A popular furniture company was perceived to throw shade at the controversial children’s book that became the subject of the Senate deliberations for the proposed 2025 budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
IKEA on Thursday promoted an owl table lamp with the caption:
“A good light is a friend for better sleep. (owl emoji) #WakeUpItsTimeToSleep #IKEAPhilippines”
It also contains a text within the post that says: “A friend.”
The post has earned 21,000 laugh reactions, 4,800 shares and over 650 comments so far, with some Filipinos thinking it is a “shade” at Vice President Sara Duterte‘s controversial children’s book.
“Subtle. I love it,” a Facebook user wrote.
“Oh, the shade..” another user commented with an owl emoji.
“The shadiest lamp shade ever,” wrote a different Pinoy with a laughing emoji.
“Loving the shade of this lamp. Very friendly, indeed,” another user commented.
The book
The owl and the “friend” text in IKEA’s post were perceived to be an allusion to Duterte’s “Isang Kaibigan,” an illustrated 16-page children’s book about an owl being helped by a parrot following a storm.
The theme centers on friendship and how true friends never leave each other in times of need.
The book caused controversy as the OVP requested a P10 million budget for it.
Duterte’s office is seeking a budget of P2.037 billion for next year, which is said to be 8.05% more than its 2024 budget.
When opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros asked for more details about the book, the vice president said the lawmaker appeared to be “politicizing.”
Duterte also said that the book was not for sale and that only the publication would be paid.
A day after the Senate budget deliberation, Hontiveros shared that she had already received a copy of the book.
RELATED: Hontiveros uses trending ‘very demure’ phrase in post about Duterte’s children’s book
Duterte said that “Isang Kaibigan” would be followed by another children’s book which is about a friend’s betrayal.
She said the project aims to encourage children to love reading and writing stories.
