The Statement of Councilor Ivy Lagman

As the principal author of the very controversial resolution declaring Ms. Ai Ai delas Alas and content creator Darryl Yap as persona non grata in Quezon City, let me state that the bashing, negative comments, body shaming attacks and insults hurled at me have only strengthened my resolve to pursue what I believe is right.

Indeed, as President-elect Bong Bong Marcos himself said: “If you’re making your enemies angry, you’re doing a great job.” It is unfortunate that legal counsel Munsayac degraded the issuance of the Resolution passed by the majority of the QC Council as “nitpicking”, haste, without consideration for the sensibilities that were rightfully offended by the act of disrespect her client committed.

Ironically, her client considers herself a resident of Quezon City, multi-awarded anc much lauded city. As a QCitizen, she shares in its prestige, but when the price is right, she is the first to defame it.

I, as an elected official, cannot turn a blind eye to what she and her cohorts have done. It is the mandate of every elected official to preserve the integrity of public office regardless if the same is against popular opinion.

This mandate was exercised by then former Mayor now VP Elect Sara Duterte, when in 2014 she urged the Davao City Council to declare comedian Ramon Bautista as persona for jokes the people of Davao found offensive. She did this to preserve and uphold the integrity of the city and its people.

Ramon Bautista had the decency and humility to apologize to the Davaoeños who had felt slighted by his innuendos. Sadly, Atty Munsayac’s client has allowed arrogance to subvert humility. Taking the video in its whole context as Counsel Munsayac stated, I wish to be clarified - is this the new norm of political satire that the honorable legal counsel wishes to normalize? A political satire anchored on superficial body shaming rather than real issues of greater social relevance? Disrespect of symbols held dear by people such as the official seal of the city in which they live. If so, this is tantamount to disrespecting other symbols that people hold sacred, such as representations of their religion and their country. Is the Quezon City council not allowed to exercise the same authority that the Davao City Council did way back in 2014? Counsel Munsayac’s assertion, which he says is anchored on the ideals of free speech, which he implies has no bounds, contrasts sharply with the advocacy of the incoming Secretary of Education who yearns for a disciplined and civilized youth.To all my critics, I follow the advise of our incoming President who said: “Forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them more.” Your words sadly have no effect on me, but the deeds of those you defend, will be forever etched in the collective memories of the people of Quezon City.

Responding to Netizen's Comment

Netizen:  If you were made to choose which one you want to be: A bottle of Coke or bottled water?

Response: 

I will choose bottled water.  Using a metaphor, the contents of these two bottles will be a deciding factor in why I choose the latter instead of the former.

Think of the content of the bottle as our emotions are "bottled" for a while inside. At times our friends or siblings will shake us lightly ... at times vigorously.

If you shake the bottle of coke ... when you open it up, it results in fizzing or explosion as pressure is released.

If you shake a bottle of water ... when you open it up, what you see is the same water you saw before the shake-up - cool, calm, and collected.

Questions That Don't Have Answers

Filipinos love a good riddle and answering crossword puzzles. Our desire to answer all the questions and completely finish the job gives us some kind of titillation, the need to continue and persevere until we accomplish the task. It tickles our brain cells, and we feel mighty proud once the cryptogram is decoded.

People ask why everybody loves Jessica Fletcher of Murder She Wrote? Or Ben Matlock or Jake and the Fatman.  Well,  they always solve mysteries.

Too bad, there are a lot of questions and mysteries out there that we may never learn the answers to their intriguing nature. The universe is far-reaching and its mysteries limitless, and there are many things that even geniuses have their arms raised upwards because they don't have answers to some of these queries. 

Let’s explore some of the questions that there are no answers to.

Question: What part of the buffalo ... do buffalo wings come from?

If you know the answer, please share it in the comment section.

Seen Somewhere

 

The Roman Amphitheater in Amman Jordan

The Roman Amphitheatre is located in the eastern part of the Jordanian capital, Amman. It is specifically at the foot of Jabal Al-Joufah, on a hill opposite the Amman Citadel.  A Greek inscription on one of the pillars indicates that this amphitheater was built in honor of Emperor Antoninus Pius (138–161 CE).

An amphitheater was a structure built throughout the Roman empire where ordinary people could watch such spectacles as gladiator games, mock naval battles, wild animal hunts, and public executions. 

We saw this attraction after the Gulf War when we fled Kuwait en route to Basra Iraq, and after getting the green light from the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad, we proceeded to Amman the capital of Jordan, and stayed there for 1 week waiting for our rescue on our way to freedom.

Short Circuit

The way things are going, if you see something is wrong in the government, don't bother to open your mouth. Just shrug it off ... or better still just take a bath and drown those complaints into oblivion in the spirit of UNITY.  Move on and keep quiet until 2028 is over.

Not for me and other concerned citizens who believe in a government where citizens participate individually and directly in political decisions and policies that affect their lives, rather than through elected representatives. That's participatory democracy!