Cancel Culture coming to the Philippines?
In America, the trend of cancel culture, snowflake, entitlement, wokeism, and now Gen-Z’s “I’m a baby” disrupted society. Any Boomer or Gen-X would say today’s society is unrecognizable.
This culture is coming to the Philippines if it hasn’t come yet. Naturally, the first to be canceled are public figures and celebrities.
Manny Pacquiao
From poverty to a billionaire, no patriot would dare cancel Manny Pacquiao—the sports hero of the Philippines. Even with inadequate experience and lack of education, the world-class boxer was elected a Philippine senator in 2016.
Despite the honor he gave the country, Pacquiao has become a laughing stock, at least of a few “discriminating” fans who want to cancel him.
Each time he makes a speech, a new breed of netizens with a degree of law in ‘Facebook Academy’ bashed him relentlessly.
Faith and politics
Admittedly, it takes a lot of listening to understand his point. However, the main reason he’s being canceled was when he began using “Bible verses” to rebuke the LGBTQ community in the Philippines.
In the USA, the constitution discourages using religious beliefs to make laws. In contrast, the Philippines has provisions for the Christian Bible as a source of moral conduct and legislation.
In fact, National Bible Month has been endorsed by every president since the time of Marcos.
The colonial mentality remains. Many still think like Americans do, as if the Philippines constitution, too, has a Bill of Rights.
Paul Soriano and Tony Gonzaga
In 2021, Paul Soriano faced backlash after photos of him with BongBong Marcos and Sara Duterte surfaced.
While there’s no big deal among celebrity figures doing photo opt, Soriano joined the Uniteam caravan of BBM-Sara Tandem in San Pablo, Laguna, last December 10, 2021.
After all, BBM is Paul and Toni’s Ninong at their wedding. Paul is also the nephew of Bong Bong Marcos’ wife, Liza- Araneta—why not support his kin.
His wife, Toni Gonzaga, was earlier bashed for interviewing the late dictator’s son. Based on comments, netizens seem too quick to “cancel” and boycott Gonzaga. She also interviewed other presidential aspirants.
Marcos hatred translates to the hatred for his supporters
Perhaps, the “anti-Marcos” citizenry would be correct to assume the couple is pro-Marcos. But should people care? Well, the Gonzaga-Soriano is a powerhouse couple.
They are also Christians who assumably sought divine wisdom on who to endorse. They have a huge fanbase and can influence voters. The threat for anti-Marcos is real.
