THE Quezon City Council has approved a resolution seeking to declare actress-comedian Ai-Ai delas Alas and cinematographer Darryl Yap as persona non grata after allegedly maliciously and unscrupulously “defacing” the official seal of the city.The resolution was filed by outgoing District 4 Councilor Ivy Lagman based on the video posted on Yap’s Facebook page, Vincentiments.“The malicious and unscrupulous defacing of the official seal of Quezon City ridiculed and [cast] dishonor to it, causing insult to the noble representation of the seal,” the resolution stated.“The people of Quezon City will not let anyone disgrace the official seal of Quezon City for personal and selfish interests,” it added.In the video, which was posted on April 29, Delas Alas portrayed a character named “Ligaya Delmonte,” an apparent impersonation of Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte.Behind the character was Quezon City’s official triangular seal with edited text saying “BBM” and “Sara.”In a Facebook post, Yap said: “Bagamat ang deklarasyong ‘persona non grata’ ay isang resolusyon at hindi ordinansa; walang kaakibat na batas –hindi po natin ito babale-walain; bibigyan natin ito ng pansin. Magandang gabi po sa inyong lahat.”Delas Alas has yet to comment on the matter.In a Facebook post, Lagman said she hopes that this will serve as a lesson for content creators to think twice before posting anything on social media.“That freedom of expression is not absolute. Hindi naman basta-basta nalang po na pwede tayo mag post ng mga gusto natin na hindi man lang pinag isipan mabuti kung ano ang mga laman ng mga pinalalabas natin sa mga tao,” she said.“Kung ang freedom of expression mo ay hindi minsan nararapat — katulad ng pagsayaw mo habang pinapatugtog ang national anthem o ang paggamit sa Philippine Flag ng hindi tama, etc., huwag natin itong gawing laging rason para lang mambastos,” she added.Lagman maintained, though, that the resolution has nothing to do with incoming President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio.Yap and Delas Alas publicly expressed support to the tandem ahead of the just concluded 2022 national and local elections. (SunStar Philippines)