While sipping smoothies with middle-aged women at the mall, the conversation turned to teleseryes, a topic covered in a column published earlier this month, “Do teleseryes display Filipino attitudes?” They all admitted to enjoying them but had some criticism.
A banker said she enjoys watching teleseryes after a hard day’s work but called some of the content “vulgar.”
“While you do not see butts and torrid kissing [on] some dramas, what I do not like is the shouting and slapping, and pulling of hair,” she said. “Our children are still awake and they see [this] as a daily occurrence in Filipino life.”
“Would they find it fit to act that way too?” she asked.
“Broadcast networks are making these scandalous teleseryes for no other purpose but to earn money,” said a Rotary Club member. “One show expresses to the viewing public two couples and they secretly swap partners and [commit] illicit acts – it is like giving our husbands some strategic ideas on how to go about it – truly immoral.”
A teacher said some husbands shared their sentiment in enjoying the shows but also do not like what is being shown. She also relayed a comment by her husband, noting, “It is like telling our wives to be suspicious of us always.”
“Most teleseryes are simply showing immorality; why is MTRCB (Movie and Television Review and Classification Board) not doing anything?” asked a woman working in the insurance field. “The censoring body should understand that moral values are more important than those sexy ‘portions.’”
“Can you imagine one TV show clearly showing a wife flirting with another husband and the other way around?” she asked. “How can the network afford to show this?”
The banker reiterated an earlier statement by the Rotary Club member, “The network is there just to earn money.”
“Filipinos who maintain moral Christian values are of the opinion that wholesome television programs should be shown,” she added. “The censoring body should be more conscious of their obligation to maintain moral values; children have become indifferent because television shows have been a contributor to immorality in society.”
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This column greets Jun Lagarde, Alex Castor, BJ Enerio, Apollo Santos, Charizze Vilches, Atty. Clint Aranas, Atty. Jan Rubiato, Pamela Guevarra, Ed Estandarte, Honey Loop, Junjun Lizares, Bernie Yulo, Manu Gidwani, Monet Kilayko, Baby Mora, Philip Garcia, and Pipoy Olaira./WDJ