By Louis ‘Barok’ C Biraogo — July 24, 2025
THE HAGUE, Netherlands—Sara Duterte, the Philippine vice president whose father once joked about rape victims, now demands professionalism from government social media. This week, she scolded the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for its “meme-like” flood advisories—posted while her countrymen waded through chest-deep water. The irony is richer than the Marcoses’ offshore accounts.
Let’s grant Duterte a point: Yes, a government warning about drowning children shouldn’t read like a teenager’s group chat. The DILG’s now-deleted posts—calling citizens “abangers” (slang for “waiters”) and joking about “dozing off after a good meal”—were so tone-deaf they could’ve been penned by Marie Antoinette. But Duterte’s sudden piety reeks of the same performative outrage her family weaponizes against enemies. Where was this zeal when her father, Rodrigo, cursed the Pope and threatened to slit journalists’ throats?
The Meme That Sunk Lower Than the Floodwaters
Secretary Jonvic Remulla, the DILG’s chief meme lord, defended his posts as “just how I speak.” To his credit, he later apologized—a rarity in Philippine politics, where accountability goes to die like opposition senators. But the damage was done. When your disaster response feels like a stand-up routine, you’ve failed the poor, who:
- Risked lives trudging to work, unsure if suspensions were real or jokes.
- Scrolled past banter to find vital info—if they had internet at all.
- Watched elites laugh while their babies slept on wet cardboard.
Remulla’s heart might be in Cavite, but his empathy’s in Narnia.
Why This Isn’t Just About ‘Tone’
- The Poor Pay the Price
Government memes aren’t harmless when fishermen’s huts float away. The marginalized rely on free Facebook data for alerts; burying facts in jokes is like tossing life vests with anchors attached. - Duterte’s Selective Outrage
She’s right: Institutions should be professional. But her own office hoards confidential funds with less transparency than a North Korean press release. If she wants gravitas, let her lead by example—not from a Dutch press conference. - The Global Fallout
Investors and donors see this clown show. The World Bank doesn’t fund governments that meme through disasters—it funds those that respond to them.
A Modest Proposal (With Less Satire, More Solutions)
- For Duterte: Resign from your unconstitutional slush funds before lecturing on propriety.
- For Remulla: Keep the humor for your personal account. Crisis posts should pass an empathy test: “Would this comfort a mother on a rooftop?”
- For the Public: Demand better. The next flood won’t wait for punchlines.
Final Thought: The DILG’s memes were a symptom. The disease is a political class that treats governance like a teleserye—where the poor are extras, and the elites ad-lib their lines.
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KWEBA ni BAROK 
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