Comedy is supposed to entertain us, and to make us laugh. Sometimes, it’s there to challenge us and to make us think. On some occasions, it can even provoke us.

Despite that, what happened to standup comic Gold Dagal last weekend was unconscionable. Unfortunately, it’s also not uncommon. Across Philippine history, comedy is one of the easier targets to curtail and to censor and to cow into submission when needed, because it all seems so trivial. Who cares what a comedian thinks? They’re nobody important, right?

Let’s look at some of these examples today and remember Gold Dagal as someone who pushed the envelope of comedy in the service of free speech. And that if we don’t think a joke is funny, we also have the same free speech to say so, instead of resorting to savagery. Because that’s what a civilized society does.

Whenever people tell us that the Philippines has “too much freedom,” horrible travesties like these will always remind us how dead wrong they are. Our freedom has always been under attack, and often, it happens when comedians dare to try and punch up.

This 8List is for you, Gold. Rest in power.

8. The defanging of political satire.

Many people have speculated that the reason we don’t do political satire to the extent that, say, Saturday Night Live would do it is because our politicians simply cannot take a joke. While we can’t say that for sure, it’s fairly clear that there has always been some pressure exerted on any political satire to be kept as benign as possible.

For example, the late Mr. Shooli himself, Jun Urbano, has often told stories about many politicians who have asked him to tone down his political humor in the classic “Mongolian Barbecue” show in varying ways. From friendly requests to veiled threats, it was a show that had to skirt the rules for very long. The classic Sic O Clock News has always had similar rumors swirling around it as well, considering how short-lived the show was.

That’s the kind of tightrope political comedy has to walk in this country.

7. The online attacks on Jun Sabayton.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJpXqhhQUgk

Playing the character “Bayaw,” Jun Sabayton portrayed a trapo perhaps a little too well. In the middle of most people getting the joke and laughing along, Jun also received endless criticism and even threats for what he was doing. Apparently, some people really took the saying “if the shoe fits, wear it” to heart, and told on themselves by reacting a tad too defensively at the Bayaw character.

6. Bisikleta ang kailangan.

Until recently, there was a longstanding urban legend that 70s icon Ariel Ureta, a host and comedian at the time, actually parodied the government slogan of the Marcos regime that went, “Sa ikauunlad ng bayan, disiplina ang kailangan.” The joke, which seems corny at best without the benefit of context, is that he replaced the last three words with the title of this entry.

The rumor was that after making this joke, he was immediately picked up by the police and made to ride a bicycle around Camp Crame–a claim that he vehemently denies nowadays, citing that he would never have dared to do a joke like that back in those days, which only underscores that in the Philippines, comedians face a lot scarier issues than getting “canceled.”

5. The attempt at legislating against comedy bars.

In 2014, a QC councilor proposed legislation that would effectively put comedy bars on notice. Infamous for their in-your-face brand of insult comedy, these types of comedy bars would have been subjected to a regulatory board and essentially censored under vague standards. While this ordinance never came to pass, this is just more proof that comedy has always been under attack – but not from the people you expect.

4. The suspension of Pugad Baboy.

Pol Medina’s long-running comic strip Pugad Baboy is one of the pillars of Philippine komiks history, but in 2013, it apparently crossed a line that got it suspended from the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s comics section, resulting in the end of a 25-year relationship that began in 1988. The reason? A religiously-charged joke that tackled homosexuality and hypocrisy rubbed people the wrong way, proving yet again that even comedians can very quickly run afoul powerful enemies.

3. The many threats Jon Santos has faced over the decades.

If there’s one person still actively doing this political satire schtick aside from Leo Martinez (who has his own stories, believe us), it would be Jon Santos. Over the years, Jon Santos has done countless impressions of political figures, and you can be sure that not all of them were happy about it.

True, Jon Santos has thankfully not had any threats against him enacted thus far, but it does make you wonder: just how much do comedians like him have to censor themselves to keep it that way?

2. The reason why Dolphy got snubbed for National Artist Honors.

Dolphy was, is, and perhaps will always be the Philippine King of Comedy. That much is not in dispute. Despite that, ever wondered why a man with a filmography as extensive as his somehow never got recognized as a National Artist, especially during his lifetime?

Apparently, in 2009, he was nominated and well on his way to being a National Artist, but was blocked by the former Cultural Center of the Philippines President Nicanor Tiongson, mainly because of his reservations with how Dolphy portrayed his roles where he played gay characters, and his tendency to romanticize poverty in others. While it’s a nuanced position and not just a kneejerk homophobic reaction, isn’t it odd that they can withhold an honor like that from Dolphy but not someone like, say, Carlos J Caparas? Once again, the comedian is the easy target.

1. Just looking into my inbox.

While the writer of this 8List is not particularly famous, he has encountered his share of threats over the years, especially during the time that these lists were also published on Yahoo.com, where their comments section was just a cesspool of deplorables. We could specify which particular lists such threats were made, but considering why we’re writing this list today, it would be wiser to instead spend this time reminding everyone that Gold Dagal did not deserve what happened to him.

But what he does deserve is justice.

What are your thoughts on this issue? Tell us about it in the comments.