CEBU, Philippines – It all started with a House budget hearing that turned into a catfight.

Vice President Sara Duterte, who attended the congressional deliberations on the proposed 2025 budget of her office on August 27, repeatedly refused to answer lawmakers’ questions regarding her confidential expenses in 2022 and 2023. She picked fights and hurled personal attacks instead. [READ: Sara Duterte’s messy exchanges with lawmakers over her budget]

At one point, House Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas of Gabriela asked Duterte for clarification on timelines regarding the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) use of confidential funds. But the Vice President did not budge, saying that the case was now at the hands of the Supreme Court (SC).

When Brosas asked Duterte for a copy of the SC case, the latter responded in exasperation: “Of course not. I am not the Supreme Court.” 

“These are public funds. Everyone has the right to know about these. It’s a matter of public interest. We are asking for transparency and accountability,” Brosas pointed out. 

Then Duterte said, “She may not like my answer. She may not like how I answer. She may not like the content of my answer, but I am answering.”

Online users noticed how Duterte mispronounced “she may not,” saying it sounded like “shimenet.”

@pulitikaexpose Wala na masagot kaya shimenet shimenet na lang #senate #houseofrepresentatives #icc #prrd #dutertelegacy #dutertelangmalakas #duterte #saraduterte #memes #meme ♬ original sound – Pulitika Expose

Discrimination or valid criticism?

Several users, including brand accounts and celebrities, started to create memes and satirical content out of the coined term.

sh*t, yun pala yun ????????#GetsNahttps://t.co/ELW59W4ax2 pic.twitter.com/RKKio3clmC

— Linya-Linya (@linyalinya) August 29, 2024

@tuesday_v

Tinanong ka lang saan napunta ang pera tapos ang sagot SHIMENET?! Hayyyy

♬ original sound – Tuesday Vargas

Shimenet
[shih-meh-neht]
Verb,

1. A roundabout way of answering.
2. ⁠Not answering questions properly, and then getting upset because your answer wasn't well-received, especially since you didn't really answer the question.

In TAGALOG

Shimenet
[shih-meh-neht]
Pandiwa ,

1.… https://t.co/jmqoh7I2l6

— Jumel Bornilla, M.D. (@jvbornillamd) August 29, 2024

“Mababàng-klase ng makata ang gumagamit ng repetisyon para palabuin ang sagot sa di-masagot na tanong,” wrote National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario.

(It takes a low-class poet to resort to repetition to vaguely respond to questions they can’t answer.)

On the other hand, some people advised caution, pointing out that some usage of the term has been devoid of its context and has even been discriminatory against people who speak different languages.

People have to be willing to accept the fact that whatever they think justifies their panggagatong, shiminet is nothing but a petty punch up. Lahat ng memes will just about the word(s) and not very little about the context.

— Sandra (@sjbaguette) September 1, 2024

guys we definitely can have better forms of criticisms than make fun of sara for how she pronounces "she may not"

— kuya h*** ੯‧̀͡⬮ | #JoinNDMOs (@hnbalila) September 3, 2024

“It’s true that people in power have a lot to answer for, especially our President and Vice President, but let’s not make fun of people’s mother tongue,” journalist Danilo Arao wrote in Filipino, adding that Duterte’s supporters may use “shimenet” for her to gain sympathy.  

“What we should [be] angry about is the lack of accountability and transparency she is exhibiting in answering legitimate questions! Let us not lose focus!” wrote former congressman Erin Tañada.

The Commission on Audit recently ordered the OVP to return more than P73 million in the P125-million confidential funds it disbursed in 2022 for “non-submission of documents evidencing the success of information gathering/and or surveillance.”

The commission also flagged the undelivered milk and expired nutribuns under the Department of Education’s feeding program, as well as the “inefficient” use of the department’s budget for building classrooms, during Duterte’s term as education secretary in 2023.

The pronunciation or diction is not the problem! We should not make fun of that! What we should angry about is the lack of accountability and transparency she is exhibiting in answering legitimate questions! Let us not lose focus!

— Erin Tañada (@erintanada) August 30, 2024

People defended the usage of the term in response. 

“To insist that it’s meant only to ridicule her accent (mark my words: she will exploit that point to push back) is to deny the political power of satire/humor, especially at a time when the discourse is so vacuous,” wrote Human Rights Watch senior researcher Carlos Conde.

Shimenet isnt Visayan accent on English tho. Dami kong bisyang kaibigan, and they dont speak this way. They might have their local accent, but not like this.

What i can say is, shiminet talaga ang lalabas sa bibig mo pag wala ka nang masagot para iuustify ang pangungurakot mo. https://t.co/d4XPB4bChZ

— Positron➕???? (@Positron2021) August 31, 2024

House deliberations on the proposed OVP budget for 2025 have been deferred to September 10 — a rare move by the lower chamber of Congress. – Rappler.com