AN EX-PRESIDENT walks into a campaign rally and begins to do what he does best, publicly talk about murder. “Makapatay na tayo ng kinse na senador para pasok na lahat,” then added, “The only way to do this is pasabugin nalang natin yung mga ano…” The diehards would scoff at it and say something along the lines of  “Oh, well that’s your typical Pareng PDuts HAHAHA!” But of course, the rest of us here, or yet anyone in their right mind, would be alarmed by such a joke. 

     In an opinion article exclusive, here’s a joke breakdown and review by yours truly.

     First off, it’s really a bad joke overall. No setup of characters or situation—he already assumed that everyone in the audience is in on the joke which, might I say, is some really poor crowd work. It’s a garbage attempt at the material, especially considering he’s improvising it.

     Second, look at the punchline. That’s it? The shock factor that he held on to as his schtick during his presidential term has lost its effectiveness. We’ve gotten so used to that gimmick to the point it’s made us even more agitated and annoyed towards him. He’s either made his audience desensitized to his material or has made his appearances irrelevant in the years that follow. 

     You could take any of his joke setups and easily predict the punchline. It always ends up either a dehumanizing remark or a legitimate mention of committing a crime. So that same formula he thought was funny still doesn’t work until today. Somehow, the government still treats it with a grain of salt. As opposed to a random nobody making a bomb joke in a public space.

     Overall rating of that ex-president’s joke? Bad. Completely horrible. Even on a technical level, he doesn’t meet the criteria to even call it a joke or one-liner. As of writing this article, there has been no news yet of his imprisonment nor any complaints going through. And to think he’s not the first one of his family to “allegedly” publicize their intent of killing politicians in the past month.  

     Now, take the first paragraph of this piece, and let’s rewrite that.

     A FILIPINO CITIZEN walks into a public space and begins joking about killing 15 senators. People would run. People would start calling the police and the “jokester” would be tackled to the ground, labeled a terrorist, get arrested, and would probably face jail time. 

     Different story right?

     These are the double standards that have always been an issue in the comedy space. The simple “Bakit ‘pag random na tao yung nagjoke tungkol sa pagpatay ng senador, kinukulong pero ‘pag dating presidente yung bumitaw ng joke na ‘yan, okay lang?” That statement looks familiar, doesn’t it? “Bakit si ganito pwede pero si ganyan hindi?” These hypocrites who preach about what cannot be but turn a blind eye to favor bias and comfort are the true laughingstock of society. 

     We’ve taken up so much effort, frustration, and social media screentime to cancel personalities on the internet yet when it’s this call to action, it ends up nothing. Where’s the angry mob now? Have the torches burnt out already? Are the pitchforks dull and rusted? 

     We push for these righteous ideals in the common folk but never take it up a notch and bring it to our leaders, to our authority figures. Those Anti-Bomb Joke signs all plastered up in the entrances of NAIA & PITX are more than enough signs that we should realign where our true concerns lie and hold these people accountable for their reckless actions and words.

     Remember, if you let these jokes from these people in power slide and you find nothing wrong about them, you’re part of the problem.