The Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA) will allow its members to decide whether to pull out advertisements from “Willing Willie,” which has been accused of child abuse.Jollibee Foods Corp. earlier suspended ad placements of Mang Inasal in the television show.
PANA, in a letter to the head of a consumer’s group on Facebook, said it had informed its members of the concerns raised by various sectors of society regarding the “Willing Willie” controversy.
PANA sent to its members copies of a letter-complaint regarding the show’s March 12 episode wherein a crying 6-year-old boy danced like a male stripper.
“We are sharing this information to our membership consistent with our mission statement which states that: PANA aims to be an association of advertisers providing leadership, guidance and support in the promotion of effective, truthful and responsible marketing communications, championing self-regulation, consumer protection, values formation and the advancement of the practice of marketing communications to global standards,” the organization said.
“With this information, we trust that our members will be guided accordingly on the best decision to take,” PANA added.
The Commission on Human Rights and the Department of Social Welfare and Development earlier said that the incident is a clear case of child abuse.
The National Youth Commission of the Office of the President has also issued a resolution condemning the incident.
“Mr. [Willie] Revillame must be reprimanded, held liable for his misdemeanor and be asked to issue a public statement acknowledging his lack of sensitivity on this whole incident," the commission said.
The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) is currently investigating the issue.
In its latest briefer on the case, the MTRCB said TV5, where the show is being aired, “should be able to impose punitive sanctions on the program and its hosts, which can range from a reprimand to a cancellation of the TV program itself, in the spirit of self-regulation.“
“The MTRCB is determined to resolve expeditiously this case of paramount importance,” said board chairperson Mary Grace Poe Llamanzares.
