"No hard feelings."
This was the reaction of controversial director Darryl Yap after he and comedienne AiAi delas Alas were declared persona non grata by the Quezon City Council on Tuesday, June 7, in an approved resolution, filed by District IV Councilor Ivy Lagman, for allegedly disrespecting the city's seal.
Lagman’s resolution stemmed from the two-minute, 21-second video posted on Darryl's Vincentiments’ Facebook Page, featuring AiAi portraying the character “Ligaya Delmonte”.
In an interview with SMNI, Darryl said: "Mayor Joy Belmonte is a friend of Senator Imee Marcos and I’m completely aware of that. And Mayor Joy, way back then, a month ago, was in a race kontra naman kay Sir Mike Defensor."
"I don’t actually feel any hard feelings, or I don’t bear any ill feelings to Mayor Belmonte because she is entitled to feel offended or feel like inasar siya or nilait siya or anything," he added.
Mayor Belmonte won as Quezon City mayor for a second term after beating Defensor.
"Naniniwala ako na yung pagsampa sa amin, sorry hindi ko po nakuha yung pangalan ng natalong councilor kasi alam ko po, talo na yun, e... Anyways, kung sinuman yung natalong councilor na nag-file na kami po ay persona non grata, alam niyo po ang persona non grata, it means na I am not welcome in Quezon City anymore. I am an unwelcomed person," he said.
"To be fair, ayoko naman magmukhang nagmamalaki pa ako kahit sabihin ko na hindi ako taga-Quezon City because I’m from Mandaluyong. I have a condo in Mandaluyong and in Taguig pero I have friends in Quezon City. I have clients in Quezon City. So will it affect me? I think so," Darryl added.
"But Nanay Ai-Ai, si Ma’am Ai-Ai delas Alas po is a resident of Quezon City. I think she will be surprised. Nasa Amerika siya ngayon."
Darryl believes that there's another reason why the other camp was offended.
"Sa palagay ko, ang ikina-offend na matulis, sa palagay ko bukod sa logo, may iba pa at yun ay hindi ko sila masisisi kasi triangle, e, kaya matulis ang logo ng Quezon City. Pero when you do a spoof, when you do a satire, you don’t completely erase the one that you’re spoofing.
"Kapag halimbawa, ikaw ay gumagawa ng mga spoof o satire, hindi mo talaga completely one hundred percent na inilalayo ang subject mo para makuha ng tao, ma gets nung tao.
"So ngayon, hindi ko alam kung ano ang kahindik-hindik o hindi magandang matatanggap ng aming content mula sa mga taga-Quezon City. Sabagay, mamaya kapag naglabas kami ng official statement, ang aming 27% of viewers ay from Quezon City and the traction of the page is very much welcome in Quezon City.
"My presence is actually felt not physically in Quezon City but in social media. I don’t think they can declare my social media presence and my relevance non grata in Quezon City."
"So with that, I completely accept the repercussions of what I did. But then again, they have the power to do that and I also have the power to do things my way, so no hard feelings."
Darryl said the "persona non grata" tag is "immature," "elementary," and rudimentary."
"This Ligaya Delmonte is part of the colorful tactics in Philippine politics. I find it very immature. I find it very elementary. I find it very rudimentary for these politicians to actually take it personally," he said. "Sa palagay ko, mas marami silang mga ginawang hindi katanggap-tanggap para gawing unwelcome. Pero just like what I’ve said, lahat tayo ay may kalayaan. Kung ‘yan ang kanilang tingin o pakiwari o palagay, ako po ay walang magagawa duon."
"Isa lamang po itong pagpapatunay, pagpapatotoo, at pagpapahalaga na ang aking mga video, pelikula man o maigsing video na aming ina-upload sa Vincentiments ay may relevance, makatotohanan, tinatanggap ng madla," he added. "At ang kanila pong pag-aray, dito sa aming - sabi nila ay pagyurak daw sa matulis na bagay na ito na tatsulok na ito, iyan po ay kanilang kalayaan. At ang aking pagkakaroon ng follow-up video ay nasasaklaw din sa kalayaan ko bilang alagad ng sining at isang content creator."
Darryl noted that his presence will not be declared unwelcomed on social media as long as people are sharing it.
"As long as people are feeling the good vibes and the positivity of each contents, naniniwala ako na welcome ako sa kahit na sino, kahit taga-Quezon City pa ‘yan," he said.