Palace takes no offense at UP Visayas students’ ‘Kill-this-President’ joke

Malacañang on Monday seemed to have taken no offense by the cheer routine performed by students from the University of the Philippines Visayas that did not sit well with the supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Members of academic organization the Skimmers hit the Duterte administration's failure to stand up to Beijing regarding the issue of the South China Sea and tackled issues such as media repression and the government's call for mandatory Reserved Officers Training Corps.

The performers also quipped, "Let's kill this President! Charot!"

“It’s a free country. They can dish out jokes, criticisms,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said at a news conference.

“Si Presidente rin di ba nagsabi siya na nag-kill. Baka ginagaya lang nila si Presidente.”

The Skimmers became the target of threats and harassment by pro-Duterte groups after the cheer routine went viral on social media.

Panelo said the reaction of Duterte supporters was just “natural.”

“Siyempre ang dating sa kanila baka hindi sila nagbibiro, baka kunwari nagbibiro pero talagang binabanatan nila si Presidente. That’s very natural reaction for supporters of the President,” the Palace spokesman said.

The UP Visayas Student Council and other student organizations earlier condemned the threats and said they would never tolerate "any kind of harassment or unjust behavior towards our constituents, whether we are facing a single troll or the whole Duterte administration."

Duterte had said that he welcomed criticism but not from foreigners in the Philippines. —NB, GMA News