Showbiz columnist Ogie Diaz recently shared a video clip of a privileged speech delivered by a Palawan Provincial Board official concerning the declaration of “persona non grata” against vloggers Rendon Labador and Rosmar Tan. This decision follows their confrontation with a female municipal staff member in Coron, Palawan.
The two social media personalities, part of “Team Malakas,” were declared persona non grata throughout Palawan after a viral rant post by a municipal employee against them. This post was later deleted, and the employee issued an apology.
According to a report on Tuesday, June 18, the Palawan Provincial Board approved Board Member Juan Antonio E. Alvarez’s proposal to declare Team Malakas persona non grata in the region. In the video shared by Ogie, Hon. Rafael V. Ortega, Jr. expressed his support for Alvarez’s proposal, emphasizing that the persona non grata status alone was not enough, especially for Rendon, who had shouted at Jho Trinidad, the employee who posted the rant.
The official stated that even if the employee made a mistake, it was not sufficient reason to shout at her inside the municipal hall. Initially, he had not seen the viral video, but after discussing and watching it, he felt a sense of indignation and pity for the female employee. He could not believe that a muscular man would shout at a woman in front of others in the municipal hall.
Aside from disrespecting the woman, the incident also took place in the municipal mayor’s office and across the whole province of Palawan. “His disrespect was not only to a woman but also to the office of the municipal mayor of Coron and the whole of Palawan. Such famous people are not welcome in Palawan if they insult a Palaweno, even if the comment was a mistake, especially if it was made by a woman, because she spoke as a private citizen, not as a staff of the municipal mayor,” explained the official.
Thus, they are considering the possibility of filing an “oral defamation” case against Rendon. Ortega suggested that declaring someone persona non grata is merely an expression of sentiment, and they should explore legal options, potentially including oral defamation or other greater offenses.
Ogie Diaz remarked, “Rosmar’s kindness is now overlooked. Rendon’s motivational talks have also been forgotten.” Meanwhile, Team Malakas, particularly Rendon, has not yet responded officially to the suggestion of filing an oral defamation case, although they have issued a public apology for the incident and have reacted to their persona non grata declaration.