Ipinaubaya ni Ai-Ai delas Alas sa kanyang legal counsel ang pagsagot sa desisyon ng Quezon City Council na ideklara siyang persona non grata, kasama ang direktor na si Darryl Yap, dahil sa kanilang kontrobersiyal na viral video.
Read: Quezon City Council approves resolution declaring Ai-Ai delas Alas, Darryl Yap persona non grata
Si outgoing Quezon City councilor Ivy Lagman ang may panukalang ideklarang persona non grata sina Ai-Ai at Darryl dahil sa pambabastos umano ng dalawa sa official triangular seal ng lungsod na pinalitan ng "BBM" at "Sara."
Ang "BBM" at "Sara" ay tumutukoy kina then presidential at vice-presidential candidate, respectively, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Sara Duterte, na inendorso nina Ai-Ai at Darryl nitong katatapos na eleksyon.
Ginamit ang online campaign video sa pag-endorso kay Anakalusugan Representative Mike Defensor, na tumakbong mayor sa Quezon City.
Umarte si Ai-Ai bilang Honorable Mayor Ligaya Delmonte at kunwa'y nagbibigay ng mensahe mula sa kanyang tanggapan. Si Darryl ang nagdirek at may konsepto ng nasabing kampanya.
Inaprubahan ng Quezon City Council ang panukalang ideklarang persona non grata ang dalawa.
Read: Darryl Yap reacts to being declared persona non grata by Quezon City Council
Ayon sa abugado ni Ai-Ai na si Atty. Charo V. Rejuso-Munsayac, hindi pa nila natatanggap ang kopya ng resolusyon ng Quezon City Council.
Ngunit iginiit ng abugado na ang kumalat na video noong campaign period ay "a satire, a parody."
Hindi raw nito intensiyong maghayag ng katotohanan at malinaw na hindi dapat seryosohin.
Pahayag ng kampo ni Ai-Ai: “The video which circulated during the campaign period is clearly a satire, a parody. It is not intended to be a statement of fact and is clearly not meant to be taken seriously by the audience.
“The video was obviously intended to be watched and taken as a whole, all elements being fictitious, including the seal behind the character portrayed by my client.
“It is unfortunate that the city council is nitpicking to find basis to curb freedom of expression in the guise of defending a perceived dishonor."
Kinukondena rin ng kampo ng Comedy Queen ang aksyon na ito ng Quezon City Council.
Inilalagay umano nito sa panganib ang "freedom of expression" na nagbibigay proteksiyon sa "artists, entertainers, content creators, and comedians" na gumagamit ng satire o parody upang ihayag ang kanilang sentimyento o pagbatikos sa "public acts or figures."
Dagdag pa ni Atty. Rejuso-Munsayac, “This also endangers their livelihood since it appears to be a form of cancellation making them wary to take on similar works in fear that public officials will retaliate in similar fashion.
“As public officers, the members of the Quezon City council should be more prudent and circumspect in the exercise of their discretion and should not take hasty actions which could adversely affect my client and cause undue anxiety to her family and friends."
Bagamat naniniwala silang hindi pisikal na maaapektuhan si Ai-Ai ng resolusyong ito, imu-monitor daw nila ang bawat pahayag laban sa aktres upang matiyak na maprotektahan ang karapatan nito.
COUNCILOR LAGMAN'S CLARIFICATION
May paglilinaw naman si Councilor Lagman tungkol sa desisyon ng Quezon City Council na ideklarang mga persona non grata sina Ai-Ai at Darryl.
Pahayag nito, "Actually, yung persona non grata, it is a Latin translating to a person who is not welcome. But it only applies sa foreign diplomats kasi parang according to Vienna Convention, kapag hindi maganda yung ginawa ng isang foreigner, puwedeng patawan ng isang bansa.
“Locally speaking, hindi natin siya mae-enforce dito sa city mismo kapag lokal yung ginawan mo, symbolic lang ba ng city council na nagsasabing ayaw namin sa ginawa ninyo. So we are declaring officially na hindi kayo welcome sa QC," paliwanag ni Lagman sa panayam sa kanya ng One Balita Pilipinas ng One PH.
Pagtutuwid ito sa maling akala ng marami na hindi na maaaring tumuntong sa Quezon City sina Ai-Ai at Darryl.
Sinabi rin ni Lagman na maaaring mapawalang-bisa ang pagiging persona non grata nina Ai-Ai at Darryl kung hihingi ang dalawa ng taos-pusong public apology dahil sa pagyurak na ginawa nila sa official seal ng Quezon City.
FULL STATEMENT
Narito ang kabuuang statement ng abugado ni Ai-Ai delas Alas:
“Today, my client, Ms. AiAi Delas Alas-Sibayan has received information through social media, that a Resolution declaring her persona non grata was approved by the Quezon City council.
“While we are yet to receive a copy of the resolution, it was made clear that the focus was made on the alleged 'malicious and unscrupulous defacing of the official seal of Quezon City' claimed to have appeared on a video posted on the Facebook page of Vincentiments, where my client portrayed a character named “ Ligaya Delmonte.”
“The video which circulated during the campaign period is clearly a satire, a parody. It is not intended to be a statement of fact and is clearly not meant to be taken seriously by the audience.
“The video was obviously intended to be watched and taken as a whole, all elements being fictitious, including the seal behind the character portrayed by my client.
“It is unfortunate that the city council is nitpicking to find basis to curb freedom of expression in the guise of defending a perceived dishonor.
“We strongly condemn this act of the Quezon City council which endangers the protection granted by the freedom of expression for artists, entertainers, content creators, and comedians who use satire or parody to express sentiments or criticize public acts or figures.
“This also endangers their livelihood since it appears to be a form of cancellation making them wary to take on similar works in fear that public officials will retaliate in similar fashion.
“As public officers, the members of the Quezon City council should be more prudent and circumspect in the exercise of their discretion and should not take hasty actions which could adversely affect my client and cause undue anxiety to her family and friends.
“While we believe that the resolution does not physically affect my client, we will be monitoring every statement made against her to ensure that my client’s rights are protected.”