The TV host-comedian became the center of attention once again.
Last weekend, the two-night ‘Super Divas: The Concert’ of Regine Velasquez-Alcasid and Vice Ganda was held at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
The show was a mixed of singing, dancing, and comedy, thanks to the combined forces of both superstars.
However, one of the segments that drew significant attention online, specifically after the clips were uploaded onto social networking platforms, was the joke that Vice threw during Regine’s performance of Jess Glynn’s viral song ‘Hold My Hand’.
With that track having gained traction due to an advertisement made by British travel company Jet2 this year, the TV host-comedian made her own twist to it by playfully interrupting the Asia’s Songbird to insert numerous made-up advertisements.
One of those was the Jetski Holiday promo, where Vice referenced the pronouncement made by former President Rodrigo Duterte (FPRRD) in 2016.
In her joke, the ‘It’s Showtime’ host said: “Nothing beats a jet ski holiday, right now from Manila to the West Philippine Sea via jet ski. Get unlimited water bombing from Chinese vessels and a free trip to The Hague by the ICC. Promo applies to DDS only. Pinklawans and BBMs are prohibited. Huwag niyo akong subukan, mga pu****i** niyo.”
It can be remembered that Duterte himself promised to ride a jetski to the West Philippine Sea to plant the Philippine flag over the contested waters to show the sovereignty of the country over areas that are well inside the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). That did not happen.
The ex-chief executive, however, was arrested by the International Criminal Court, through the coordination with the Interpol, in March and was flew from Manila all the way to The Netherlands through a chartered flight.
Immediately, supporters of the previous administration took to social media to express their opinion of the joke.
Many stated that Vice was not right to crack a joke about the matter, with some even calling for the comedian’s declaration as persona non grata in Duterte’s hometown Davao City.
Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of FPRRD, left it to the Davao City Council to decide on the calls. But in response, acting Vice Mayor Rigo Duterte has stated that they are not going to pursue it, citing other pressing matters in the city that they need to address.
Meanwhile, the other side of the bench have also backed Vice Ganda, understanding that the jokes made were drawn from real events in the past.
One of them was Palace Press Officer Atty. Claire Castro who weighed in on the matter during a press briefing on Monday.
She told, “Unang-una kasi, concert naman ‘yun. Parang show naman ‘yun. So, hindi kailangang maging balat-sibuyas ang sinuman.”
Castro furthered, “At ito naman talaga ay nangyari, jinoke ni dating Pangulong Duterte yung tungkol sa jetski. Sinabi pa niya na ang naniwala sa kanya sa sinabi niyang sasakay siya sa jetski para sa West Philippine Sea, sinabi niyang stupid.”
To date, Vice Ganda has not yet made any comments regarding the matter.