Senatorial candidate Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. dancing the budot? You better believe it.
Netizens are now slamming his new campaign video, wherein he animatedly dances to budot, a partly cute, partly comical dance routine that first gained popularity in Mindanao a few years ago. The campaign video was posted online late last month but has gained more attention as next Monday’s elections draw near.
Filipino politicians usually use humor to appeal to voters and Revilla is not an exception. He has become a magnet of public criticism after he was acquitted of plunder charges by the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan in December, a decision slammed by many netizens.
Revilla, who’s also known as an actor, was accused of pocketing PHP224 million (US$4,257,505.55) of his pork barrel fund when he was a senator. He has repeatedly said he was innocent of corruption and refused to return the millions that he allegedly stole from the government. Ironically, he said he supports punishing those found guilty of graft and corruption with the death penalty.
He also said that those who falsely accuse politicians of plunder also deserve the death penalty. He said it was because of these false accusers that his family’s life was ruined.
Below is Revilla’s video as it appears on his official YouTube account. He’s dancing the budot with a few children and his son, Cavite Vice Governor Jolo Revilla.
Revilla tried to be cute but the netizens on his YouTube channel do not appear to be amused by his antics.
Arturo Jimenez wrote: “He’s made a fool out of Filipinos. After stealing, he’s just going to dance the budot.”
Another netizen using the name Mr. Lello 333 referenced Revilla’s plunder case when he called him the “Man of Steal.”
On Twitter, @IJ_Capin joked that the video gave him cancer.
Bong Revilla’s campaign ad is basically a budots music video and it just gave me cancer. 🙃
— Ivan Capin (@IJ_Capin) May 1, 2019
@RolandR19327469 thinks that Revilla’s ad was his way of his mocking his critics because despite allegedly stealing millions of pesos, he’s free and is running for elections once again.
Bong Revilla’s political ad, to me, looks like he’s not campaigning for votes at all; but rather mocking his critics that despite hundreds of millions he had stolen, he’s out of jail, very much alive and kicking, ready to steal again and again and again and again, ad infinitum. https://t.co/EocFgfTTBc
— Leandro Rivas (@RolandR19327469) May 5, 2019
@anjpessumal said that Revilla danced the budot to appeal to the poor so he could allegedly steal from them.
Bong Revilla dances budots to get the votes of the poor so he can steal from them. What a fucking idiot
— Anj (@anjpessumal) May 5, 2019
In March, Revilla became the butt of netizens’ jokes when The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that an unidentified person threw a plastic water bottle at him (and barely missed) when he appeared at the Panagbenga Festival in Baguio City.
Revilla showed up with other candidates despite organizers’ rule that campaigning was prohibited during the annual festival.
Despite his acquittal in December, Revilla is not totally off the hook because he’s still facing 16 counts of graft at the Sandiganbayan, reported Rappler.
While facing numerous charges, Revilla has a good chance to be re-elected into the Senate this year. A survey released last month showed that he was among the top 10 candidates.
