Ogie, a name that may refer to the talent manager or Regine Velasquez’s husband, trended on Twitter after a picture of anti-SOGIE protesters holding what Filipinos perceived to read as “Not So Ogie” went viral.
The picture featured a banner that was supposed to read as “No to SOGIE” but social media users read it differently because of how the letters were placed, including the heaviness of the ink.
A Twitter user even asked what Ogie Diaz (Liza Soberano’s talent manager) or Ogie Alcasid (Regine Velasquez’s husband) might have done that would’ve prompted such a protest.
“Anong ginawa ni Ogie?” user @shoujoem wrote, sharing the picture.
It immediately became viral that memes were soon created out of it.
Not so Ogie from Philippines
The picture even reached one of the Ogies, Ogie Diaz himself, who shared it on his Facebook timeline and jokingly captioned, “‘Yung nag-ra-rally sila dahil hindi ko kamukha?”
The picture was traced to Facebook user Jon Sastrillo, who shared that an anti-SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity or Expression) protest happened in Dumaguete City.
Other Facebook users also read it as “Not so Ogie,” based on the comments section of the post.
What happened?
What Sastrillo took photos of were actually people involved in a prayer rally against the SOGIE bill initiated by the Dumaguete chapter of the Jesus Is Lord (JIL) Church, a Protestant church in the Philippines.
Their battle cry was, “Yes to family, no to SOGIE bill,” as featured in their banners.
The banner that was perceived to read as “Not so Ogie” was included in JIL’s album.
It could be seen on the right side of a particular shot, behind another group of people holding a similar banner.
On that day, prayer rallies were also held in Bulacan and Pasay City, specifically outside the Senate building where SOGIE bill principal author Sen. Risa Hontiveros holds office.
Some of the groups who protested against the bill are members of the Christian Coalition for Righteousness, Justice and Truth or CCRJT and organizations under the Christian Ministers Council of Bulacan.
CCRJT believes that the bill would destroy the Filipino family which is the basic unit of society.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who is against the bill’s passage, assured the Christian groups by saying that “at least 15” senators are also against SOGIE.
“As a matter of fact, you would be surprised, but I would rather not name them now, but when the proper time comes I will. A great majority (of them is against it); I would say at least 15,” he said.
The SOGIE bill acknowledges the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual community and protects them from perceived discrimination based on their sexual orientation.
Sen. Hontiveros previously argued that the proposed legislation is “the best policy tool to protect members of the LGBT community from discrimination, harassment and even violence.”
Certain provisions of the bill, however, have raised questions. Hontiveros said she is open to discuss these at legislative forums.