
DAVAO CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Davao Bureau) – Presumptive Vice President Inday Sara Duterte has been designated by Presumptive President Bongbong Marcos as his Secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd).
In an exclusive interview with The Adobo Chronicles, Duterte said that within her first 100 days in office as DepEd Secretary, she will mandate that all high schools and universities in the Philippines must include satire as a required subject.
Duterte lamented the fact that despite Filipinos being among the most Internet and social media savvy in the world, many still don’t recognize or understand satire. She says even Maria Ressa and Rappler can’t tell the difference between satire and fake news, notwithstanding the fact that the least-trusted news brand in the Philippines headed by a convicted criminal is, itself, accused of being a purveyor of fake news and of being a propagandist for the country’s political opposition.
At the same time, Duterte congratulated The Adobo Chronicles for being ranked No. 17 among the world’s satire sites. It is the only Filipino American site included in the list.
Duterte also appealed to Facebook and its fact checkers in the Philippines to do their homework and perhaps take a refresher course on satire, parody and sarcasm which are all universally-recognized forms of literature protected under free speech.