Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte has clarified that she is not angry with comedienne Ai-Ai de las Alas for satirizing her in a video.
“Hindi naman kami magka-away (We are not enemies),” the mayor declared in reaction to De las Alas’ public apology made on Boy Abunda’s talk show on Friday.
De las Alas’ apology came eight months after she was declared persona non grata by the Quezon City Council along with movie director Darryl Yap.
In the viral video posted by Yap in his social media account, the actress portrayed a character named Ligaya Delmonte, an apparent parody of the mayor, during the campaign for the national and local elections of May 2022.
In the viral and controversial video, the official triangular seal of Quezon City was also featured but its visual elements were edited and defaced.
“Nung ginawa ko po ‘yun, bilang artista po, tapos sila naman ang gumawa ng script nun, si Direk at saka sila, tapos ako ‘yung artista (When I did that, as an artist. Then, they did the script, Direk),” De las Alas explained.
The video earned the ire of the Quezon City Council which then passed a resolution banning the comedian and director in the city.
“Please note that the resolution declaring her persona non grata by the city council was not because I was offended (I wasn’t), but because they defaced the city’s official seal. I was not even aware of this resolution until after it was passed,” Belmonte told the Daily Tribune.
“On my end, I was just surprised that she would agree to be a party to the negative campaign of whoever commissioned the video, given her caliber as an award-winning actress and bankable box office star. Plus, nagkakasama kami minsan magsimba (we went to church together),” the mayor added.
The City Council, meanwhile, said the resolution is necessary to teach the comedian a lesson. It’s author, then District IV Councilor Ivy Lagman, said defacing the official seal of Quezon City ridiculed and (cast) dishonor to it, causing insult to the noble representation of the seal.
“The people of Quezon City will not let anyone disgrace the official seal of Quezon City for personal and selfish interests,” Lagman said.