MANILA, Philippines—The parents of a 6-year-old contestant in the TV game show “Willing Willie” Wednesday sued a child psychologist and two bloggers for libel in connection with allegations of child abuse that the couple said had caused them “dishonor, discredit and contempt.”
Joe and Diana Suan, the parents of Jan-Jan whose tearful performance of a “macho dance” in the March 12 episode of the TV5 game show drew dismay and outrage from viewers and groups promoting women and children’s rights, filed the libel complaint in the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office against Dr. Ma. Lourdes “Honey” Carandang, a child psychologist; Froilan Grate, a blogger, educator and environmentalist; John Silva, a blogger and senior consultant of the National Museum; and others yet to be named.
John Pineda, the Suans’ lawyer, said they would not allow the boy “to be exploited by certain people with a hidden agenda.”
“We strongly object to his being used as a poster boy for child abuse. He was never abused. We will not allow anyone to abuse him,” Pineda said.
The Suans took offense at what Carandang said in her letter to Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) chair Grace Poe-Llamanzares—that the boy was abused by show host Willie Revillame.
“She is not our doctor and we don’t know her,” the Suans said in their complaint. “She did not consult the psychologist helping the family. She hasn’t talked with [our son] nor has she conducted an examination, yet she made a hasty conclusion of child abuse.”
The Philippine Daily Inquirer tried to reach Carandang at her office at MLAC Institute for Children and Families for comment, and was told by a staff member to send questions by e-mail. There was no response as of press time.
‘Demolition job’
“Willing Willie” has been hit by ad pull-outs as a result of the controversy and has been off the air since Monday.
In a media gathering Wednesday at the Manila Golf and Country Club in Makati City, Revillame’s lawyer Leonard de Vera said there was “a demolition job” on his client. He urged supporters to “draw your own conclusions” on whether Revillame’s former home network, ABS-CBN, was behind it.
Said De Vera: “All I can give you are facts. This strange, curious, intriguing convergence of situations are facts. It’s so easy for [ABS-CBN] to say this just happened. It would tell you that it’s unfair for us to say it is behind all these. You draw your own conclusions. These things wouldn’t have happened unless it was designed by someone to happen.”
In a statement, ABS-CBN corporate communications head Bong Osorio “categorically den[ied] that ABS-CBN has anything to do” with the controversy.
Added Osorio: “Records speak for itself. We are not a complainant in this case, and have not made any public statement about it.
“Indeed, it is incredible that ABS-CBN, as insinuated by Atty. Leonard de Vera, can possibly have control over the countless groups and individuals who have expressed their indignation over the issue, including Facebook, Twitter, major advertisers, government bodies, the Church, academic communities, among others.
“It is a general accusation bereft of any details and is obviously meant to divert the issue by dragging ABS-CBN’s name [into the controversy].”
‘Trigger’
De Vera said the protests against the March 12 episode of “Willing Willie,” which also showed the boy being handed P10,000 by Revillame for his performance, did not begin until a week after the airing.
“It looks like people took it for what it was until somebody injected malice to it,” he said.
De Vera said Carandang’s letter to MTRCB chair Llamanzares “triggered” the inquiry of three government agencies—the MTRCB, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR)—into the case.
“Without this letter nobody would have protested. If viewers who saw the March 12 episode found it immoral and abusive, they would’ve immediately condemned it,” he said.
In her letter, Carandang said she strongly condemned the “abuse” done by Revillame to the boy. She also asked Llamanzares to “administer strong, concrete and clear sanctions on the program host and producers of the show.”
But De Vera said: “She has made this statement even though she has not seen or talked with [the boy], his parents, or his uncle, who taught him how to dance, or his aunt, who accompanied him to the studio.
“Did she see the original, complete episode or did she rely on the YouTube version that had been spliced, tampered, doctored and maliciously edited?”
‘Crying for blood’
De Vera also said Carandang was “crying for blood without first finding out what really happened to the child.”
“Is this a fair statement coming from a child psychologist? The letter not only condemned [Revillame], but also the child. [He] is now branded as an abused child for life,” the lawyer said.
Carandang is a retired professor and the founder and president of the MLAC Institute for Children and Families. She is the mother of former ABS-CBN news anchor Ricky Carandang, who is now part of Malacañang’s Communications Group.
“She did not disclose to the MTRCB that she’s a paid consultant and lecturer of ABS-CBN,” De Vera said.
He said the three government agencies “manifested blatant bias” and “prejudged the incident by making conclusions without any investigation.”
According to De Vera, the hearing being conducted by the CHR is “biased and partial.”
“Right from the start, the CHR has condemned Revillame for child abuse and the ongoing hearing would most likely confirm or validate this stand,” he said in a statement. “Thus, the hearing is a sham as it deprives Revillame of due process of law and the presumption of innocence in a case which is essentially criminal in nature.”
In the libel complaint, Joe Suan said the family’s “simple life” changed when Grate created the Facebook fan page dedicated to the boy and heaping shame on Revillame.
He said they were hurt when Grate suggested that they were allowing the abuse of their child in exchange for money and fame.
In his letter to a lawmaker and heads of various government agencies, Grate said he condemned “the blatant act of subjecting poor Filipinos—especially minors … to humiliation in shows like these in exchange for some quick cash.”
“Given the financial hardships that they have to endure, they often feel forced to do acts that violate their dignity as human beings in exchange for keeping body and soul together,” he said.
Grate added that he was disappointed with the boy’s parents “for subjecting their child to this horrible experience.”
Speaking in Filipino, Joe Suan said he “felt shamed because of this.”
“I received a lot of phone calls and messages in my Facebook account cursing me for allowing our son to be abused. We now seldom go out of the house to prevent any attempt to do us harm,” he said.
In a phone interview with the Inquirer, Grate said the libel case was “an attack against freedom of expression” and “a threat to those who stand up for what is right.”
“I assure the Suans that the 13,000 members of the group are not afraid,” he said, adding:
“We will continue to stand up for what we believe is right. Although the case was filed by the Suans, we believe that Revillame and TV5 are behind it. It’s the first time in our history that a media company filed a libel suit against an individual.”
The Suans sued Silva for claiming that Revillame and TV5 were pedophiles.
On Silva’s blog site was a poster of an old man with a boy on his lap, as well as a picture of the 6-year-old dancing.
“He covered their faces with black strips but not [our son’s],” the parents pointed out.
Joe Suan, who runs a beauty parlor in Quezon City, said he was forced to temporarily close shop because of the controversy. With a report from Nancy C. Carvajal and trainee Sara Pacia