Not many people are familiar with the jargon or terms newspaper reporters use in their stories, including Pasig City Councilor Victor Nubla Sotto or Vico Sotto.
In a July 8 post, Sotto gave thanks to a report that covered the city ordinance he had filed on government transparency.
However, the young councilor also thought that the newspaper committed a minor typographical error for referring to him as “dad” when he has no children.
Clarify ko lang po na hindi pa ako tatay! ???
But seriously speaking, ok lang, typos happen hehe. Salamat po sa People's Tonight for covering our proposed ordinance. @arleneorivera pic.twitter.com/wAPhoobUfF
— Vico Sotto (@VicoSotto) July 9, 2018
Twitter user David was quick to respond that newspapers commonly use the word to refer to certain city officials like councilors.
“Pero dad is parang jargon nila sa newsprint for councilors,” David shared.
Sotto owned up to his wrong assumption and immediately updated his earlier social media shout out to clarify the honest mistake.
Clarify ko lang po na hindi pa ako tatay! ???But seriously speaking, Salamat po sa People's Tonight for covering our…
Posted by Vico Sotto on Sunday, July 8, 2018
Sotto is the son of veteran actress Coney Reyes and actor-comedian Vic Sotto.
Newspaper’s “dad” tag
The use of the word “dad” to refer to a city council member may have come from a related word, city father, in some dictionaries.
In the Merriam-Webster, city father is defined as “a member (such as an alderman or councilman) of the governing body of a city.”
Meanwhile, the Free Dictionary has a more inclusive definition that includes “any of the officials or prominent citizens of a city.”
Meanwhile, another online thesaurus suggested the term “city father” in reference to councilor.
Being that father is more used in formal writing, the use of dad, its slang or everyday version, seemed more appropriate for witty newspaper headlines.
