Davao Council Condemns Vice Ganda’s “Jet Ski Holiday” Punchline

DAVAO CITY — The 21st Davao City Council has fired back at comedian Vice Ganda after his controversial “jet ski” joke targeting former President Rodrigo Duterte lit up social media — and not in a good way.

On Tuesday, August 12, the council approved a resolution condemning the comedian’s remarks, following demands from Duterte supporters to declare Vice persona non grata in the city. The move came after a proposal by Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, who said the condemnation was enough to send a strong message without a formal ban.

The firestorm erupted after Vice, during a concert with Regine Velasquez, turned the viral “Jet2Holiday” meme into a pointed swipe at Duterte’s unfulfilled campaign promise to ride a jet ski to the West Philippine Sea. He didn’t stop there — the punchline also imagined the former president locked up in an International Criminal Court detention cell in The Hague, Netherlands.

The gag drew laughs from the crowd, but in Duterte’s hometown, it hit a nerve. Loyalists quickly took to social media, flooding comment sections with calls to boycott Vice’s endorsements and demanding the city shut its doors on him.

“This is not just a joke — it’s an insult to the people who respect our former president,” one angry supporter posted.

While some council members wanted a tougher stance, Dayanghirang stressed that the resolution’s official condemnation was already a strong rebuke. Still, the incident has exposed the deep political fault lines that remain in Davao, where Duterte’s name still commands fierce loyalty.

As the backlash grows, Vice Ganda has yet to issue a public statement — but in Davao City, the message from officials is loud and clear: some jokes just don’t fly here.