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No Persona Non Grata for Vice Ganda but Davao Condemns Mocking Skit
Plus, what the Jet2 holiday trend has to do with it.
Published on Aug 13, 2025
(SPOT.ph) The Davao City Council
isn’t banning Vice Ganda from their territory, but the group is making it crystal clear that they didn’t
like her joke about former president Rodrigo Duterte. In its August 12 regular
session, the council unanimously approved Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang’s
resolution condemning the comedian’s skit, calling it disrespectful to a leader
they consider a hometown icon.
Dayanghiran’s resolution highlighted a segment from Vice Ganda’s Superdivas concert with Regine Velasquez
on August 8 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. He said it was “an insult not only
to the former Executive but also to the people of Davao City who hold him in
high esteem.”
In the skit, Vice Ganda called back to Duterte’s
famous campaign promise to ride a jet ski to the West Philippine Sea using
the trending jingle from the Jet2 holiday ad:
“Nothing beats a jet ski holiday,
right now from Manila to the West Philippine Sea via jetski," she said in the parody. "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.”
During the 2016 presidential
campaign, Duterte famously said in a televised debate that he would
ride a jet ski to the Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea to personally
plant the Philippine flag as a show of defiance against China’s claims. Years
later in 2021, Duterte admitted in a speech that the jet ski promise was a “pure campaign joke," adding, “kung naniniwala kayo sa kabila, I would say that you are really
stupid.”
Also read: Why Is Everyone Obsessed With Jet2 Holidays?
Davao reacts to Vice Ganda
In a letter submitted with the resolution, Dayanghirang argued that while
freedom of expression is guaranteed by the Constitution, it must be exercised
responsibly.
“We in Davao are no strangers to
humor, and we welcome healthy discourse. But what transpired was not political satire
in the spirit of constructive criticism—it was a targeted insult, delivered to
a national audience, against a leader whose legacy is deeply tied to our city’s
honor and identity,” Dayanghirang wrote.
Since March 11, 2025, Rodrigo
Duterte has been under the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in
The Hague, following his arrest for alleged crimes against humanity tied to his administration's war on drugs. The confirmation of charges hearing is scheduled for September
23, 2025; Duterte is still in the ICC custody awaiting pre‑trial
proceedings.
Meanwhile, Malacañang brushed off the controversy that resulted from Vice Ganda's joke as overreaction from the public.
“Unang-una kasi, concert naman
‘yun. Parang show naman ‘yun. So, hindi kailangang maging balat-sibuyas ang
sinuman,” Presidential Communications Office Spokesperson Claire Castro told reporters. “At ito naman
talaga ay nangyari, jinoke ni dating Pangulong Duterte 'yung tungkol sa jetski.”
Earlier, Dayanghirang admitted he considered filing a persona non grata measure following public demand but decided a condemnation was enough to make a public statement. That said, social media posts claiming there’s a persona non grata resolution are false.
“The City Council of Davao has far more important matters to attend to than entertaining baseless, attention-seeking antics from performers desperate for relevance,” Acting Vice Mayor Rigo Duterte said in a statement.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has previously clarified that a resolution is not a law but simply an expression of sentiment. Such measures are purely symbolic, meaning a person declared persona non grata still retains their constitutional rights, including the right to travel to the place in question.
Micah believes that writing is always political. Beyond the byline, you’ll find her bruising herself in a pole studio or napping with her beagle. Reach her at micah@spot.ph.
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