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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Garin tears down 'laway, sipon' memes that mock House prosecutors

Garin tears down 'laway, sipon' memes that mock House prosecutors

Published Jul 10, 2026 02:27 pm

At A Glance

  • Deputy Speaker Janette Garin criticizes memes mocking prosecutors' physical appearance during Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial.
  • She stresses that saliva or colds are normal and not signs of dishonesty, calling such ridicule "bullying".
  • Garin urges netizens to avoid personal attacks and focus on the substantive issues before the impeachment court.
Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin (PPAB)
Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin (PPAB)


House Deputy Speaker Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin lamented on Friday, July 10 the memes on personal attacks against prosecutors that have tainted public discourse on the all-important impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte.
“Unang una, ikinagugulat ko bakit ba tayo pumupunta sa ganung kababang discourse,” Garin said during a press conference on Friday, July 10.
(First of all, it shocks me why we have gone this low in terms of discourse.)
Garin, a doctor by profession, was referring to social media posts and memes that circulated after the first week of trial.
In these posts, supporters of Duterte ridiculed lead prosecutor Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro over her visible saliva while she delivered the prosecution’s opening statement.
Private prosecutor Amando Virgil Ligutan was also made the target of such post after he appeared to have a runny nose during the panel's presentation of evidence.
“Saliva is part of a normal person. At kapag medyo nade-dehydrate ka, o ikaw ay umiinom ng maintenance medications, kaakibat nito ay talagang medyo nagkakaroon ng dryness. Normal ba ito? Yes! So why focus on that?” said Garin.
The former Department of Health (DOH) secretsry flatly rejected claims online that saliva or colds were signs of dishonesty.
“Never in the history of the medical community has colds or sipon been a cause of lying,” she stressed.
According to her, these personal attacks divert attention from the issues being deliberated before the Senate impeachment court.
“Hindi rin natin pwedeng i-focus sa laway o kung anuman ’yan, kasi ang tanong doon, tama ba ang sinasabi nila? Nagsisinungaling ba ‘yung ating mga abogado at ‘yung ating mga prosecutors? Ginagawa ba nila ang kanilang tungkulin?” Garin asked.
(We also cannot focus on saliva or whatever that is, because the question there is, are they saying the right things? Are our lawyers and prosecutors lying? Are they doing their duty?)
The deputy speaker called out these acts by Duterte supporters as "bullying".
“Kailangan bang pagtawanan ‘yan? (Do we need to laugh at the that?) No! It’s actually bullying. The prosecutors are just doing their job,” she noted.
Garin advised netizens to stop spreading such memes and misinformation and instead, elevate the discussion to the merits of the impeachment case.
“Andyan na ‘yung impeachment court. Ipagpatuloy, tuldukan at sagutin ang mga dapat sagutin. Huwag ilihis. Let us avoid personal attacks. Let us focus on the issue at hand,” Garin said.
(The impeachment court is already there. Continue, conclude, and answer what must be answered. Do not divert. Let us avoid personal attacks. Let us focus on the issue at hand.)

Related Tags

Janette Garin Impeachment Sara Duterte Amando Virgil Ligutan Gerville \"Jinky Bitrics\" Luistro Laway Sipon Memes
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