Yolocaust project head, netizens slam Robredo, LP over Holocaust Memorial photo

Ifugao Representative Teddy Baguilat, Jr. who shared the said photo on Twitter, took down the post after it drew flak from the netizens who pointed out that they disgraced and disrespected the tombs of the memorial that honored the memories of the holocaust victims by sitting and posting on those. (Photo: Teddy B. Baguilat/Twitter)

The Israeli artist behind the Yolocaust project and several netizens lambasted Vice President Maria Lenor “Leni” Robredo and her Liberal Party (LP) members for posing and taking a photo at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, Germany.

Ifugao Representative Teddy Baguilat, Jr. who shared the said photo on Twitter, took down the post after it drew flak from the netizens who pointed out that they disgraced and disrespected the tombs of the memorial that honored the memories of the holocaust victims by sitting and posting on those.

Apart from Robredo and Baguilat, LP President Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Marikina City Representative Miro Quimbo, Quezon City Representative Jose Christopher Belmonte, Dinagat Islands Representative Kaka Bag-ao, and former Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Florencio Abad were also seen in the photo.

Shahak Shapira, the creator of the Yolocaust project in 2017, said, “My dear Filipino friends: many of you have sent me this pic[ture] in the last days because your Vice President seems to be a bit of a douche.”

“My Yolocaust project is done but I like your spirit, so here’s my advice: get yourself Photoshop and stick it to the ignorants!” he added.

The said art project combined selfies and other personal photos taken at the Holocaust Memorial, with footage from Nazi extermination camps. Some of the selfies included jump shots and even yoga shots, and Shapira pointed out the disconnection and inappropriateness through his project.

In an ambush interview on April 17, Monday, Robredo apologized and said that she takes full responsibility of the gaffe.

“Gusto kong mag-apologize (I want to apologize) for offending sensitivities sa mga (of the) post. Ano naman, there was no excuse. While there was no malice in it, ano pa rin, I take full responsibility kaya (that is why) I would like to apologize for whatever offense to sensitivities,” Robredo said.

Baguilat also apologized, saying they did not pose at the memorial “to demean the place.

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“We, as human rights advocates, fully understand the plight experienced by Jews under the Nazis and we would be the last to disrespect their memory, in the same way that we condemn injustice anywhere in the world, including our own country. I apologize for this lapse in my post,” he tweeted.

Baguilat said that he immediately took down the tweet to “not hurt sensibilities.”

The LP members were in Germany to attend a human rights and democracy summit by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF).