Honasan not keen on Senate probe of Revillame

MANILA, Philippines—The chair of the Senate committee on public information and mass media is cool to the idea of looking into the controversy involving the claimed exploitation of a 6-year-old boy in the game show “Willing Willie.”

Sen. Gregorio Honasan Wednesday said such an inquiry might be “a reflection of our sense of priorities, or lack of it.”

“There are so many problems [to address], and I don’t want to jump into this issue just because some prominent personalities are involved,” Honasan said in Filipino.

“Perhaps, because our response to bigger problems is not clear, we are forced by circumstances to look at issues that will merit our attention, but they may not merit immediately a full-blown investigation,” he said, adding:

“Perhaps our sense of priority needs improvement.”

Honasan said that if senators would eventually look into the issue, the investigation should not zero in on host Willie Revillame.

“I don’t want to do this just because Mr. Revillame is involved,” he said. “It should cover all those affected in the TV and movie industry, taking into account, of course, exploitation, cameramen, ground crew, and the cost-cutting tendencies of producers to the detriment of what should be high-quality movies and TV programs.”

Honasan said an inquiry should also involve the mandate and policies of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.

Sen. Pia Cayetano, chair of the committee on youth, women and family relations, announced on Tuesday that she would review the laws covering children’s rights.