Recently, Filipino anchor Karen Davila and Senator Imee Marcos made talks after a viral clip of Davila’s one-on-one interview with the senator sparked controversy.
In the interview, Davila interviews Marcos regarding the incoming government and her specific plans in the senate. Things took a turn when a controversial remark from Marcos made the rounds online.
At around the 0:14 to 0:30 mark, Marcos made a ‘migration’ joke to Davila, which received a lot of online attention.
The senator said, “Good morning, Karen! It’s nice to see you’re still here in the Philippines. Akala ko magma-migrate ka ‘pag nanalo ang Marcos,” she joked.
Davila responded, “Hoping always for the best for the country,” and proceeded to give her congratulations to the senator’s brother, Bongbong Marcos, who recently won the Philippine presidency.
The exchange has caused controversies, with some speculations that Davila might have been ‘angered’ by what happened, as there might have been an implication of Davila supporting another candidate than Marcos.
Davila made it clear via a Facebook post that the speculations were false, and the senator sent her an apology after the interview.
“Napikon po ba ako? Hindi po. Sen Imee Marcos also sent me an apology by text after the show. All good. Salamat!” Davila captioned.
On Migrating After A Marcos Win
Based on Davila’s previous posts and comments online, there is no direct statement from the anchor for any plans on migration nor a biased statement for or against a certain candidate. Thus, the anchor clarified this via Facebook posts and retweets on Twitter.
It is known that during the campaign season for the 2022 elections, Davila clarified that she was not a ‘supporter’ of Bongbong Marcos, but was assigned to cover him for the election campaign as a journalist.
Netizens took this as she was supporting Marcos’ rival, Vice President Leni Robredo, especially when she wore a pink dress during a newscast episode. Pink is Robredo’s signature color for the 2022 elections. Davila later denied this, explaining that she wore pink because it “looks good on TV”.
Trolls Repost Interview Cuts
Meanwhile, the clip of the interview has still gone viral, with internet trolls feasting on several questionable cuts of the exchange between Davila and Marcos.
Rommel Lopez, a Filipino journalist, also posted a screenshot of search results on video platform YouTube, wherein trolls had posted several misleading cuts of the interview.
Here is just a sample of the search results in YouTube. pic.twitter.com/nPI0GFcqSc
— Rommel Lopez (@RommelFLopez) June 1, 2022
“Here is just a sample of the search results in YouTube,” Lopez said, in which Davila thanked him in the replies for clarifying the matter.
Trolls were uploading different angles of the exchange, mostly favoring Senator Marcos. Then, Lopez stated via Twitter that trolls were resharing the viral exchange, except that they cut the part where Davila said she was hoping for the best for the country.
This has led to Davila reposting the original video clip to “set the record straight”.
Lopez condemned the misleading clips uploaded by trolls, implying that these are “attacks” to journalists “who believe in a participative democracy and an accountable government.”
Davila closes rumors and speculations with a kind reminder to netizens.
In victory, resist the temptation to gloat. Graciousness is a class act.
— Karen Davila (@iamkarendavila) June 1, 2022
“In victory, resist the temptation to gloat. Graciousness is a class act,” she penned via Twitter.
Photo Credit: www.instagram.com/p/CdV4zixB_oC/, https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10157099116122431&set=a.420667736094919
Source: https://youtu.be/v1W3tQtkrKQ, https://twitter.com/RommelFLopez, https://www.instagram.com/iamkarendavila/, https://twitter.com/iamkarendavila, https://www.facebook.com/KarenDavilaOfficial
