How to kill a meme feat. Harry Roque

The meme is dead, long live the meme.

Memes are basically our form of communication. Can’t spell out what we’re feeling? Send a meme. Feeling burned out? Send a meme. Tired of people-in-power’s B.S. Send that fucking meme, ma’am.

That’s why we have social media meme grails like @reactionroll or amazing parody pages like @MalacananEvents. It’s our generation’s way of communicating our spectrum of emotions. And in a socio-political sense, our thoughts and frustrations.

So what happens when the subject of a meme joins in on the fun?

Pack it up. Corny na.

Laughing at ourselves is cute. And when people behind the meme pokes fun at themselves, it usually makes it more wholesome. But it’s a different vibe when a political person jumps on the bandwagon of their own meme.

Enter Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.

On Wednesday, Roque went viral for inviting GCQ and MGCQ residents to come to Boracay in the middle of a pandemic. “Panahon na po para tayo naman po ay magbakasyon matapos ang napakatagal na lockdown lalong lalo na sa Metro Manila,” says Roque. “Nagaantay na po ang pinakamagandang beach sa buong mundo. Boracay, open for business.”

WATCH: Secretary Harry Roque invites residents from GCQ and MGCQ areas to come to Boracay. | via @_iancruz pic.twitter.com/tByUxQStGr

— GMA News (@gmanews) October 4, 2020

He even shot a video inviting tourists to go to Boracay. With current coronavirus cases at 331,869, we are far from kicking back and letting the pandemic blow over. This frustration led to some hilarious memes from his Boracay invitation video.

We’re laughing at the fact that in the middle of a pandemic, tourism and white sand are somehow priorities instead of flattening the curve (s/o to Manila Bay’s dolomite game).

So as a way to amp up his PR game, Roque played along. He reacted to memes on his official Facebook page and even did the classic caption “CTTO” (credits to the owner).

“Sa panahon ng pandemya eh natutuwa ako na kahit papano mayroon tayong kontribusyon para maaliw ang ating mga kababayan,” explains Roque on PTV. “Kailangan po talaga natin na magkaroon ng konting aliw dahil alam niyo naman ang mensahe ng Presidente, bagama’t nandiyan ang COVID-19 kaya po natin mabuhay in spite and despite.”

Uhm, someone’s missing the point here. These memes aren’t some lighthearted BS you can just laugh alongside others with. We’re not laughing at the dad pose you did in Boracay. We’re laughing at the fact that in the middle of a pandemic, tourism and white sand are somehow priorities instead of flattening the curve (s/o to Manila Bay’s dolomite game).

Last August, we officially had the most COVID-cases in Southeast Asia. And every day our cases are increasing. so if we want #GoodVibesLang, reviving tourism isn’t the tea.

I echo a lot of Twitter rats’ sentiments. Pack it up. Corny na.

Art by Jan Cardasto