Satire video of UP group goes viral
ILOILO CITY—A video of a cheering group performance at the University of the Philippines Visayas has gone viral but has drawn the ire of supporters of President Duterte. As they performed, the winning pep squad drew attention to the economic plight of media workers, “fake news,” censorship and attacks on journalists. Mr. Duterte’s supporters called them communists.
ILOILO CITY—A video of a cheering group performance at the University of the Philippines (UP) Visayas has gone viral on the internet, drawing raves for its satirical take on social and political issues but incurring the ire of supporters of President Duterte.
The 15-minute performance of the Skimmers academic group on Oct. 16 topped this year’s cheering competition in the Pahampang, the annual sportsfest held at UP Visayas in Miag-ao town, Iloilo province.
Composed of students enrolled in literature and communication and media studies, the Skimmers won over 10 other groups with its performance portraying television reporters.
Decades-old contest
A video posted on Youtube (https://youtu.be/0rx8ukwu2lg) on Oct. 18 had drawn 104,994 views as of 12:06 a.m. on Sunday. It has also been repeatedly shared on social media.
Rather than the usual pep squad contest characterized by acrobatic movements and dances, the decades-old cheering contest at UP Visayas is a much-anticipated event among students and graduates for its tradition of satirical social commentary on university, community and national issues.
The no-holds-barred cheering is witty, with biting humor, sarcasm and sexual innuendos.
In the Skimmers performance, students who portrayed themselves as “paktrolers” of “Bulan News,” donned reporter’s vests, held oversized microphones, and reported on campus issues and national concerns.
Led by cheerleader “Doris Biga-ornia,” they drew attention to the economic plight of media workers, “fake news,” censorship and attacks on journalists.
They also scored the lack of facilities on the campus amid a cut in the UP budget.
Some of their chants delved into sexual harassment of students and called for support for the gender and divorce bills in Congress.
CHED hit, too
The team also took shots at the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for its order removing Filipino and Filipino literature as required subjects in college.
Among the most applauded commentaries were those against the proposal to deploy policemen and soldiers to universities and Red-tagging of student activists.
Posters accusing student groups of links to the communist insurgency were displayed last month near the university after hundreds of students joined protest actions commemorating the 47th anniversary of the declaration of martial law by the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
The cheering team did not spare the senators involved in controversies, including Cynthia Villar in the rice tariffication and Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa in restoring ROTC.
“Bato ka nga, mapapel ka naman,” they chanted in a play on Jack En Poy, or the rock-paperscissors hand game.
They also took shots at the government’s policy on China and Chinese encroachment on Philippine territory in the South China Sea.
“Welcome to the Philippines, province of China,” they chanted.
In a play on the President’s propensity in his speeches to threaten people with death, the cheering team chanted: “Let’s kill this President. Charot!”
“Charot” is gay speak meaning “just kidding” or “I’m just joking.”
The students said the chant was also a play on the line “Let’s kill this love” from the song “Kill This Love.” The song by the Kpop girl group Blackpink is on ending a toxic relationship.
But several supporters of the President took the chant literally, accusing the students of grave threats and even inciting to sedition.
Several officers and members of Skimmers were forced to deactivate their social media accounts after supporters of the President posted messages calling them “communists” with some posts calling for the rape of the students.
But those supporting the cheering team decried what they called “harassment” of the students.
Hands off
#Handsoffskimmers was among the trending hashtags on Twitter, with UP students, graduates and others airing support for the team.
The UP Visayas University Student Council and student organizations issued a joint statement on Sunday condemning the “harassment” of the cheering team.
“We will not and will never tolerate any kind of harassment or unjust behavior toward our constituents, whether we are facing a single troll or the whole Duterte administration. We won’t let this go unanswered. We are one with [the] Skimmers,” they said in a statement.