In a Facebook statement aired on Wednesday, June 8, Ai-Ai de las Alas’s camp strongly condemned Quezon City Council for declaring the actress persona non grata.
Quezon City District IV Councilor Ivy Lagman was the one who proposed to declare Delas Alas as a persona non grata, a person who is not welcome in the city.
Atty. Charo V. Rejuso-Munsayac, Delas Alas’s lawyer, said they still didn’t receive a copy of the resolution from the Quezon City Council.
She stated that Delas Alas’s viral video is “a satire, a parody” and it is not intended to “be a statement of fact and is clearly not meant to be taken seriously by the audience.”
The statement wrote, “Today, my client, Ms. AiAi Delas Alas-Sibayan has received information through social media, that a Resolution declaring her persona non grata was approved by the Quezon City council.
“While we are yet to receive a copy of the resolution, it was made clear that the focus was made on the alleged ‘malicious and unscrupulous defacing of the official seal of Quezon City’ claimed to have appeared on a video posted on the Facebook page of Vincentiments, where my client portrayed a character named “ Ligaya Delmonte.”
“The video which circulated during the campaign period is clearly a satire, a parody. It is not intended to be a statement of fact and is clearly not meant to be taken seriously by the audience.
“The video was obviously intended to be watched and taken as a whole, all elements being fictitious, including the seal behind the character portrayed by my client.
“It is unfortunate that the city council is nitpicking to find basis to curb freedom of expression in the guise of defending a perceived dishonor.
“We strongly condemn this act of the Quezon City council which endangers the protection granted by the freedom of expression for artists, entertainers, content creators, and comedians who use satire or parody to express sentiments or criticize public acts or figures.
“This also endangers their livelihood since it appears to be a form of cancellation making them wary to take on similar works in fear that public officials will retaliate in similar fashion.
“As public officers, the members of the Quezon City council should be more prudent and circumspect in the exercise of their discretion and should not take hasty actions which could adversely affect my client and cause undue anxiety to her family and friends.
“While we believe that the resolution does not physically affect my client, we will be monitoring every statement made against her to ensure that my client’s rights are protected.”
Delas Alas made headlines following her viral video with director Darry Yap. The video, directed by Yap, showed Delas Alas portraying the character of Honorable Mayor Ligaya Delmonte. The Quezon City Council claimed that the two insulted the official triangular seal by replacing it with BBM and Sara.
BBM and Sara refer to the then-presidential and vice-presidential candidates, respectively, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte. The video was used to endorse Anakalusugan Representative Mike Defensor for his mayoral race in Quezon City.
