News Release
October 9, 2007

Reference: Berna Ellorin, Secretary-General, BAYAN USA, email: secgen@bayanusa.org

Malacanang's Quick Acceptance of ABC Apology Proves How Detached GMA is from Filipino People

The US Chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, or BAYAN USA, criticized the Philippine government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for blanketly accepting the email apology issued by the Disney-ABC Television group last week in response to Filipino community's outrage over the racial slur uttered b Teri Hatcher's character Susan in Desperate Housewives.

A recent news report quoted Sergio Apostol, chief presidential legal counsel, as saying that the Palace sees the apology as enough to forgive the offense. He reportedly said that what was important was ABC's admission of its mistake.

"We are disappointed. This obviously indicative of how detached Malacanang is to the real sentiments of the Filipino people at large, when Filipino groups all over the world have cited the insufficiency of the apology and taking action to demand a better apology through concrete measures," states BAYAN USA Chair Chito Quijano, who also serves a labor representative with California Nurses Association (CNA), a medical association of many Filipino healthcare workers educated in the Philippines.

The Filipino-American alliance also cited the proven inability of the Arroyo government to exact good judgement.

"Let's not forget this is also the same administration that thought it could issue a simple 'I'm sorry' on national television to make up for the fact that it committed massive election fraud," Quijano emphasized. "It is the right of the Filipino medical professionals in the US, those immediately affected by the slur, to raise the level of protest actions and other measures to make ABC accountable for its mistake."

The alliance stated it supported the calls of the national Filipino-American group known as the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns or NAFCON in rallying the Filipino-American community to action, challenging ABC to issue a decent and proper apology. It also commended NAFCON for taking leadership in representing the real sentiments of the Filipino-American community in a negotiation session with ABC Senior Vice President for Diversity and Talent Development Robert Mendez in New York City last week. ###
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