Pugad Baboy creator claims 'conPIGracy' over suspended strip

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) - Celebrated Pugad Baboy cartoonist Pol Medina, Jr. complained Thursday on his Facebook page about being "fired" by the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) over a controversial strip.

Medina said that there has been a "consPIGracy," a pun on the strip's overweight characters, in dismissing the commissioned cartoon serial only after it was discussed on Twitter.

"If you zoom in on that particular strip that got me fired, you'll see that the strip first appeared in March. No reaction then," Medina said.

The cartoonist then posted a detail on the questioned strip showing that he signed it with his initials "PMJR 03-13" while implying the date of its creation.

"It was reissued after I made a series of of anti-Marcos strips, then BOOM! Nag-trending sa Twitter. Interesting. I smell a consPIGracy," he added.

Medina, however, later on clarified that his stripped was only "suspended" from the newspaper's pages and he was not fired.

"What? wait ... Hindi pa pala ako fired. suspended lang hanggang magkaroon ng consensus na sipain ako. pero. Doon din siguro ang punta no'n. Sigh," he posted about an hour later.

A detail of the contested comic strip showing Medina's signature with the date of its creation.

The strip making fun of a Catholic-run all-girls school St. Scholastica's College for allegedly condoning lesbianism among its students, even while expressing opinions against homosexual behavior was pulled out from the Inquirer after it created some stir online.

Related story: PDI cancels comic strip implying pretty girls from girls' school are lesbians

The college issued a statement to the Inquirer's reader's advocate Elena Pernia protesting against the strip.

"We protest in the strongest possible terms the way the school was singled out and our Sister-administrators accused of allowing homosexual relationships between its female students," St. Scholastica's College president Sister Mary Thomas Prado said.

Its administrators also sought to personally meet with Medina on the issue.

"If we will not hear from PDI this week, the lawsuit will be filed," Prado added.