Freddie Aguilar calls Diokno 'a joke' over 'karaoke bar' comments
Published Apr 3, 2019 11:39 am
By Minka Klaudia Tiangco
Veteran musician and administration-backed senatorial candidate Freddie Aguilar slammed opposition bet Chel Diokno for questioning his qualifications as senator and degrading his contributions to the Philippine music industry.
Singer Freddie Aguilar files his certificate of candidacy at Comelec main office in Intramuros, Manila, October 11, 2018.
(Danica Gonzales / MANILA BULLETIN) Aguilar said he is an artist that has never been to a karaoke bar or performed with a "minus one," and is considered an "intellectual," during a Partido Demokratriko Pilipinas Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) campaign sortie in Malabon City on Tuesday. "Ako po ay artist. Wala po akong kinalaman sa karaoke. Makikita niyo po 'yan si Diokno, J-O-K-E-N-O, na hindi niya alam ang sinasabi niya (I am an artist. I do not have anything to do with a karaoke. You will see that Diokno, J-O-K-E-N-O, that he does not know what he is saying)," he said. "I am a composer, I am an artist, I am considered an intellectual, that's what we are called. What do you call Diokno? A joke," he added. Aguilar said this in response to Diokno's comment on President Duterte’s comparison of him to the musician and in saying that Aguilar would be a better senator than him in a speech in Koronadal City, South Cotabato. "I can accept that Freddie Aguilar is a better singer than me. I would have accepted the President's opinion that Freddie Aguilar is a better fit in the Senate than me if the Senate was a karaoke bar. In the Senate, we write laws," Diokno told reporters. Aguilar argued that he has represented the country and gave significant contributions to the Philippine music industry. He then bared his plan to create a jury system to equalize the law between the rich and the poor should he win the elections, and challenged Diokno to list his contributions to the country from the 1980s up to present. "Baket hindi naisip ni Diokno 'yan? Bakit nanggaling yan sa isang katulad ko? Anong ginawa ng mga attorney tulad ni Diokno from 1980 to 2019? Ako, matagal ko na ginagawa (Why did Diokno not think of the jury system? Why did it come from someone like me? What have attorneys like Diokno done from 1980 to 2019? I have been contributing to the country for a long time now)," Aguilar said.
Singer Freddie Aguilar files his certificate of candidacy at Comelec main office in Intramuros, Manila, October 11, 2018.(Danica Gonzales / MANILA BULLETIN) Aguilar said he is an artist that has never been to a karaoke bar or performed with a "minus one," and is considered an "intellectual," during a Partido Demokratriko Pilipinas Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) campaign sortie in Malabon City on Tuesday. "Ako po ay artist. Wala po akong kinalaman sa karaoke. Makikita niyo po 'yan si Diokno, J-O-K-E-N-O, na hindi niya alam ang sinasabi niya (I am an artist. I do not have anything to do with a karaoke. You will see that Diokno, J-O-K-E-N-O, that he does not know what he is saying)," he said. "I am a composer, I am an artist, I am considered an intellectual, that's what we are called. What do you call Diokno? A joke," he added. Aguilar said this in response to Diokno's comment on President Duterte’s comparison of him to the musician and in saying that Aguilar would be a better senator than him in a speech in Koronadal City, South Cotabato. "I can accept that Freddie Aguilar is a better singer than me. I would have accepted the President's opinion that Freddie Aguilar is a better fit in the Senate than me if the Senate was a karaoke bar. In the Senate, we write laws," Diokno told reporters. Aguilar argued that he has represented the country and gave significant contributions to the Philippine music industry. He then bared his plan to create a jury system to equalize the law between the rich and the poor should he win the elections, and challenged Diokno to list his contributions to the country from the 1980s up to present. "Baket hindi naisip ni Diokno 'yan? Bakit nanggaling yan sa isang katulad ko? Anong ginawa ng mga attorney tulad ni Diokno from 1980 to 2019? Ako, matagal ko na ginagawa (Why did Diokno not think of the jury system? Why did it come from someone like me? What have attorneys like Diokno done from 1980 to 2019? I have been contributing to the country for a long time now)," Aguilar said.