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Social Media 2020: Netizens react to a roller-coaster year

Gaby Baizas

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Social Media 2020: Netizens react to a roller-coaster year
Frustrated and exasperated, Filipinos have taken to social media to cope with the barrage of bad news

Let’s cut to the chase – 2020 was a wild ride from start to finish.

From the coronavirus pandemic to the ABS-CBN shutdown to the repeated clampdown on dissent, terrible headlines came one after the other throughout the year.

Frustrated and exasperated, Filipinos took to social media to cope with the barrage of bad news, expressing their disappointment, demanding accountability, and cracking jokes.

Here’s a rundown of 2020’s major events that got on netizens’ nerves:

January

Despite the looming threat of the coronavirus, the Philippine government did not yet consider imposing a temporary travel ban on tourists coming from mainland China, where the first-ever cases of the virus were recorded. 

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III argued it would be unfair if only Chinese tourists were barred from entering the Philippines, when coronavirus cases had also been confirmed in other countries.

The very next day, the first case of coronavirus was recorded in the country on January 30 – the patient was a traveler coming from Wuhan, China.

Netizens were quick to criticize the government for refusing to ban travels to and from mainland China. Filipinos said the government’s actions – or the lack of it – would kill Filipinos faster than the virus could.

https://twitter.com/manalastasmarky/status/1222804215354941440
March

It was only over a month later that the government would impose a lockdown on Metro Manila on March 15, in a bid to arrest the spread of the coronavirus. The lockdown later extended to cover the entire island of Luzon starting March 17.

The lockdown was ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte in an evening address, which left Filipinos with more questions than answers. (READ: Questions Filipinos are asking about the coronavirus lockdown)

With the lockdown came Duterte’s regular addresses, where the President typically updated the nation with the government’s plans on addressing the coronavirus crisis. Duterte’s regular broadcasts were notorious for airing at ridiculously late times, with some addresses airing as late as 7 hours past the original schedule.

The hashtag #DuterteStandardTime trended March 30, with netizens taking a jab at Duterte’s growing reputation as the “late” president.

https://twitter.com/KeftQuiet/status/1244651733365723136
May

Education became a hot topic during the quarantine, as students, teachers, and parents debated the best ways to resume classes amid the pandemic. The Department of Education (DepEd) initially considered opening classes in August, while the Commission on Higher Education said colleges and universities were free to adjust their academic calendars.

When DepEd announced classes would resume on August 24, netizens questioned its feasibility given that several families were affected by the pandemic in terms of income. Others noted that not every family had the resources at home to attend online classes.

ABS-CBN, the Philippines’ largest broadcasting network, was ordered to halt operations on May 5, a day after the expiration of its congressional franchise.

The media giant’s shutdown did not only put its workers at risk, but also left its viewers in the dark at a time when public access to information was crucial.

https://twitter.com/kipoebanda/status/1257594240869122048
https://twitter.com/MABuendiaHD/status/1257597036460781568

Then-Metro Manila police chief Debold Sinas made waves online when dozens of policemen gathered for his infamous mañanita on May 8, in violation of lockdown rules. “Law is law” quickly trended on Twitter as Filipinos called out the administration’s double standards in implementing laws and policies during the pandemic.

Of course, the mañanita also gave birth to memes as netizens made fun of the whole fiasco.

Later in the month, on May 29, a House joint committee adopted the tougher anti-terror bill to replace the Human Security Act of 2007. The hashtag #JunkTerrorBill quickly topped Twitter’s trending topics in the Philippines on the same day, with netizens highlighting the importance of dissent.

August

In a weird turn of events, an ostrich was spotted running free in a Quezon City village on August 4. Tweets and posts about the ostrich quickly trended online as Filipinos relished the brief comic break amid recent morbid affairs.

Just 10 days before the slated August opening of classes, DepEd moved the opening of school year 2020-2021 to October 5, 2020. While netizens were thankful for the postponement, they felt that delaying the opening of classes to 2021 or freezing the academic year altogether would be more appropriate solutions.

Others also said the postponement would only be a “band-aid” solution if proper response to the pandemic, such as mass testing, were not implemented.

https://twitter.com/AltMAdrianPuse/status/1294150712281112577
September

Netizens once again questioned the government’s priorities after workers were seen preparing dolomite sand for the rehabilitation of Manila Bay in September. Filipinos believed the money could have been spent on more urgent matters, especially in the middle of a pandemic.

http://twitter.com/kaloyyskie/status/1301389766928158720

Later in the month, the Manila Bay white sand project broke the internet once again with the Manila Bay challenge.

https://twitter.com/macoydubs1/status/1307624989802127360
November

In a late-night address on November 17, President Duterte hogged air time to publicly rant about Leni Robredo, spewing sexist remarks and false claims about the Vice President following the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses (Vamco).

Filipinos criticized Duterte for attempting to discredit Robredo’s disaster response efforts and for hurling uncalled-for comments towards the Vice President.

The hashtags #DuterteMeltdown and #NasiraanAngPangulo – a play on #NasaanAngPangulo – also shortly trended after Duterte’s public address.

https://twitter.com/julesechem/status/1328737854789337088

Read the rest of Rappler’s 2020 netizens reaction stories here:

– Rappler.com

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Gaby Baizas

Gaby Baizas is a digital forensics researcher at Rappler. She first joined Rappler straight out of college as a digital communications specialist. She hopes people learn to read past headlines the same way she hopes punk never dies.
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