Jocelle Batapa, mayoralty candidate in Bacolod City slammed for “animal cruelty”
Bacolod City mayoralty candidate Jocelle Batapa Sigue received criticisms from netizens due to her photo showing “animal cruelty”.
Based on Sunstar Bacolod’s report, she is a former councilor of the city and is seeking a higher office this 2019 elections.
She was listed as one of the mayoralty candidates.
On the Facebook Page of Anak Balhas, the said photo was posted on March 6, 2019. In the photo, the female politician was standing and was holding a big glass bowl which has a dog inside it.
The post has this caption: “Is this animal cruelty? Your thoughts.” However, it was not clear if when and where the photo was taken.
Apparently, it was an event intended for dogs as the background in the photo was “
Anak Balhas even posted another photo showing that the dog appeared to be uncomfortable being inside the glass bowl.
Jocelle Batapa Sigue received a big round of criticisms from netizens because of this photo.
Facebook user Andre Chua said that the mayoralty candidate’s photo showed “animal cruelty” and it is obvious that she is not a dog lover because she looked uneasy holding the animal.
“So disappointed in you Batapa! Can’t you think of other ways without harming animals?” FB user Patricia Regalado Joaquin commented.
For some netizens, maybe the female politician thought the dog was a fish and so she put it inside the fishbowl
There were also a few netizens who attacked her political style while others scrutinized her personal life.
Is this really a form of animal cruelty?