MANILA, Philippines—“Willing Willie’s” fate gyrates on the high wire as the censors board rules on Friday on the basis of two options, neither of which is bound to be funny: cancellation of the show or punitive action for program host Willie Revillame.
Meanwhile, a major advertiser has pulled out, and at least three online campaigns for viewers and more sponsors to boycott the program have snowballed.
During a preliminary hearing earlier in the day, the TV5 board took note of regulatory measures voluntarily undertaken by the network as reported by Roberto V. Barreiro, TV5 executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Among other things, TV5 said it had appointed an “internal ombudsman” to investigate the incident and to henceforth “entertain complaints regarding offensive programs.”
TV5 is expected to submit its ombudsman’s report to the board not later than Friday.
From the Facebook group Para Kay Jan-Jan (Shame On You, Willie Revillame): “Let’s not stop until Willie Revillame is out of TV5 and no [other] TV network will believe in him.”
A note to advertisers: “Jan-Jan is not the first person [Revillame] has harmed through his irresponsibility, and Jan-Jan will not be the last … unless Revillame is stopped—unless you [advertisers] stop him by withdrawing from his show.”
As things are turning out, a 6-year-old may bring the high-flying TV personality to his knees, something that his former employers, a giant media network, could not do.
‘Macho dance’
On March 12, in the “Willtime Big Time” segment of TV5’s early evening game show, little Jan-Jan Suan performed a dance that Revillame gleefully proclaimed a “macho dance.” Asking the boy to repeat what early foreign reports instead referred to as a “simulated striptease,” Revillame then joined in the dance while the studio audience cheered wildly.
The segment showcases contestants’ life stories and talents. Jan-Jan was among six contestants, aged 6 to 11, featured in that episode. Jan-Jan was given P10,000 for his performance.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development was not amused. Neither were nongovernment organizations concerned with women’s and children’s rights. They all agreed that the boy was “exploited and humiliated.”
Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman took exception to Revillame “leading the studio audience in pushing the boy to dance some more.”
Not the first
At press time, “Para Kay Jan-Jan” had 9,224 fans listed; 461 of them have signed the boycott petition, which carried all the names of the program sponsors.
The petition acknowledged that Revillame had apologized for the March 12 incident, but pointed out: “It was not the first time he had acted irresponsibly and with adverse results. It is a matter of routine for Mr. Revillame to exploit the weak and the poor on his show.”
On Monday, a press statement from Revillame legal counsel Leonard De Vera argued that Jan-Jan was, in fact, “elated that a lot of people enjoyed his performance” on March 12.
The statement continued: “He became popular and easily recognizable and found himself having his pictures taken with neighbors and strangers. Jan-Jan [has] even expressed a desire to be an actor or performer.” The lawyer concluded that “no trauma or emotional/mental damage was caused” by the incident.
Cited in the statement was an earlier media dispatch, also from Revillame’s camp, that Joe Suan, Jan-Jan’s father, had “revealed” an offer of P1 million plus scholarships for his children to “defame” Willie and the show. Joe supposedly turned down the offer.
High blood
On Saturday, Revillame called a press conference and failed to show up. Spokespersons said his blood pressure had shot up after a meeting with network executives.
It was during the press con that Jay Montelibano, executive producer, first told the Inquirer that a major advertiser was poised to pull out.
Said Montelibano: “Mang Inasal, a Jollibee franchise, has given us a heads up. It said it would discontinue ad placement while the issue has not been clarified. We don’t consider this an ad boycott. Other advertisers are still supporting us.” Hours later, Mang Inasal posted the announcement on its Facebook page.
On Tuesday, online reports had Del Monte dropping “current and future ad placements” in the show for it’s Fit ’n Right” drink. Montelibano told the Inquirer he had not received any such information.
Human rights
On Monday evening, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, through its chair, Mary Grace Poe Llamanzares, said TV5 “should be able to impose punitive sanctions on the program and its hosts, which can range from a reprimand to a cancellation of the TV program itself, in the spirit of self-regulation.”
Llamanzares said the sufficiency of the sanctions to be recommended by the network would be subject to final determination by the hearing and adjudication committee and to her approval.
Not first time
As the online petitions noted, this is not Revillame’s first taste of trouble as TV host.
In February 2006, 78 people died in a stampede at the Ultra where Revillame’s old ABS-CBN show, “Wowowee,” was held.
In August 2009, similar online boycott campaigns were mounted as a result of Revillame’s outburst over the footage of President Corazon Aquino’s funeral cortege inserted in his show.
The Commission on Human Rights has launched its own probe of the March 12 incident.
“We welcome any investigation,” said lawyer De Vera. “We look at this as an opportunity to present the entire picture.”