‘Haters gonna hate’

We’ll just shake it off.

As if channeling American pop star Taylor Swift, Akbayan Rep. Barry Gutierrez yesterday pooh-poohed the negative comments about the latest political advertisement of Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Mar Roxas.

“Haters gonna hate,” Gutierrez told reporters when asked about the harsh comments in social media directed at Roxas’ newest television ad.

The phrase is also a line in Swift’s hit song, “Shake It Off.”

“It’s always like that. Bad things have been said about [Roxas] over and over again. But many of them have been proven to be false,” he said.

Gutierrez, spokesperson of the LP-led Daang Matuwid coalition, also balked at insinuations that the 30-second advertisement was “offensive.”

“It’s really offensive if you’re a thief. This ad clearly showed that [Roxas] will not tolerate stealing and corruption in government,” he said.

He said the pictures circulating on the Internet showing Roxas drinking water from a plate, using a cup to eat rice and directing traffic at an intersection “were nothing” compared to the issues against his rivals for the presidency. TVJ