By Farah G. Decano

 

THERE is a current online battle of political posts and memes trying to gain supremacy over social media:  Shimenet vs. Code Blue.

“Shimenet” came a week ahead. It was culled from Vice President Sara Duterte’s now famous reply to the members of the House of Representatives, to wit: “She may not like my answer.  She may not like the way I answer.  She may not like the content of my answer but, I am answering.”   She uttered the first three words so fast that they sounded like a foreign word.

VP Sara did receive so much flak after that. Not because of her garbled way of uttering “she may not” but because she refused to respond to the inquiries from the congressmen and congresswomen about her proposed budget.   Fast overshadowing the fiasco of her recent congressional appearance, however, is her famous “shimenet.”  People are getting more amused now listening to her than annoyed by her snobbish response.  In fact, some netizens have even come up with cuts from songs with “shimenet” as part of the lyrics.  VP Sara did not plan it but she just came up with a smash hit!

If VP Sara’s public relations people were smart, they could actually turn this “shimenet” into an advantage.  Remember President Joseph “Erap” Estrada?  He was famous for his alleged carabao English.  But he embraced this image which endeared him even more to the poor who could not afford a good education.  This gave basis for his very famous tag, “Erap Para Sa Mahirap.”

A week later after the rise of “shimenet” came “code blue.”  It is an alleged leaked information from a Malacañang mole at the height of  Typhoon Enteng.  Code blue was a report about President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. being beaten almost to death by someone close to him.  The spy also conveyed that the President was flown to a famous hospital and was fighting for his dear life.

The narrative of “code blue” was obviously conceived to spread like wild fire in the cyberworld. It was salacious and cruelly funny. The people involved comported themselves unbefitting of their statuses.  The next day, however, “code blue” was discredited as a mere tittle-tattle when President Marcos Jr. was seen doing an ocular inspection over the areas severely affected by the typhoonOne social media influencer aligned with the Duterte Camp later disowned the origin of the rumour.  She said it was a trap coming from the Marcos side to discredit those whosoever would adopt the fake news as true.

Who could have come up with this fake plot?  What good would the “cold blue” tale do to the Marcoses?  Or to the Duterte Camp?   On the part of the former, President Marcos Jr.  would be able to determine who among his allies will suddenly shift loyalties.  VP Sara would benefit, too, because the “leaked info” will remind those against her to go slow on their tirades.  She is, after all, just a heartbeat away.

If Malacañang really wanted to check the loyalty of its political soldiers, it would not have instructed President Marcos Jr. to surface the next day after the release of “cold blue.”  Overnight is too short to do that.

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Carlos Yulo is an Olympic multiple gold medalist.  He is not a Filipino hero. Why do we easily give this accolade to anyone?  Can we not be more discriminating in giving this title?  At least not for me. His very public conduct against his parents has caused deep schism between Filipino parents and children, and among generations. He does not embody the ideals and values of a Filipino.  Besides, there was Hidilyn Diaz who won for the country our first Olympic gold.

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