Vice Ganda jokes border on discrimination

     Vice Ganda has been known by millions of Filipinos for his funny jokes, sense of humor and wit. For years, I’ve watched him on TV and on the Internet, trying to make people laugh by telling jokes, and sadly, by throwing insults at others.

     In an episode of the show “The Showtime” a few weeks ago, Vice Ganda was trying to make a joke using the name of Gary V. His words were “Sa Liti, Gary V. Dun sa Liti, manuod kang Prinsis Sarah, ang kapartner si Cidi. Ang kinakain niya ispagiti.” (Sa Leyte, Gary V. Dun sa Leyte, manuod kang Princess Sarah, ang kapartner si Cedie. Ang kinakain niya spaghetti.) He said it in a way that would imitate and mock the accent of people from Leyte.

     This is not a first. He has been very fond of making fun of others not only for their accent, but usually for their appearance or their performances. However, in the situation given above, I found it unethical because it is a form of discriminating other people or group of people. Article 22 of the KBP Broadcast Code says that “A person’s race, religion, color, ethnicity, gender, and physical or mental disability shall not be used in a way that would embarrass, denigrate, or ridicule him.” In this case, although the joke was said lightly and was kept short, it was still an insensitive act to mock people from Leyte on national television. Also, we are aware of the current issues about the lack of support to the victims of Typhoon Yolanda, who are mostly from Leyte.

     Vice Ganda has been very fond of doing these kinds of jokes because he values his job as a comedian. A little too much, maybe, that sometimes, he fails to consider what others would feel about his jokes. He wanted to make people happy but he fails to realize that some may actually get offended or embarrassed by his jokes. For me (or if I were in his place) he should be more aware of his limitations. Being a comedian does not give him the right to discriminate other people. There are more ways to make people happy and promoting discrimination in any form should not be one of those.

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