Flippin’ the Pusit at Sara. But Did She Flip First?

By Joey Salgado

Turning point moments are always identified by symbols. The clenched fist of activists, unfortunately hijacked by diehard Duterte supporters; the “L” hand sign for “Laban!” during the protest rallies of the 80s, the resurrected “V” hand sign of the politically victorious Marcos forces. 

Symbols are also used to indicate contempt. The most famous is the middle finger, politely described as flippin’ the bird. Recently at the House of Representatives, the congressmen didn’t exactly flip the bird at their nemesis, Vice President Sara Duterte. They flipped the pusit. 

Octopus, cuttlefish, squid. Collectively, they’re called cephalopods. But they’re all  pusit to you and me. We eat them grilled or raw as in kinilaw, soaked in vinegar, onions, pepper and sili. Goes well with cold beer. Calamares, too, fried and coated in breadcrumbs. Also goes well with beer. We also have adobong pusit, swimming in ink, with lots of garlic. This one goes well with a steaming cup of rice. Also with cold beer. 

So why is pusit the political symbol of the moment?

During a contentious budget hearing at the House last August 27, ACT partylist Rep. France Castro accused Vice President Duterte of engaging in squid tactics, or muddling the real issue of supposed fund misuse at the Office of the Vice President (OVP). 

We did some research (a serious think piece on cephalopod emissions requires some decent amount of research) and we learn from the website oceanconservatory.org that the slimy, squiggly squid, like the other cephalopods, “use their ink to scare or distract predators so they can escape before being seen (or eaten).”

Did the Vice President’s squid tactics scare or distract the committee members who were, in her estimation, circling around her like predators?

No, it didn’t. And during their September 10 budget hearing, they even added a touch of inky humor, which is certain to spice up the raging row.

A Rappler report said during the hearing, committee members “were served champorado (chocolate porridge) with a side of dried squid for breakfast.”

“As if that wasn’t enough, for lunch, catering services cooked baby squid and paella negra, a Spanish dish made with rice, squid, and squid ink,” the report added.

A video of Castro relishing the squid dishes was posted online.

We don’t know if the Vice President, through her supposed network of informant at the House, knew of this dastardly plan to serve pusit at the hearing. But earlier that day, she appeared in a video interview posted by the OVP on social media. 

Combative and at times snarling during the first hearing, she appeared in the video all prim and proper, not a single strand of hair out of place, wearing muted green, sitting as if she was posing for a class picture. She spoke in a modulated, sympathetic voice, like a true friend and not a pugilist.

She was a perfect example of calm and composed leadership, unbothered by the machinations in the House, which is, she alleged, under the thumb of two congressmen who control the budget of the country.  She also appealed to us, ordinary Filipinos, not to be distracted by politics, and do our share in helping less fortunate kababayans, the ones whose hunger could have been alleviated with the confidential funds she allegedly squandered.  We should, by extension, also help feed millions of hungry schoolchildren who, according to the Commission on Audit (COA), received rotten, insect-infested nutribun and expired food items during her tenure as Education Secretary.

The Vice President dismissed in the same video accusations from the congressmen that she is bratinella. 

“Hindi ako bratinella,” she told the unseen interviewer. To prove her point, she snubbed the second budget hearing at the House. Now that’s flippin the pusit at the congressmen.

The House, however, got to flip back by slashing the budget of the OVP by P1.3 billion, leaving the Vice President with P733.198 million, which is not loose change, or nowhere near the zero to one peso budget she had claimed would be appropriated for her office. 

The budget committee said it will reallocate the amount to amelioration programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Health.

The Vice President’s critics will surely be celebrating, perhaps with a round of beer and pusit?