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BTS in the Philippines’ Congress? Duterte ally’s plan to name political grouping after K-pop band draws backlash
- Former House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said he plans to form a new political grouping named after the world-famous South Korean boy band
- But BTS fans are not happy with him appropriating their favourite K-pop group’s name – and have been quick to let him know it on social media
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Elyssa Lopezin Manila
A former speaker of the Philippines’ House of Representatives has sparked outrage on social media after announcing his intent to form a new political grouping named after world-famous South Korean boy band BTS.
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Alan Peter Cayetano, an ally of President Rodrigo Duterte who was ousted as speaker in October, said he would form the BTS sa Kongreso (BTS in Congress) bloc with six fellow lawmakers – Representatives Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte Jnr, Dan Fernandez, Raneo Abu, Mike Defensor, Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado and Fredenil Castro – even mimicking the number of members in the K-pop group. The bloc is expected to be formally introduced in Congress on Thursday.
On Filipino social media, the backlash was swift. The hashtag #CayetanoStopUsingBTS has been trending on Twitter in the Philippines since early Wednesday morning, just hours after Cayetano made his announcement, with more than 8,000 associated tweets as of 3pm – most from the K-pop group’s legions of devoted followers, who call themselves the BTS Army.
The fans have accused Cayetano, who is also a former foreign secretary of the Philippines, of using BTS’s name “for clout”. Cayetano and the other members of the proposed bloc lost their leadership posts in Congress when he was replaced by current House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco three months ago.
In October, Cayetano resigned as speaker via a Facebook Live video, minutes after he was formally voted out by 186 of the Philippine House of Representatives’ 299 members. Cayetano was absent from the vote.
Some BTS fans have used the appropriation of their favourite Korean boy band’s name as an opportunity to raise awareness of the need for people to register to vote in the Philippines’ next national elections, set to be held in 2022, to prove they were not swayed by Cayetano’s tactics.
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