Boy abused in ‘Willing Willie,’ DSWD says
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Social Welfare and Department (DSWD) has stepped into the controversy involving television show “Willing Willie†and a 6-year-old boy who was made to dance in a lewd manner in exchange for P10,000.
The DSWD, in a press statement Monday, said the incident that aired March 12 on TV5 is clear case of child abuse.
“The sequence shows the boy gyrating in a distasteful manner with the audience, including the host (Willie Revillame), manifesting no evidence of concern or alarm for the child,†the agency said.
“This incident is clearly a violation of Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act and a blatant manifestation of child abuse,†it stressed.
The DSWD said child abuse includes the following acts: “psychological and physical abuse, neglect, cruelty, sexual abuse and emotional maltreatment,†and “any act by deeds or words which debases, degrades or demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of the child as a human being.â€
“Putting pressure on children to do acts such as mimicking adult sexy dances, in exchange for a certain amount of money, and at the expense of being laughed at and ridiculed by hundreds of people, clearly traumatizes the child,†it added.
“This is a clear form of child abuse and will not be tolerated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development,†the statement said.
The department said it has gotten in touch with ABC Development Communication chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan and asked that children should not be allowed to appear in TV shows like Willing Willie “especially those capitalizing on poverty as a source of immediate entertainment.â€
In its letter to Mr. Pangilinan, the DSWD also rebuked Revillame’s “insensitive actions and remarks.â€
The government agency also revealed that it will look for the boy’s family, determine the incident’s effect on the child and determine if necessary counseling should be given to the child and his parents.
The incident has set social media networks like Facebook and Twitter on fire. Blog entries condemning the show and its host have also been published online.
Twitter users condemned the incident while a campaign was launched on Facebook to raise the issue to the authorities:
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