Vice President Sara Duterte said the decision on whether to declare comedian Vice Ganda persona non grata in Davao City should be made by the City Council, amid the online circulation of an unsigned resolution calling for such action.
“Kung unsa man ang decision sa City Council sa Davao, it has to be a majority decision, and they are the correct body to declare a persona non grata here in our city,” Duterte told reporters on Monday, August 11, at Magsaysay Park, as quoted by SunStar Davao. She stressed that the Council, representing the city’s three districts, is the proper authority to address the matter.
Acting Vice Mayor Rodrigo “Rigo” Duterte II dismissed the circulating resolution and criticized Vice Ganda for using personal attacks as part of entertainment. “Davao City will not be distracted by cheap insults and distasteful jokes made for clout,” he said in a statement. “Public figures like Vice Ganda, who use their platform to mock rather than uplift, reveal more about their character than about the people they ridicule.”
Rigo added that the dignity of Dabawenyos “is not for sale” and should not be reduced to comedic material, urging the comedian to match the hard work, discipline, and respect shown by the city’s leaders and residents.
The unsigned resolution, allegedly from the Sangguniang Panlungsod, surfaced online claiming Vice Ganda mocked former President Rodrigo Duterte by making light of his “jetski” comment on the West Philippine Sea and referencing possible imprisonment in The Hague, Netherlands. It said the acts were “disrespectful” and called for a boycott of the comedian’s endorsements.
The controversy stems from a joke Vice Ganda made on August 8 during the “Superdivas” concert with Regine Velasquez at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, in which the comedian used a viral parody of a British Airways commercial to reference Duterte, the West Philippine Sea, and the International Criminal Court. The video quickly went viral, drawing mixed reactions online.
