PHILIPPINES, MARCH 31, 2011 – Willie Revillame is under fire again after he had a six-year-old boy on his Willing Willie show gyrating for prize money while in tears. The video of the boy, named Jan-Jan, has gone viral with over 200,000 hits and shares on YouTube and Facebook, and even attention from international press.
Willing Willie is a game and variety show which gives out prizes to participants in their game segments, or for singing, dancing, or sharing their stories. Revillame and the show are a hit among the masses.
The sight of Jan-Jan in tears while Revillame and the audience (including the boy’s aunt) egged him to dance have caused a public uproar. There are demands for an apology and resignation, even a boycott on brands that sponsor Willing Willie and have him as endorser.
Dinky Soliman of DSWD has identified it as an act of child abuse in a letter to TV5, and theater actress Monique Wilson has released an open letter calling for actors to voice their stand on the matter and demand more responsibility from the overall industry.
Reports say that food company CDO has plans to withdraw sponsorship of the show until TV5 properly disciplines Revillame, while PANA agreed to meet about the issue. MTRCB and the Comission of Human Right will also be conducting their own investigation to recommend legal action against Willie.
Revillame has spoken out on the matter in his show, especially on the boycott, “Napasakit naman yun.” He said, “Pag nagboybott ang advertisers, yung mga nagmamahal sa amin, hindi bibili ang produkto nyan.” (That’s so hurtful. If the advertisers boycott, the ones who love us are not going to buy their products). In a later episode of Willing Willie, he had Jan-Jan’s parents, Jojo and Diana Estrada on the show to give their thoughts on the issue. Diana Estrada says that Jan-Jan has been dancing that way since he was three years old to the tune of "Careless Whisper" by George Michael. Her husband adds that the boy was scared of Willie’s other onstage guest, former basketball star Bonel Balingit.
The parents asked the audience not to make a bigger issue out of it, “Hindi kasalanan ng anak ko na maging ganun kasi sa alam niya, maganda ang ginagawa niya.” says Estrada (It’s not my son’s fault that he dances that way because he thinks he’s dancing well). He also goes on to say that they received praises from family and friends who watched Jan-Jan on the show.
Jan-Jan and his sister were with them during the rebuttal and was given a little time to dance on their own, without gyrating. After all, Revillame half-joked, his detractors are watching his every move.
Revillame is no stranger to controversy. He joined TV5 after a public disagreement with ABS-CBN who had him host the gameshow, Wowowee. Back in 2006, for Wowowee‘s first anniversary, a stampede broke out in a rush for tickets, killing around seventy people and injuring more than three hundred.
TV5, for its part, issued an advisory dated March 30, stating that in addition to its public apology on March 28, the network is conducting a full investigation of the incident and is implementing measures to avoid similar incidents in the future:
-“Caused the preparation of stricter guidelines on the appearance and performance of minors, particularly children, on all TV5 programs.
-“Required that all Willing Willie auditions as well as auditions of other TV5 programs be supervised by TV5 representatives designated by the TV5 Ombudsman.
-“Appointed an internal Ombudsman to review any incidents of this nature and to whom any complaints may be referred for immediate disposition. The Network’s Chief Legal Counsel, Atty. Christine C. Ona, has been designated as the Network’s Ombudsman.
-“Imposed a moratorium on the participation of minors in all contests and game shows on TV5 until such time that the preceding measures are fully in place.
“We welcome the hearings of the MTRCB and other bodies as opportunities to further thresh out the issues and find solutions that will address the many concerns that have been expressed. TV5 renews its commitment to responsible broadcasting and pledges to improve its programs as its way of thanking its viewers for their continued support and trust.”
