The Davao City Council has unanimously passed a resolution condemning comedian Jose Mari Viceral, better known as Vice Ganda, for satirical remarks they said mocked former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during a recent concert.
The measure, authored by Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang and approved on Tuesday, August 12, stops short of declaring the comedian persona non grata, but Dayanghirang said it carries “essentially the same effect.”
“Vice Ganda made satirical and derogatory remarks mocking former president Duterte, which many Davaoeños perceived as an insult [also] to the people of Davao City,” the resolution stated.
Dayanghirang emphasized that while freedom of speech is protected under the Constitution, “it must be exercised with responsibility” and should not be used “to demean or insult.”
“Former President Duterte is not merely a national leader,” he added. “He is a son of Davao. For decades, he devoted his life to public service… Such a disrespectful portrayal is not only an affront to him as a person but an insult to the Davaoeños who hold him in the highest esteem.”
Vice Ganda’s joke, delivered during an August 8 concert with Regine Velasquez at the Araneta Coliseum, referenced Duterte’s 2016 campaign remark about riding a jetski to the Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea—a promise he later said was made in jest. The comedian’s version also alluded to the International Criminal Court (ICC) probe into Duterte’s war on drugs.
Acting Vice Mayor Rodrigo “Rigo” Duterte II dismissed earlier online claims that Vice Ganda had been declared persona non grata, saying the council had more pressing matters to address than “cheap insults and distasteful jokes made for clout.”
“Public figures like Vice Ganda, who use their platform to mock rather than uplift, reveal more about their own character than about the people they ridicule,” Rigo Duterte said.
The resolution will be furnished to the Office of the City Mayor, the Office of the Vice Mayor, the City Legal Office, and other concerned agencies.
Vice Ganda has yet to issue a public statement in response to the council’s condemnation.
