Various Statements re Willie Revillame Alleged Child Abuse

Here are various statements on Willing Willie incident from various politicians, private sector , government agencies, and NGO.

World Vision Philippines

World Vision-Philippines strongly believes that children must be cared for, protected, and participating. As such, children are citizens and their rights and dignity must be upheld in order to achieve child well-being. In this regard, by allowing a six-year old boy to gyrate and mimic the body movements of a macho dancer on national television in exchange for money, Willie Revillame has exposed the child to risks and conditions prejudicial to his development.

We call on responsible government agencies to decisively act and continue to monitor this matter; and prevent, once and for all, similar events from happening.

We call on our fellow advocates to be vigilant and, at the same time, to continue to educate our people, the media and entertainment industries on the rights of children as well as their protection.

Read more on WORLD VISION-PHILIPPINES CONDEMNS ACTS THAT PUT CHILDREN AT RISK

UNICEF Philippines

UNICEF fully supports the actions taken by the DSWD and Commission on Human Rights and other concerned groups to ensure the child’s right to protection from exploitation and abuse and to counsel the family involved in this incident.

UNICEF is also advocating for the media, particularly for the broadcast TV networks, to take a careful look at the values and behaviors that are being promoted in some of their programs. read more

CDO on good values and good faith

Maintaining good faith in our word, we have decided to continue our sponsorship with TV5 until the end of our prior advertising
commitment with them. Not withdrawing does not mean CDO will
tolerate the show or its host to go against the values we stand for.
We believe that issues can be addressed through dialogues with
utmost objectivity and temperance. Let us sow love and not
provoke anger in these controversies.

CDO OFFICIAL STATEMENT

Council for the Welfare of Children

The Council for the Welfare of Children shall, at an appropriate time, undertake discussions on the proposed policy implications through changes in the laws and programs to tighten our protection of children especially as they are the subject of media coverage. read more

Download CDO OFFICIAL STATEMENT

AHRC Statement on the Willing Willie Episode Involving Jan-Jan Estrada ‹ Ateneo Human Rights Center

?”The fact that the show had the opportunity to screen the child’s performance during the audition increases its responsibility to prevent the exploitation of the child… Mechanisms should be in place to ensure that children who participate in such contests or performances are not exploited..” read more

Statement of the UP CMC Alumni, Faculty, Staff, and Staff on TV5’s “Willing Willie”

Media should be accountable to the public and its citizens, not to the owners and their stakeholders. Success is measured not by the profits it has earned but by serving the public interest – which is to promote active citizenship through information, education and social integration. From read more

DSWD through Sec. Dinky Soliman

There are limits to children appearing on television, and clearly, your 12 March 2011 episode did not respect the rights of the child and traumatized the six year-old boy. I also wish to raise my concern that the show tends to cash in on the plight of the poor. There are other ways of helping the poor without having to degrade their dignity and earn money out of it. read more

Commission on Human Rights

The willingness of Jan-Jan’s parents to expose him, both in private and public, to a humiliating and degrading situation is child abuse. The Commission is also deeply alarmed that the abuse suffered by Jan-Jan was seen on national television and that its videos are being repeatedly watched by the public, including children.

The Commission will investigate this incident in order to identify the person/s liable and to recommend proper legal actions against them. The Commission will also issue recommendations to relevant private, especially TV5, and public agencies in order to prevent similar incidents from happening again. The Commission also calls upon the relevant government offices such as the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Department of Justice to undertake the appropriate actions to address this incidence of child abuse and to provide the necessary relief to Jan-Jan.

Read more?

Senator Pia Cayentano on ‘TV shows should be mindful of children’s rights’

“It is very disturbing that this incident took place,” said Cayetano, who chairs the Senate Committee on Youth, Women and Family Relations. “The producers of shows should be mindful that the rights of the child are respected all the time, on and off the air.”

“In this case, the issuance of a public apology by TV5, the producers of ‘Willing Willie’ and Mr. Revillame himself indicates their recognition of the wrongful act that had been committed.”

“I hope this unfortunate incident serves as a lesson to all on the importance of respecting the rights of the child and prevents similar occurrences in the future.”

The National Youth Commission of the Office of the President

via Facebook

The National Youth Commission of the Office of the President wrote a resolution that “expresses its dismay during the incident in the Willing Willie live telecast “. The resolution further adds that “Mr. Revillame and the Willing Willie be forewarned of this unacceptable behavior and be condemned for his gestures that do not set a good example of a media figure”

“Mr. Revillame must be reprimanded, held liable for his misdemeanor and be asked to issue a public statement acknowledging his lack of sensitivity on this whole incident.”

Here is the letter.

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House Resolution 1146: Condemnation of Alleged Child Abuse

The resolution also “calls on the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to review and strengthen the code of ethics among personalities in television in congruence with existing laws that aim to protect the rights and welfare of every Filipino.”

Tañada said the parents should be held accountable for the public humiliation on the six-year-old boy on live national television.

“The laws for the protection of our children are in place. This is now an issue of observing those laws on the part of each and every parent, game show host, and Filipino citizen who should always keep the rights and welfare of innocent children in mind,”

House Resolution 1146: Condemnation of Alleged Child Abuse