Niña Jose draws flak after ‘candlelight date’ joke amid typhoon Kristine onslaught 

Mayor Niña Jose-Quiambao’s of Bayambang, Pangasinan faced criticisms from netizens following a joke she made amid the onslaught of typhoon Kristine in the country.

The actress-turned-politician had jokingly suggested to those affected by the power interruption to have a candlelight date.

Quiambo’s suggestion was posted through her official Facebook page as she updated her constituents with the power outage and restoration, and gave safety reminders and precautions against the typhoon.

“Sa mga may brownout, pwede kayo mag candlelight date ng asawa mo, jowa mo habang ngdidinner o diba???” Quiambao prefaced in her now-deleted Facebook post. 

Her post furthered: “Kidding aside, konting pasensya po sa mga walang ilaw, we are in close coordination with CENPELCO and we will update you po if may sagot na sila [heart emoj] meanwhile, stay safe, dry and let’s pray together to shooooo away this bagyong kristine!!!!! Shoooo shooooooo away!!! Whoooosh wooosh!”

“See yan ang nangyayari pag ang lakas ng hangin, walang naidudulot na tama!!! Kaya dapat tamang level ng hangin lang 🙂 umayon sa kapreskohan Lesson here wag masyadong malakas ang hangin!!! Wag umeme pag di mo carry stay safe and warm my beloved Bayambangeños,” she added. 

While Quiambao made edits to her deleted Facebook post, social media users were quick to call out the local executive for her “insensitive” and “inappropriate” remarks at the time of a natural disaster. 

Quiambao eventually took down the said Facebook post and reposted another with a serious tone. 

In the comments section, a netizen urged Quiambao to approach such situations with seriousness, considering the impact of the typhoon.

“We should always practice empathy and sympathy, and I hope public officials, in particular, can lead by example,” added the netizen.