daughter of presidential candidate and Vice President Leni Robredo here for a market tour on Tuesday said the heckling that they received was “unprovoked” as they vowed to continue with their house-to-house campaign.
In a video clip circulating on social media, a man at the market was heard screaming, “Bakit n’yo sinasarahan ang daanan, public market ito (Why are you blocking the way? This is a public market.).”
A volunteer for Robredo was also seen pacifying the man, who then exclaimed, “Dayuhan ka lang dito, kami Igorot kami (You’re not from here, we’re Igorot)! “The local chapter of the Robredo People’s Council (RPC), which organized the market tour, described the incident as “unfortunate” and said that it had “put the people of Baguio, particularly the Igorots, in a bad light.”
“Contrary to the comments on social media, the verbal attack was unprovoked, and the edited/spliced videos that show otherwise do not indicate what truly happened,” the group said in a statement on Wednesday.
RPC slammed the heckling as a “coordinated operation” that did not reflect the sentiment of the people of Baguio.
The group called the incident “unacceptable … [even a] coordinated operation has happened in the past.” It said Sen. Risa Hontiveros also experienced being heckled when she visited the city in December last year.
“It is unfortunate that it happened again to Ms. Jillian,” they said, as they assured people that their house-to-house campaigns were being done “kindly and with an open heart, whether or not they support VP Leni.”
Councilor Mylen Yaranon, who was part of the volunteer group that accompanied Jillian, said the street campaign went well from Session Road to Malcolm Square, which was near the public market.
In a separate statement, Yaranon said even vendors and market-goers had their photos taken with Jillian. It was at the market’s “rice section” where the man started shouting, asking people to make way for him.
Apologies
“The group gave way. I even said ‘sorry po, sorry po’ to the one shouting, but we were all shocked, especially when the person came back shouting, but the vendors started booing at the person,” the councilor said.
Yaranon added: “I personally apologize to Ms. Jillian Robredo and her group for this isolated incident. No highlander would ever say ‘dayuhan lang kayo, Igorot ako.’”
“The people of Baguio, regardless of what language they speak, have always been known as warm and welcoming to visitors. This individual’s unacceptable behavior should not be seen as the norm,” RPC said, adding that it was “isolated.”
Mayor Benjamin Magalong also expressed regrets over the incident as he apologized to Jillian.
“We are sorry that incidents like this took place,” Magalong said in a statement, adding that it has never been a standard conduct of Baguio people to be rude.
“We sincerely hope that Ms. Jillian and her team of supporters will regard this unfortunate incident as purely an isolated one that took place in a momentary outburst of political misdemeanor,” he said.
—WITH A REPORT FROM KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING
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