A declaration of war?
ON LAST Sunday’s edition of ABS-CBN’s “The Buzz,” host Boy Abunda made pointed pronouncements that could be interpreted as a declaration of war against rival network GMA 7.
He unleashed a barrage of shockers after an exclusive one-on-one with Piolo Pascual, the actor implicated in a gay sex video aired by GMA 7’s “Star Talk.”
In the course of the interview, Abunda asked questions that had long lingered in the gossip mills concerning the star’s sexuality, his close friendship with Yul Servo, the failure of his movie “Dreamboy” (which had been pitted against GMA Films’ “Let the Love Begin”) … and the purported sex video.
Wrapping up the segment, Abunda recounted the series of unfortunate events that had led to this boiling point: sex-video exposé employed by both networks in the bid to win the ratings game.
The award-winning host’s shocker No.1: “Itinataya ko ang aking maliit na pangalan na totoo ang sex video ni Ethel Booba (I hereby put my humble name on the line to say that Ethel Booba’s sex video is real).”
He made a hypothetical statement that could very well translate into a veiled warning.
“Kung sakaling totoo na may cyber-sex video si Paolo Bediones, ito’y aming pag-aaralan at iimbestigahan (If it’s true that Paolo Bediones has a cyber-sex video, we will study and investigate this.”)
Bediones and Booba are talents of GMA 7.
Defense
Abunda has refused to grant interviews since the Sunday bombshell. Close associates said he actually avoided the crew of “TV Patrol” right after “The Buzz.”
But to Inquirer Entertainment, he said a few things.
“I am not declaring war against anybody,” he said in a phone interview. “I am merely defending talk shows.”
Abunda’s associates revealed that he was bothered by his own observation that talk shows had become the “whipping boy” for all the ills of the entertainment industry.
Referring to the most recent eruption of the networks’ feud, an insider said: “It is disturbing that the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) has taken a hands-off policy in the Pascual sex-video case. Moreover, the Pami (Professional Artist Managers, Inc.) cannot do anything. Their hands are tied since they don’t have policing powers. They cannot sanction the erring networks.”
But since last week, when ABS-CBN wrote a protest letter to Pami regarding the offending “Star Talk” episode, the managers’ group has issued a strongly worded official statement, stressing that its members would remain “relentless” in pursuing the cause of “ethical entertainment journalism” on TV.
In the response addressed to Johnny Manahan, ABS-CBN senior vice president for Star Magic, the network’s talent arm (who wrote the protest letter), Pami said on Saturday:
“It is high time [the whole industry got its] act together. Pami … will continue to seek the cooperation of various groups in the community to achieve its objective.”
Ed Instrella, a Pami founding member, described the situation as “ominous,” one that merited “quick and decisive” action from all sectors concerned.
Option
Inquirer Entertainment asked Instrella whether the matter could be elevated to the Advertising Board. In the past, advertisers have been “persuasive” in dealing with shows that required a little discipline.
“Yes, that is an option,” Instrella said.
Abunda said this did not sit well with him.
In his monologue last Sunday, he enumerated the “inspiring” stories “The Buzz” had done-like Klaudia Koronel’s graduation from college; JC Parker’s devotion to her incarcerated mother; and Jodi Sta. Maria’s romance with Pampi Lacson.
Even GMA 7’s “S-Files” had aired similarly positive reports.
The TV insider, however, pointed out that talk show producers traditionally had a hard time finding viewers for good news.
“It’s the TV landscape,” the source explained. “We’ve been doing all these ‘good news’ stories, but the market is not responding. The best thing to do right now is to plead with the public to ignore spectacle and sensationalist TV, and to patronize empowering, inspiring television.”
In short, the ball is now in the viewers’ court.
“We are posing a challenge to televiewers,” the TV insider said. “If they find anything offensive on TV talk shows, they should switch channels.”
Or at least press the mute button.
Pami member Norma Japitana shared that exact sentiment with Inquirer Entertainment in a previous interview. “Everyone should be vigilant,” Japitana said. “Most especially televiewers.”
“I just wanted to speak out,” Abunda said of Sunday’s outburst. “I acknowledge that talk shows have frailties and excesses, but we are still in the middle of this journey of educating and correcting ourselves.” [source]
INQUIRER EXCLUSIVE
April 12, 2005
By Bayani San Diego
Inquirer News Service
Also published on page A2-1 of the April 13, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
[...] Most of the visitors who come to my site are looking for sex videos of either Piolo Pascual, Ethel Booba or Paolo Bediones. They must have been very disappointed upon reaching this entry which is not exactly about Philippine sex videos. [...]