Sotto and Callamard

Sen. Vicente Sotto III must be ruing that time he issued the “na-ano lang” joke during the confirmation hearing at the Commission on Appointments (CA) involving Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo. A video clip of the exchange between Sotto and Taguiwalo went viral on social media and earned a condemnation from netizens that saw him as making a laughingstock out of single parents.

I saw the video clip and reacted a bit differently from the many others who also did. Sotto was obviously trying to lighten a serious proceeding but the attempt fell flat because it wasn’t appropriate for the moment. Those who follow the show “Eat Bulaga” on television would know that “na-ano lang” is a long-running joke of some of the hosts that include Sotto. But it was a CA hearing so it wasn’t appropriate.

What happened next shows the viciousness of the discourse on social media.

Actually, I think Sotto, a showbiz denizen who became a senator not because of his intellectual and educational achievements but because he is popular, has a built-in “dislikers” and haters. And they are many, more so because of his politics and record in the Senate. So after he delivered that bad joke, he became an easy target of vitriol.

But the hurling of muck didn’t stop there. Even his innocent children whose only fault was that their marriages have been broken were targeted. I don’t like Sotto but that does not mean I wouldn’t notice when the condemnation has become abusive and hypocritical. Especially after Sotto apologized and Taguiwalo accepted it.

*** United Nations special rapporteur Agnes Callamard, a critic of the extrajudicial killings (EJK) that have become a by-product of the government’s intensified drive against the illegal drugs trade, visited the country recently upon the invitation of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and other groups. That seems to be the problem.

We know the Duterte administration doesn’t like Callamard. President Rodrigo Duterte himself was vicious in his criticism of her at a time when another woman. Sen. Leila de Lima, was also being hated for her criticism of the government’s anti-drug campaign. She was supposed to be persona non grata; conditions were set for her to visit the country and investigate the alleged human rights violations committed in the name of the anti-drugs campaign.

I was not surprised, therefore, when Malacañang made a fuss about Callamard’s visit. Presidential Spokesperson Erbesto Abella claimed Callamard sneaked into the country unannounced and promptly condemned the act. But organizers of the activity Callmard guested in insisted all the protocols were followed for the visit, something I would agree with because she would not have been allowed in had she didn’t.

Not surprisingly, Duterte supporters joined the chorus of condemnations re: Callamard’s entry here. I read some of these condemnations on social media and they were vicious. Unfortunately, much of the viciousness stemmed from mostly uninformed opinion on the circumstances of her visit here.