Only in the Philippines.
A personality involved in a scandal amounting to billions in public funds has inspired laughter.
Sarah Discaya, under Senate scrutiny for alleged graft and her eye-popping fleet of luxury cars, has become famous not only for the controversy but for her apparent likeness to Michael V.
The comedian, known for his timing, has since acted on the same unveiling his “Ciala Dismaya” spoof on “Bubble Gang.”
Why do Filipinos laugh even as they seethe? Well, because humor is survival.
When corruption feels endless, parody becomes protest. As one netizen put it, “Sa dami ng binaha, buti na lang may tawa pa tayong makukuha.”
Laughter doesn’t cancel anger; it sharpens it. Michael V himself underscored the point of his impersonation: “Hindi para manira kundi para magpatawa.”
This isn’t new. From political cartoons of the American era to EDSA street jokes, satire has long been a people’s weapon. Mockery flips the script: the mighty become memes, the untouchable suddenly ridiculous. Seeing Discaya’s trademark mole and umbrella exaggerated on primetime TV reminds viewers that power can –and should –be questioned.
Critics worry that comedy dulls outrage.
Well, it’s true, laughter alone won’t recover the alleged stolen funds or rewrite procurement laws. But to banish parody is to silence one of the few civic pressures ordinary citizens can still exert.
Humor keeps the story alive when hearings drag and headlines fade.
And in a country where alleged plunderers often walk free, our ability to laugh at them is not weakness, it is resilience.
