Diaper Ad Hit for ‘Twisting’ Philippine History · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

A Philippine diaper manufacturer has been ordered to stop airing a TV advertisement that parodies the scene when Datu Lapu-Lapu killed the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in the 1521 Battle of Mactan after a netizen campaign criticized it for “twisting history” and “insulting the Filipino people.”
The Advertising Board of the Philippines and the Advertising Standards Council recalled the EQ diaper advertisement’s “clearance to air” in response to a National Historical Commission “cease and desist order” issued last April 19, 2013.
Before this, an online petition criticized the EQ diaper TV commercial for spreading a wrong impression of the Filipino hero Lapu-Lapu. The Lapu-Lapu City local government also decried the ad for disrespecting the heroism of Lapu-Lapu.
Screenshot of the controversial diaper ad
In the 30-second ad, Magellan gives a box of diapers to Lapu-Lapu and his wife. But this gesture of friendship backfires when Lapu-Lapu realizes that the diapers are of inferior quality and dares Magellan to a fight that would ultimately lead to his death.
The petition has 323 supporters as of this writing. Here are some of the comments by those who signed the online petition:
Sheila Berame: We should respect our history and the people behind it. Lapu-Lapu is a national hero, the first to defend against imperialism.
Jim Rosales: I want our young generation to remember our heroes as people who died for a cause and with dignity. Not as a diaper endorser.
Ahmed Cuizon: The ad trivializes a proud moment of Philippine history. We should not make fun out of an important event that has come to define and symbolize Filipino patriotism.
Luz Hernandez: History should be preserved with the right facts, etc. and not mislead the belief of the general public especially the minors who has no parental guidance while watching this add. Our Dept. of Educ. should be the first who should have censored this add to be shown in TV.
Andrew Neil Retuya: This is a mark of our history, no company should distort it.
YouTube user iloveoldschoolanime reminds critics that the ad should not be taken seriously:
It's just a COMMERCIAL for DIAPER. Why take it so seriously? As if Lapu Lapu and Magellan was never spoofed before in those gag shows like Bubble Gang and such. Some people needs to lighten up a bit. Focus on the real﻿ issues of the country instead!
itsumo kokomo thinks politicians are simply craving for attention:
Trash politicians just﻿ want your attentions and some sympathy.