Pinoy rap duo Yeng x Vin makes their feelings clear about presidential bet Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr.: “Vote you? Nope.”
The Paco-based rappers shared their rebuke of the candidacy of the late dictator’s son and namesake in their latest track, “Alamano.” Quoting Urban Dictionary, they wrote in the video description: “[Alamano is an] Ilocano word that means shake hands, commonly used by residents of Ilocos Provinces, La Union, and Cordillera Region. The word can also mean, in Ilocos, ‘old together.’ There are also few religious groups that do ‘alamano’ as a sign of respect to their members.” The Marcoses hail from Ilocos region, which is long considered to be a bailiwick of the political family. After a failed vice presidential run in 2016, Marcos, Jr. is running for the highest position in government in the May 2022 national elections in the Philippines.
The music video features an audio sample and clips from Marcos’s campaign rallies, interspersed with a dancing Harry Roque, a senatorial candidate running under the Marcos-Duterte ticket. Harry Roque was a former member of incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte’s cabinet and served as his presidential spokesperson and adviser on human rights. Last year, the International Criminal Court authorized an investigation into the Philippines’ deadly war on drugs.
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“Alamano” dropped on February 24, the eve of the country’s 36th anniversary of People Power, which overthrew the Marcoses from power following a two-decade regime, 14 years of which under Martial Law. During this period, “About 70,000 people were imprisoned and 34,000 tortured, according to Amnesty International, while 3,240 were killed from 1972 to 1981,” according to news outlet Rappler.
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Shortly after the single’s release, Yeng x Vin posted a meme of Spongebob Squarepants’ Mr. Krabs, which refers to the character mockingly playing a sad song. They wrote, “Sa mga na-offend sa kanta namin tungkol kay Bongbong Marcos, ito pakinggan niyo maganda ‘to.” (To those who were offended by our song about Bongbong Marcos, listen to this [meme], it’s good.”
