Brown-skin chauvinism: GMA-7, Clavio should apologize (updated)
JEERS TO GMA-7’s Arnold Clavio for his remarks on the Philippine national men’s football team, popularly known as “Azkals,” during the network’s morning program Unang Hirit last March 13.
The team was in the news for playing at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup in Nepal. The media reported how the team was faring, especially after two team players Lexton Moy and Angel Guirado were accused by match commissioner Cristina Ramos of sexual harassment during a team check before the Philippine-Malaysia match last Feb. 29. Ramos, a former president of the Philippine Olympic Committee and a daughter of former president Fidel Ramos, filed a sexual harassment complaint against the two with the AFC.
Following a report about the Azkals and team’s condition and on Ramos’s sexual harassment complaint, the Unang Hirit hosts, weighed in on the issue, in a repeat of the usual practice in broadcasting of following reports with opinion.
As has been their wont in other cases, hosts Rhea Santos and Clavio assumed the guilt of Moy and Guirado—and proceeded to comment on the Azkals in general, but with the added claim of the team members’ being allegedly alien to Filipino culture. “Kailangan masampulan eh (They need to be taught a lesson),” said host Santos, referring to the sexual harassment complaint. Santos also faulted women for supposedly throwing themselves at Azkal players “porke guwapo, sikat (because they’re handsome and famous.)”
Clavio (Photo by Lito Ocampo)
“Aral na sa inyo iyan, ang yayabang ‘nyo. Akala ‘nyo porke’t dinadagsa kayo ng mga fans, ang gugugwapo ‘nyo eh. (This should serve as a lesson to you, because you guys are arrogant. Just because you have many fans, you think you are handsome”),” Clavio added. “(You think you are) God’s gift to women.”
Clavio briefly recounted the alleged circumstances of the incident and offered his own explanation behind the alleged harassment. Clavio said: “Hindi ko kayo ka-kultura (We’re not of the same cultural heritage). Kasi wala dito (pointing to his chest) at wala dito (pointing to his head).”
“Hindi naman kayo Pilipino. Nagpapanggap lang kayong kayumanggi. Hindi kayo dito lumaki (You’re not Filipino. You just pretend to be brown-skinned. You did not grow up here),” Clavio added, apparently implying that some members of the national men’s football team are not Filipinos; that only the brown skinned are “Filipinos” who grew up in the country; and that these “real Filipinos” are incapable of sexually harassing women.
At the end of his commentary, Clavio however gave his best wishes for the team in the AFC Challenge Cup, adding the tournament is a different matter altogether from the sexual harassment complaint.
The commentaries of Clavio and Santos (but more particularly in Clavio’s case) instantly became the subject of controversy. In a March 15 formal complaint filed with the network, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) described the statements as “racist, discriminatory, libelous and malicious.” The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility has received similar letters of complaint. Clavio became a trending topic in Twitter because of the online reaction to his remarks.
“In making his scurrilous statements, Clavio made it appear that PFF has selected persons who are not Filipino citizens to be members of, and to play for the Philippine National Team. This subjects all Philippine National Teams (not only the Men’s National Team) to doubts by international organizations, spectators and opposing national teams as to their Filipino citizenship… It also puts the name and reputation of the Philippines and the PFF in disrepute. Clavio obviously does not know (and he or your program staff did not care to check) that only Filipinos can play in the Philippines National Football Team,” PFF said in its letter to GMA-7. The group demanded a written apology from Clavio and the network, as well as sanctions against Clavio, and for him to take back his remarks.
In a statement last March 14, Clavio acknowledged using inappropriate words and pleaded for public understanding. He added that he did not intend to cause such a negative reaction and that the main issue was the sexual harassment.
Two days later, GMA-7 issued a statement saying that it was standing by Clavio’s comments. It added that the comments were not part of the program’s news reporting and that the hosts made those remarks during the program’s commentary segment.
The network said the issue tackled in the program segment was sexual harassment and that the hosts were entitled to their opinions. It also said that Clavio was referring not to the citizenship or racial lineage of the Azkals but whether they take to heart the so-called “Pinoy culture”.
The network added that it did not find the hosts’ comments discriminatory, libelous, and malicious as PFF alleged in its complaint.
Although the ongoing sexual harassment complaint is indeed a serious matter that should be discussed, by making those remarks, Clavio and Santos, among other offenses, did prejudge Guirado and Moy. As for GMA-7’s argument that Clavio’s statements were made in the “commentary segment” of the program, the reality is that there is no separation of news and commentary, news and opinion in these shows. The criticism thus applies to the show’s exchange between the hosts. Given the quotes above, it is difficult to defend the insulting terms that Clavio used.
One of the worst practices of broadcasting in the Philippines and elsewhere is the seamless joining of news and commentary, which very often confuses viewers and listeners, and in this particular case, was very likely to have convinced them that the guilt of Moy and Guirado was established on the sole basis of the complaint’s having been made. There is also the fact that while many Filipinos, and not only the Azkal team members, are of multi-racial origin, and that being Filipino is not a matter of skin color, some viewers and listeners may have been misled into thinking otherwise in a rare case of “my-brown-skin-is more-Filipino-than-yours” chauvinism. Clavio should be more careful because he also anchors GMA-7’s news program Saksi. Clavio should go beyond pleading for understanding and should forthwith apologize, and so should GMA-7.
While they’re at it they should also seriously review the practice of merging commentary with news in practically the same breath.
CLAVIO, YOU’RE MUCH AWAITED APOLOGY IS BEING WANTED TO HEAR BY SO MANY! GRRRRRR…..