The hilariously coined catcall “shimenet” is the newest pop culture buzzword in the wake of Vice President Sara Duterte’s bungled five-hour theatrical performance before the House.
At the moment, the exact definition of “shimenet” is still evolving nor has anyone traced its etymology.
Initially, however, most agree it’s lexical shorthand for Ms. Duterte’s diction, her enunciation of “she may not,” which in turn refers to her beast-mode refusal to answer questions raised by lawmakers reviewing the proposed budget of her office.
Calling her out for her refusal to be transparent and accountable regarding the most delicious of all political privileges — the spending of other people’s money called taxes — then is the direct political intent of “shimenet.”
“Shimenet,” however, also raises other political issues. In particular, the Duterte political style. A style which in our tribal times noticeably raised a collective hard-on among scores of Filipinos a mere few years ago.
What “shimenet” attempts to do, therefore, is disparage Ms. Duterte’s political style, which, as one political observer noted, revolves around the message: “I’m the vice president, I’m a Duterte. What right have you to question me?”
It is an arrogant political message that was strikingly evident in the Vice President’s apparent game plan to “ignore the questions, come out blazing and establish dominance” during her House appearance. A game plan that was obviously meant to portray House members as nothing more than money-grubbing pushovers.
It was an image the Vice President’s coterie of busybodies heightened by quickly releasing a folksy AI-generated image picturing their principal as a virtuous eagle slaying heinous crocodiles.
But, as one amused wag noted, netizens were quick to turn around the image of the crocodiles by ingeniously suggesting that she was one too, following the Commission on Audit’s order to her office to return a hefty portion of the confidential funds it received in 2022.
Anyway, usually timid House members, to everyone’s surprise, stood their ground and showed they wouldn’t be susceptible to Ms. Duterte’s vaunted allure and insults.
Moreover, in a definite first in the annals of the budgetary process, the lawmakers postponed the courtesy approval of the Vice President’s budget.
Even worse, some lawmakers in the interim took it upon themselves to bare gutsy plans to reduce the Vice President’s gargantuan budget or institute impeachment proceedings against her.
“Shimenet,” in short, now also means denying, at least for the moment, a would-be president of the Philippines any potential resources, monetary or political.
How all this will pan out we are as eager as you are to find out in the coming days.
In the meantime, “shimenet” did also provoke intriguing questions of whether or not the Duterte political brand and strategy still works.
Questions which promptly directed us to hazard the point that political longevity is now a curse in our social media-befuddled and showbiz-addled political landscape.
Longevity is definitely a curse in social media and showbiz in our fast-paced modern era. Social media and showbiz manufactured events quickly lose their originality, with both always in search of someone or something compelling, trendy, or new.
Going by what’s happening in our politics today it may well be true that it doesn’t exempt the Dutertes.
If before, we all avidly watched the elder Duterte, his family and associates and gave them some consideration, or at least were entertained by what they did or said, times have changed. Some of us now, maybe millions of others too, turn ourselves off every time the Dutertes appear.
Nevertheless, some fair-minded Filipinos do give the Dutertes their due. But late last week, some of these fair-minded Filipinos sadly admitted that Ms. Duterte had exposed herself as an inarticulate mess, often turning to her phone each time a difficult point was raised by the lawmakers.
In effect, as a young friend of mine mused, Ms. Duterte missed the opportunity to show one and all “she is her own person and not just her father’s daughter.”