‘Huwag niyo haluan ng pulitika,’ says Cayetano of use of BTS name

Former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday urged fans of South Korean boyband BTS not to politicize his use of the same initials for the name of his new bloc of politicians at the House.

Cayetano earned the ire of netizens, especially BTS fans, for choosing "BTS sa Kongreso" as the name of the bloc, consisting of him and six other lawmakers who lost leadership posts when the House transitioned to the leadership of Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.

In an interview with reporters in Albay, Cayetano revealed the meaning of "BTS" in the group's chosen name.

"Ang ibig lang naman naming sabihin doon, 'Back to Service' Congress kaya 'BTS sa Congress,'" he said.

The bloc members will present themselves to the media on Thursday.

But as early as Wednesday morning, the hashtag #CayetanoStopUsingBTS started trending on Twitter, as netizens called on the former Speaker not to use the name of the K-pop supergroup for his group's political motives.

Cayetano said they will not be talking about themselves during the media event on Thursday, but about important issues the country is currently facing like the procurement of vaccines.

"Yung meeting tomorrow is not to form one bloc. It’s representing many blocs in the country that is saying that kailangan natin ngayon is BTS: bayanihan, tapang, serbisyo," he said.

"Kung nagkaroon ng konting publicity doon, negative o hindi, it’s not meant to offend the fans. Pero huwag niyo rin haluan ng pulitika kasi kami, hindi namin hahaluan ng pulitika 'yun," he added.

The other members of "BTS sa Kongreso" are Camarines Sur Representative Luis Raymund Villafuerte, Laguna Representative Dan Fernandez, Batangas Representative Raneo Abu, Anakalusugan party-list Representative Mike Defensor, Bulacan Representative Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado, and Capiz Representative Fredenil Castro.

BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys, formed back in 2010 and is composed of RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook.

The group played a vital role in the continued popularity of K-Pop groups around in the 2010s. It is the first K-Pop group who received a nomination at the prestigious Grammy Awards for their hit song, "Dynamite." — BM, GMA News