KomikSerye Single Strips

Single Strips is an off-shoot of the online Pinoy Komiks series, Girly Tips - KomikSerye. The strips, created by Lucrecio Escariote, has been enjoying a cult following in the Philippines after its launch in January 2016. By March of that year, Escariote stopped publishing mateials after only three episodes that were released on its Youtube account.

The Politics of KomikSerye

On 9 May 2016, the Philippines conducted one of the most contentious general elections in its history. The issues involved were so serious, Lucrecio Escariote got too engrossed in the online debate. Favoring mostly candidates from the administration ticket, Escariote used his social media skills and tools to promote his choices. And, at the same time, countering opinions that differed from his views. The opposition mounted a well-organised and vicious online campaign of scare tactics and misinformation.

Because of his commitments, Escariote was unable to focus on Girly Tips - KomikSerye tasks. A third strip was already in the works when it was abruptly aborted. By the end of April, he opted for strips that didn't require much work. The concept of using the strip and characters as memes came to mind. It was perfect for people who can't be bothered to read his blogs, and for those who have very short attention span. And in Pinoy Komiks style, Single Strips came about. The strips were posted on the Official Facebook and Twitter accounts. It continued to be published, until Snapchat acquired Bitstrips, and discontinued the service.

Single Strips provided Lucrecio Escariote the flexibility to come-out with humorous content without spending much effort in its creation. The strips were mostly political in nature. But it also sparingly took on social issues and even sports. Thirty seven strips were created until the Snapchat pulled the plug on Bitstrips.

The Single Strips

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The first strip was published after it was revealed that then Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte allegedly had a secret bank account containing 211M pesos at the Julia Vargas branch of the Bank of the Philippine Islands. Escariote pounced on the story, and tried to make something funny out of it.

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This strip took on the controversy of Duterte's mental state. It was circulated in mainstream media that he had a personality disorder. Since Davao is a Cebuano speaking city, Escariote decided to inject humor using a term in the local dialect as a punchline.

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Another take on the controversy involving the 211M peso bank account at the BPI. This time it made fun of the campaign slogan (plagiarized from the 2008 Obama campaign) of the Duterte camp with some clever word play.

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In the aftermath of the rape gaffe, Mayor Duterte lashed out at his critics; including the Australian and American Ambassadors to the Philippines. The strip is a take on the mayor's record of foreign diplomacy. In 1995, he was present as people in Davao City burned the flag of Singapore as a sign of protest for the execution of Flor Contemplacion. It also pokes fun at his supporters, who can't seem to find any fault despite the crudeness of his actions.

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On election day, 9 May 2016, Escariote encountered a few characters in the vicinity of the polling precinct. This strip and the following are adaptations of the conversations he had.. A bonus was both characters were Duterte supporters.

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In this strip, Escariote took another dig at Duterte loyalists. Again, this is an adaptation of an actual event that took place on 9 May 2016. In the race for mayor of Paranaque City, the incumbent was unopposed that year.

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After the election results in the Presidential race has become obvious, Escariote came out with a series of forward looking scenarios of what a Duterte presidency would be like. The first one shows the former Mayor of Davao declaring that an annual a Manila event that generates a lot of money; and controversies, be moved to his beloved city.

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One of the promises made in the campaign is the nationwide ban on the sales of liquor (Davao-style). In this strip, the combination of English, Tagalog, and Cebuano creates the humour that is often often employed by Duterte to induce laughter from his listeners.

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Duterte identified the traffic problems in the cities as one of his priorities and stated that solving this problem he will need two-terms as President. In this strip, he is pictured as a leader who generates controversies because of his clueless pronouncements.

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The race for the Vice-Presidential seat was a close two-horse race between Leni Robredo, and Bongbong Marcos; the son of the late Philippine despot, Ferdinand Marcos. Social media propaganda was on hyperdrive, with Marcos stating that he was cheated. However, he could not provide solid proof to back his claim. This strip was created to ridicule Marcos, and his stupid allegations.

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After securing an insurmountable lead, the contract online campaign team that worked so hard in spreading lies and pitching misinformation had to be disbanded. The strip is an artist's rendition of what transpired when the group of motley keyboard warriors had to dismissed. Sadly, they were officially the first to get slapped with the false campaign promise to end "endo" by Duterte.

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Moka Poks makes her debut in Girly Strips - KomikSerye. This strip pokes fun at Bongbong Marcos' statement that he lost his lead over Leni Robredo while he slept in the early hours of May 10, 2016. Moka is seen calling DCG-FM radio jock, The Triggerman.

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With media abuzz on the who's who list in President-elect Duterte's cabinet, one name was at the top for the MMDA post. Unfortunately, they forgot that the sleazebag Francis Tolentino was banned from holding public office for 12 months.

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The first pictures that came out of Davao City when the results for the Presidential race was already easy to predict was that of a howling Duterte, crying at the grave of his dead mother. Then there was a news black-out on where the Mayor was, and what he was doing. KomikSerye came out with this strip of its own speculations as to what the looney President-elect was up to.

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After 16 days in hiding, Duterte finally face the media for the first time since his victory. And, as usual, he didn't disappoint with his colorful language and chaviness in full display for the world to see

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As expected, one of the first issues Duterte tackled was his peace initiatives towards the communist bandits. His ties with the criminals in the left were never secret; and their symbiotic relationship has been fruitful. And now that the Mayor is President, both parties expressed what they plan to achieve over the next six years unbashfully.