“Kapwa” and Filipinos’ Fixation with Presidential Jokes

WhenPresidential jokes does humor work for a public figure and when does it not? We contend that the effect of political humorPolitical humor varies with citizens’ collective predisposition and its compatibility with the leadership typologyLeadership typology projected by the speaker. To validate our conjecture, we examine the rhetorical practices of Philippine presidents from 1987 to the present and show that Filipinos rarely find jokesJoke offensive if they are carried out by someone who conforms to their popular expectation of what a leader should be: sincere, caring, giving, pro-people and anti-elitist. This is rooted in a national characterNational character that finds a premium on leadership based on the idea of “kapwa,” a Filipino term widely understood as not simply establishing a relationship but a connection with the collective\“Kapwa\”(a connection with the collective). Conversely, citizens generally view jokesJoke objectionable when they are performed by leaders who they think are insincere, technocratic, and elitist. No matter how funny the jokesJoke actually are and how well they may have been delivered, they will fail if citizens find the leader politically undesirable. We ultimately illustrate how leaders can engage in comedic diversions as part of their governance toolkit.