“Irreverent” Santo Niño post draws netizens’ ire

An edited photo of the Sto. Niño appears on the Facebook account of a certain Max Namara. The controversial picture and a two-worded comment posted by Manila-based tour guide Carlos Celdran drew flak on social media for insulting the Catholic faith and the country’s oldest religious icon. (FB POST)

When does vehement political opposition cross the line between pure freedom of expression and plain profanity?

An edited online photo of the Sto. Niño de Cebu whose face was altered to that of President Rodrigo Duterte has earned the ire of Cebuano netizens and devotees of the Child Jesus who were slighted by the uncanny depiction of Duterte taking the form of Cebu’s most precious religious icon.

The photo posted by a certain Max Namara on his Facebook account generated angry comments from netizens for the irreverence that it showed and for a remark on the post by Manila-based tour guide, Carlos Celdran, a known anti-Duterte activist.

“Pwet Señor,” said Celdran in relation to the controversial meme which is now widely viewed as a lame attempt to satirize what Duterte critics believe to be blind devotion to the new President by his loyal supporters.

“The meme is tasteless, insensitive and moronic!” said Nat Bacalzo, one of several netizens slighted by the post.

Cebu Flash Report, a private citizen journalism news page, reposted the controversial photo and lambasted the person behind it, as well as Celdran.

“Really condemning this kind of doing! Grabe naman sad mga tawhana. Kung wala moy respeto ni Duterte, pagbilin pud mo ug respeto sa ubang relihiyon tawn (This is too much. If you don’t respect Duterte, can’t you at least respect the religion of other people)?” the post read.

To which Celdran responded in the comments section with: “I’m actually at Henry hotel in Cebu right now… Come say hello.”

Reacting to Celdran’s remark, one person advised him to “Watch out. Some people can be passionate and I know you’ve seen that. Here’s to hoping you’ll go home in one piece though!”

The altered Santo Niño photo and Celdran’s two-word comment were both viewed as an attack on the Catholic faith and Cebu’s historical icon by many Cebuanos who took their sentiments to social media.

Rajah Rama Nuñez wrote an open letter to Celdran and posted it on FB.

“When you said “Pwet Señor” you didn’t only insult the president but all the devoted Cebuanos who look up to this holy figure. Now that I’ve said my piece and now that you’ve mentioned “Pwet,” let me just ask you, how would you feel if somebody calls you Mr. Carlos CeldrASS?” he said.

Cebuano lawyer Kirk Bryan Repollo also expressed disgust over what he said was a repulsive and blatant irreverence of the Sto. Niño—the oldest religious icon in the Philippines and a symbol of Christianity.

“Ano bang ginawa naming mga bisaya sayo ?#?CarlosCeldran? ?#?Carlos? ?#?Celdran? para gawin mo ito sa Sto. Niño namin? Maliban sa malaking kontribusyon ng Sinulog Festival namin sa turismo at ekonomiya ng ating bansa, ang Sto. Niño namin ang palaging nagbibigay ng proteksyon sa amin (What have we, Bisaya done to you for you to do that to our Santo Niño? Aside from the huge contribution of our Sinulog Festival to our country’s tourism and the economy, it is the Santo Niño that gives us protection),” he said in his online post.

The image of the Sto. Niño was given by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to Cebu’s Queen Juana after Asia’s first Christian baptism in 1521.

The over 400-year-old icon is venerated by devotees inside the centuries-old basilica in downtown Cebu City.

Sought for comment, Celdran said he didn’t mean to discredit the Sto. Niño and the Cebuanos.

“I didn’t make the picture with Digong’s face on the Santo Niño meme. And ‘Pwet Señor’ was meant for Digong, not for the Santo Niño,” he told Cebu Daily News while refusing to elaborate.

But upon learning that several people were mad at him, Celdran posted on his FB account, “seems I offended the religious feelings of#?Cebu??#?dutertopia,” and later clarified with a lengthier, “Sigh. I can see my family’s hometown, Cebu, is all up in arms. Allow me to make a clarification then about this whole “Pwet Señor” issue. Look at the meme done by a certain “Max Namara.” Is that the Santo Niño you see? No it is not. It’s a picture of Digong superimposed on the Santo Niño. Therefore, it is NOT an image of the Santo Niño at all,” Celdran explained.

“So if we follow logic, my reply/comment: “Pwet Señor was aimed at Digong and NOT at the Santo Niño at all. But then again, if you cannot tell the difference between the two, that isn’t my problem anymore,” Celdran added.

Reacting to Celdran’s post, netizen Ren Concepcion said, “RESPECT BEGETS RESPECT. I don’t mind reading the exchange of thoughts in your page albeit the negativity and your selective criticisms but when you have crossed the line, expect retaliation on a different level. Stop whining. You’ve brought this on yourself somehow.”

Fr. Jonas Mejares, OSA, former rector of the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño and now the parish priest of the Sto. Niño Church in Mohon, Talisay City, was saddened by the apparent disrespect towards the Child Jesus but encouraged the faithful to stay calm.

“It’s a sad thing to know that the oldest religious icon in our country is being disrespected. However, let us not allow our hearts and minds to be driven by hatred and fight back with un-Christian words,” he said in a message to CDN.

“Let us be united in our stand and strong belief that we are armed with values and virtues, especially that of love, as taught to us by the Holy Child, in fighting our adversaries. After all, a believer can never be alone,” he added.

Msgr. Joseph Tan, media liaison officer of the Archdiocese of Cebu, said the supposed sacrilegious postings on social media may have been done mindlessly without consideration of the religious sentiments of many or the implied malice directed at the Christian faith.

“But while the offended viewers may want to comment and react, I encourage Catholics to say a prayer for the perpetrators and not react in anger,” he told the Inquirer.

“Our capacity to forgive will offer a better reaction to this irreverence directed at the person of the Lord Jesus who himself while on earth was treated with grievous disdain and intense violence but did not fight back at anyone,” he added.

In 2012, Celdran was convicted by the Manila Metropolitan Trial Court for offending religious feelings under Article 133 of the Revised Penal Code after disrupting an ecumenical service at the Manila Cathedral on September 30, 2010.

Celdran romped into the church raising a “Damaso” placard to protest against the Catholic Church’s fierce opposition to the reproductive health measure, which was then still a bill.

The name “Damaso” was in reference to the oppressive friar in national hero Dr. José Rizal’s novel “Noli Me Tangere,”

For that stunt, Celdran was meted with a minimum penalty of two months and 21 days to a maximum of one year, one month and 11 days of imprisonment.

Celdran’s appeal on the decision is now pending before Supreme Court.