(For the full transcript, go to Gelo Lopez’s blog.)

First of all, let’s state the obvious. Revillame had every right to say whatever he felt he should say to defend himself. No problem there. We are all just exercising our rights to speak out.

On the matter of whether or not Revillame’s rant held valid points, well, that would entail a bit more analysis. If we are to listen carefully to his statement what he said can be broken down as follows:

• I have done nothing wrong.
• This is the handiwork of those who want to put me down specifically ABS-CBN.
• I can afford to retire from the industry. It is my followers and my staff in the show who stand to lose if I go off the air.
• I have been doing a lot of charitable works. Have my detractors done the same?

Let’s dissect these one by one.

I have done nothing wrong.

It really is debatable if Revillame did or did not commit child abuse. As far as I’m concerned that is an issue best left sorted out in a court of law. In case you want an intelligent argument against the accusation, you can find one over at Indolent Indio.

I can understand Revillame’s insistence that he committed nothing wrong. The main accusation, which has become the major basis for the current indignation bandwagon, is child abuse. It would be utterly stupid of him not to react to that.

However, I feel Revillame is deliberately avoiding one other issue, for which he is clearly guilty without question. I suspect he himself knows this. I’m talking about his apparent lack of good judgment and responsibility as an influential media personality. As was pointed out in my first blogpost about this issue:

It could have passed off as nothing serious, but Revillame’s misplaced thinking that it was cute of him to have the little boy repeat the performance over and over again clearly showed an absence of good judgment on his part.

As it is, Revillame seems to be glossing over this particular issue. It’s simply not correct of him to say that he did nothing wrong.

This is the handiwork of those who want to put me down specifically ABS-CBN.

I don’t know if this whole thing was started by ABS-CBN or any specific group that has for its main goal the downfall of Willie Revillame. What I do know that I’m very sure of is that not everyone who expressed indignation over this issue is affiliated with ABS-CBN or any anti-Willie group.

I can only speak for myself. As a blogger, one of my advocacies has always been to get media to shape up. In fact, as early as the May 2010 elections, I have been writing about what I believe to be Philippine media’s tendency to make dumb people out of Filipinos.

It is actually quite dishonest of Revillame to make this out as nothing more than a concerted effort by groups with vested interests to bring him down. It is not.

Now in fairness to Revillame, it is possible that ABS-CBN is now riding on the issue. Well, I think Revillame shouldn’t worry about that too much. If ABS-CBN wants to get involved then so be it. The truth is ABS-CBN does have a lot to do with this issue considering the kind of crap programming it has been serving the Filipino people for some time now. Let’s not forget also that Revillame is largely an ABS-CBN creation.

Again, this issue is not just about the alleged child abuse. It is also about media responsibility, a fact that even TV5′s president Ray Espinosa and consumer goods company Unilever acknowledged.

1) To temporarily suspend effective Monday, April 11, 2011, our participation in all reality-based live game shows across all networks. This measure will be in place until we observe stricter and objective self-regulatory guidelines across networks and proper enforcement by the relevant government agencies of existing content regulations.

I think Revillame said it perfectly.

Kung sususpindihin niyo kami, suspindihin ninyong lahat yan.

I can afford to retire from the industry. It is my followers and my staff in the show who stand to lose if I go off the air.

There’s no denying the fact that Revillame is a very rich man. I can imagine that he can very well not do anything related to work anymore yet he’d still be comfortable many times over.

He does have a point when he said it is those in his production staff who stand to lose in case his show is taken off the air. I can’t say the same about his viewers though.

Contrary to what Revillame has been saying all these years, his program is not a public service endeavor. Just think about it. Of the hundreds if not thousands of people who line up to be part of his program’s live studio audience, how many of them really get money from Revillame? How much on average do they get? Is money distributed to them automatically or does it happen under some random or whimsical selection process?

Let’s acknowledge the fact that for the poor, the demographic which Revillame claims to be the main “beneficiary” of his program, a few thousand pesos is a big deal. Still, are they really being helped by this dole-out set up being promoted by Revillame?

Now assuming that Revillame is indeed doing a lot of good for his staff and his followers, doesn’t it then become more important for him to be more responsible and to keep out of trouble so he can continue his good deeds?

Revillame shouldn’t be blaming anyone for putting his program in danger of being taken off the air temporarily or permanently. He could have avoided this.

I have been doing a lot of charitable works. Have my detractors done the same?

It might seem a distasteful assertion to some, including myself, but it cannot be denied that Revillame raised a valid point. But what Revillame failed to realize is that if being charitable comes to him naturally then it shouldn’t matter whether or not his program exists. If he has the means and he feels like doing it then he can continue using his wealth to help others. It’s as simple as that.

Well, okay, let’s acknowledge that fact that Revillame was just so offended he felt compelled to get back at his detractors specifically those among his colleagues in the industry. Again that is his right.

I now wonder what Jim Paredes, Aiza Seguerra, Agot Isidro and the others that Revillame identified have to say about that.

PinoyBuzz wrote something interesting in his article Willing Revillame Goes On Leave After Advertisers Pull-Out.

But, what I do hope for is that the outrage movement that was sparked by the sexually suggestive dancing of a six year old didn’t come to be just because of a shared hatred for Willy Revillame.

Indeed, this whole indignation bandwagon should be motivated by something bigger than mere contempt for Revillame. The television host is just one person. There are much bigger fish to fry such as the whole broadcasting industry.

Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing Revillame continue his work as a television host as long as he makes some major adjustments. I sincerely hope he would spend the next two weeks in serious reflection. He already has the influence. He might as well use that for something that would benefit an even bigger number of people in ways that go beyond providing a diversion and a few thousand pesos that wouldn’t even last a week.

Yellow-infected Pinoys will surely balk at my claim that the airing of that movie is contributory to the “stupidification” of an entire nation. But here is direct evidence of that. For how else would we describe ABS-CBN’s deliberate attempt to stir nostalgia over a ‘miraculous’ event such as EDSA 1? By itself it would mean nothing at all, but, considering the obvious bias of this network for Senator Noynoy Aquino, the attempt at mind control is quite clear.

What ABS-CBN fails to realize though is that they cannot trick people all the time. I watched the movie while having a meal at a restaurant and I overheard two waiters talking about it. One of them pointed out the obvious that “nanguuto na naman ang Kapamilya network” to which the other replied with the rather speculative remark “eh paano stockholder ang mga Aquino.”

I swear I almost approached them to express my admiration for their ability to detect bullshit. Good thing I hesitated because the middle-aged coño-looking man seated on the table next to me butted in and said with a stern tone, “Hindi ninyo mahal ang bayan.”

I’m sure those two waiters didn’t get any tip from that customer.

Anyway, that wasn’t the end of it. Immediately, after the man with the yellow plan spoke out and the waiters had retreated into the kitchen, the man’s companion who looked like his son gave him a minor admonition. I didn’t hear the exact words because unlike the older dude this guy was polite enough to speak in a whispering tone. What he said went something like this:

“Sobra naman kayo. Porke ayaw kay Noynoy hindi na mahal ang bayan. Kaibigan niyo lang kasi si (name not clear) kaya kayo Noynoy. Tsaka bakit niyo ginanun yung waiter mamaya duraan yung pagkain natin.”

Bwahahaha.

I sure hope that fashionista-patriot enjoyed his soup with a generous serving of sputum. Sanctimonious prick.

ABS-CBN’s Harapan: The Tandem Presidential Debate has been canceled. The surprising and unexpected reason: several candidates for president and vice president have either backed out or declined to participate.

This is shocking news. Who would have thought that the likes of Senators Noynoy Aquino, Manny Villar and their equally esteemed running mates would find it not worth their while to join a no holds barred debate? Well, to be fair to Villar’s running mate Senator Loren Legarda, her reluctance to participate is understandable considering the beating she got  last time.

(excerpts from a newsbreak.com.ph report)

• In a surprise result, Sen. Loren Legarda did poorly in ABS-CBN’s Harapan: The Vice-Presidential Debate, based on feedback from citizens who participated in the debate.
• Legarda failed to get 50% or more in most of feedback from the audience through the WARS.  She was asked about her experience in governance, her plans on improving the state of education, as well as on her pet themes, environment and climate change.
• Aside from doing poorly in the WARS, she also did badly in the on-line poll through abs-cbnNEWS.com chat with netizens, http://abs-cbnnews.com/harapan. The poll asked the question: Who is the most believable among the candidates in the Harapan debate?

It’s just too bad the debate scheduled for this Sunday will no longer push through. It would have given us yet another glimpse into what these people are really made of. I would have enjoyed watching Villar deflect questions about the C-5 controversy. And, of course, who would want to miss the Great Yellow Hope in action. I wonder how he would have fared against his cousin former defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro or Senator Richard Gordon.

By the way Teodoro was among those who backed out. He claims he has already saturated forums and debates. Well, at least he wasn’t being a jackass about it not like Villar who gave an excuse that can only be described as pamimilosopo.

(excerpt from an abs-cbnnews.com report)

Villar and Legarda said they already committed to visit their supporters in Bicol on the same date.

Villar added they did not back out because they never confirmed their participation.

Now, to be fair , I should also identify those who were all too willing to attend the debate. In no particular order, the Walang Pakisama (sa mga naduwag) are former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Perfecto Yasay Jr., evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva, former MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando and Senator Richard Gordon.

The gall of those 4 candidates for trying to re-invent the wheel. Don’t they know most Pinoy voters respond better to song and dance routines than speeches on the economy, population growth and other serious stuff? They should ask Senator Aquino. Better yet they should get lessons from him on the finer points of campaigning without really trying. After that they could also ask him to provide tips on how to cover all the bases. 

Oh, I almost forgot. Gordon is now part of that elite group of candidates who think they’re cute. He now has a music video of his own.  Before you watch it be sure to prepare yourself to be disappointed because Gordon didn’t really sing or dance on this video.

I’m sure you were also surprised the first time you watched that. I too  never imagined Moymoy Palaboy as celebrity political endorsers. But that shouldn’t really surprise anyone anymore. Ater all we’re talking about Pinoy-style elections.

A lot more people could have benefited had those candidates simply pooled their funds together and launched some kind of socio-civic project. They could have built classrooms, low-cost housing etc. It would have been better if they used the money to finance the education of hundreds or maybe even thousands of children. With hundreds of millions of pesos, I’m sure those politicians could have easily figured out some way to really do what they always promise to do but always forget to fulfill, that is to help poor people.

But of course, that’s all too idealistic. By default, a politician’s money always goes first to whatever endeavor there is that would potentially benefit him first and foremost. To the typical Pinoy politician, helping out others is only worthwhile if there’s a clear return of investment.

As I was watching that news report, I couldn’t help but sense some irony especially when the newscaster said something that sounded to me like a subtle criticism of political campaign spending. It just struck me as strange that this TV station would even come out with such a report when in fact it stands to gain big-time from all this. It’s a bit hypocritical, isn’t it?

Of course, there are other reasons why Pinoy-style political campaigns cost so much. One of these is the showbiz mindset. Since most Filipino voters are still stuck at being star-struck, the Pinoy politician naturally treats his campaign as if it was one big showbiz production.

So what do we get? Substance? You wish. Song and dance numbers? Yes, lots of it. Feet washing? Now, that’s new.

This is exactly the sort of thing I hate about Pinoy-style campaigning. It’s all form and no substance. Unfortunately, judging by the public’s response, we will see more of these asinine gimmicks. Hay naku.

Well, it’s all one big expensive joke.  I just hope no one’s laughing because ultimately it’s on all of us.

I don’t think I can say the same for the showbiz personalities who showed up for the Tumana River cleanup today.

Someone I know who witnessed the event told me that, instead of helping move the clean up forward, the showbiz personalities’ presence actually delayed the whole operation. I have no way of verifying this but I can imagine how the whole thing could have easily turned into one big showbiz event. I suspect a lot of gawking and showboating took place and very little real work was done while those artistas were there.

Mga ateng at kuyang, kung medyo magulo pa ang sitwasyon huwag na sana muna kayo mag-display display diyan. Baka lalo lang magkagulo dahil sa inyong nakakasilaw na kagandahan at kagwapuhan.

I don’t mean to cast doubt on the sincerity of showbiz personalities. I’m sure many of them really want to help out. But, just the same, I will say that there’s something wrong when a calamity of this magnitude ends up being reduced to a showbiz spectacle.

Admittedly, this is really more of an issue against the bright minds running the TV networks. After all they’re the ones with the crazy marketing ideas. Still, I think our artistas should know better. They do have minds of their own, don’t they?

And speaking of ideas, local media is again giving too much focus on buzzwords. Two of the more popular nowadays are resilience and Bayanihan. Just the other night I even heard one reporter say that resilience is a unique Filipino trait. Unique? Really now. And, what about Bayanihan? Well, let’s just say that raving on and on about it is just annoying especially in light of the fact that this supposedly very Filipino tradition seems to be observed now only during times of calamity.

I have one simple request to the powers that be behind local media. Please don’t contribute to the dumbing down of this nation. Don’t promote the idea — intentionally or otherwise — that being resilient is enough and that our inconsistent practice of bayanihan is something to be proud of.

And, btw, who the hell cares if it was Richard Gutierrez or Ara Mina who rescued Christine Reyes?

This early some people are already calling the whole incident a rubout. They can’t be blamed though because the whole thing was caught on tape and it was a disturbing site. ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol aired exclusive video of what appears to be a police officer firing his gun inside the suspects’ vehicle at close range. Upon seeing the video, even National Police Commission vice-chairman Eduardo Escueta reportedly pointed out that the personnel involved did something they shouldn’t have.

It’s no secret many if not most police officers are abusive and act as if they are above the law. Clearly it is because they are armed.

In line with this blog’s thrust of providing both constructive criticism and possible solutions, may I suggest a number of radical steps that may help improve the PNP.

1. Keep all police officers over the age of 40 away from field duty. Ask them to retire, dismiss them or assign them to office duties instead. Just keep them off the streets.
2. Replace the guns of police officers over the age of 40 with nightsticks or any other non-lethal weapon
3. Impose a higher educational requirement for would-be policemen
4. Require all police officers to undergo behavior modification.
5. Dismiss all discourteous and arrogant police officers.
6. Dismiss all police officers that have vices. Make having vices grounds for automatic dismissal
7. Require all police personnel to attend daily mass or any other equivalent religious ceremony

What I’m driving at with these suggestions is that the PNP should be an agency composed of decent, upright, educated, law-abiding, and God-fearing people. It shouldn’t be manned by goons, scalawags and most especially police officers who have already become hardened by violence.

The powers that be should really consider these suggestions or come up with their own ideas. In any case, I just hope they do something about this disturbing trend of lethal violence.