The Philippine Online Chronicles

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) issued a 20-day preventive suspension against ABS-CBN noontime offering Showtime after its guest judge, controversial actress Rosanna Roces, made “offensive” remarks against school teachers and a fellow judge on its January 7 episode.

According to PEP.ph, Roces' remarks against teachers caught the ire of the viewers, prompting the MTRCB to impose a suspension on the daily noontime variety show hosted by Anne Curtis, Vhong Navarro and Kim Atienza.

During the show's live telecast, Roces asked a group of contestants from Calamba, Laguna if they could explain why the national hero (who also hailed from Calamba) was named Jose Protacio Rizal when his father was Francisco Mercado and his mother's name was Teodora Alonzo.

When the contestants weren't able to answer the question, Roces started making comments against teachers, at one point even telling students to “cuss” their teachers if they don't come up with an answer to the said question.

“Murahin mo yung teacher mo, ha? Ako minura ko yung teacher ko nung hindi niya sinagot sa akin yan, hindi sinasabi yung totoo sa atin, eh! Ikaw, taga-roon, hindi mo alam?” [Why don't you curse your teacher? I cursed my teacher when he didn't answer that same question when I asked him, as they don't tell us the truth! You are from that place, yet you don't know?]

She continued, “Pero mga kabataan, huwag kayong makuntento sa itinuturo ng libro at ng teacher. Magtatanong po kayo, hindi masama iyon. Oo, dahil ang mga teachers, they were just repeaters. Itinuturo nila kung ano ang tinuturo sa kanila. Hindi nila itinuturo kung ano ang gustong malaman ng mga bata.” [But, children, you should not be contented with what the books and your teachers say. You should ask questions, as that is not a bad thing. Yes, because the teachers, they were just repeaters. They simply teach what was taught to them. They do not teach what the youth want to know.]

Osang also threw tirades at Showtime's resident judge, comedian Vice Ganda, "joking" that the latter would be willing to strip naked for free.

When it was Vice Ganda's turn to comment, she started by thanking her teachers for her good education. She said that while some may have their shortcomings, there are still many Filipino teachers who are competent. The comedian's message, which was an apparent answer to Osang's remarks, elicited wild cheers from the audience.

“Bago ang lahat, gusto ko munang magpasalamat sa lahat ng mga naging guro ko nung unang-unang beses pa lang ako nag-aral hanggang makatapos ako. Kasi napakahusay ng mga naging guro ko. At gusto ko lang sabihin na ang mga guro, mga tao rin naman, nagkakamali rin yan, 'di ba? Kaya huwag nating lahatin. Pero siguro, may mga gurong nagkamali pero napakarami rin namang mahuhusay.” [Before everything, I want to thank all those who have been my teachers, from the moment I first started going to school until I graduated. Because my teachers were so great. And I just want to say that teachers are also people who also make mistakes. So we should not generalize. Perhaps there are some teachers who make mistakes but there are also many teachers who are good.]

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Roces revealed, after the commercial gap, that she was molested by her former teacher.

Suspension “too much for penalty”

The ABS-CBN management issued a statement the next day announcing that Roces has been removed as judge from the show in the name of “self-regulation.” Despite this, MTRCB chairperson Conzoliza Laguardia said the agency will maintain its stand on the issue.

The network said it will file an appeal in court against the MTRCB decision which it claimed “did not undergo due process.”

In the meantime, Showtime's timeslot will be filled by a program called Magpasikat, which will keep the original talent show format. The station said it will also retain all of its original hosts.

While the Teachers for Dignity Coalition did commend the the board's swift action about the incident, it did not agree with the suspension, saying that 20 days is “too much for penalty” especially since the network had already practiced self-regulation following the removal of Roces from the show.

For her part, and in true Rosanna Roces fashion, the former sexy star said she found nothing offensive about her speech and that she has the right to say "whatever she wants."

 

Video uploaded by lousytv4 on youtube.com, some rights reserved.