BROADCAST JOURNALIST Lourd De Veyra and social satirist Jun Sabayton viewed political satire not as a mere form of entertainment but rather as a tool to raise Filipinos’ awareness of the country’s issues.
“Kasi ‘pag masyadong dineretso, hindi kumakagat eh. [So] dapat siguro may ‘pautot’ ka ng kaunti para yung pagtawa mo, at least, may maaalala ka sa issue,” said De Veyra. “Hindi mo siya kailangang i-solve pero at least, just the fact that you are thinking about it is a big step.”
Political satires could trigger the nationalism and patriotism of Filipinos, they said, noting that Jose Rizal and Marcelo H. Del Pilar used satire to expose social realities in the country.
“Nasa dugo natin ang sarcasm. Natural tayong magaling mang-insulto… Kaya ka lang naman nang-aasar dahil may gusto kang i-uphold na standards,” De Veyra said.
Furthermore, the personalities from TV5 said Filipinos are fortunate to live in a country where free speech exists.
“Kahit papaano, [may] exercise [of] free speech in democracy…Dapat nating alalahanin [na] ito pa rin ang number one nating sandata,” said De Veyra.
“Buti na lang nakagagawa pa tayo ng mga ganito. Kahit papaano nabubuhay pa rin tayo sa malayang lipunan,” Sabayton added.
But while De Veyra believes that the combination of humor and advocacy affects people both from the upper and lower classes, he said political satires do not guarantee change in our society.
“Kahit papaano, mas gumagaan ang buhay kapag tumatawa tayo. Hindi ako nage-expect na babaguhin ng political satire ang lipunan natin… Kung hindi mo kayang baguhin ang isang bagay, pagtawanan mo na lang. At the end of the day, mas masarap tumawa.”
Sabayton also said that amid the humor, media ethics should always be observed in order to avoid offending certain people, race, or religion.
The seminar titled “Political Satire: Ironic Explanation of Philippine Politics” was spearheaded by the Department of Political Science and The Political Science Forum. The event served as an opening for their three-week long event, the “#PolSciFest2016 : Revealing Possibilities.” F – KRYSTAL GAYLE R. DIGAY
