AiAi delas Alas apologizes to Mayor Joy Belmonte after being declared persona non grata in QC

AiAi delas Alas apologized to Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte after she was declared persona non grata for supposedly “disrespecting” the city’s official seal in a social media video.

On Friday’s “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda,” the comedienne said she did not intend to hurt anyone. 

“Pasensya na, Mayora, na ako pala ay nakasakit sa’yo pero artista lang ako. Kumbaga kaya ko ginawa ‘yon kasi inutos lang sa’kin,” she said. “Ayoko naman po talagang nakakasakit.”

“Mayora, alam mo, dapat hindi ka na magtatampo sa’kin kasi ‘pag nagtampo ka sa’kin parang, nag tampo ka sa sarili mo eh diba magkamukha tayo?” she jokingly added.

According to AiAi, she did her best to keep the video non-offensive, adding she was only playing the role of an artist.

“Nung ginawa ko po ‘yon, bilang artista po tapos sila naman po ang gumawa ng script,” she said. “Ang iba po do’n, talagang pina-edit ko kasi alam ko, baka ma-offend si Mayora.”

AiAi was declared personae non gratae in Quezon City along with director Darryl Yap in 2022, after she played the character of “Mayor Ligaya Delmonte” with the official triangular seal of Quezon City altered with “BBM” and “Sara” seen in the background.

Then, her camp said the video was “clearly a satire, a parody.” Her camp also found it “unfortunate that the city council is nitpicking to find a basis to curb freedom of expression in the guide of defending a perceived dishonor.” — LA, GMA Integrated News