The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) issued a Notice to Appear and Testify to the producers of the noontime variety show 'It's Showtime' in response to complaints about scenes depicting alleged indecent acts by hosts Vice Ganda (Jose Marie Viceral in real life) and Ion Perez (Benigno Perez in real life) during the show's 'Isip Bata' segment, which aired on channels GTV and A2Z DZOZ/DZOE 11 on July 25, 2023.
What?
Even watching the highlights video from ABS-CBN Entertainment YT doesn’t really point me to anything “morally objectionable,” except, perhaps to them being a gay couple and celebrating their love for each other. Should the two be stoned to death publicly then? Sa Quirino Grandstand kaya, tapos i-invite lahat ng nag-comment sa vid, bigyan ng tag-isang basket ng bato.
Is that the kind of ‘morality’ Filipinos want to uphold? It seems that a lot of the comments on the video would point towards that. Comments such as this one:
Had it been a straight couple, I don’t think there’d be any summons from MTRCB, nor there’d be any noise about this.
I hate “whataboutism” but in this case, you just can’t help it. Tito Sotto had a similar incident on a July 28 episode but didn’t get any flak for it likely because they’re a heterosexual couple.
I completely agree. I’m sure the same commenters on the other vid would characterize that as “sweet”, and “shows how love can transcend time and age” or whatever shit.
What I could disagree is the characterization of pointing this out as ‘whataboutism.’ I would characterize this as highlighting the double-standards inherent in the reactions to the event in the main post. Of course, the line between highlighting double-standards and ‘whataboutism’ can be blurry for some, and can be used to muddy things. However, to me at least, this shows that public display of affection is pretty much accepted if it’s between heterosexual couples, but somewhat of a taboo if it’s between homosexual couples.