Palace on Baldwin's derogatory remark vs Pinoys

Author: Sun.Star
Column: Manila, Entertainment

EXECUTIVE Secretary Eduardo Ermita on Wednesday said actor Alec Baldwin is free to say what he wants, but he should also be prepared to face the consequences of his actions and statements.

Ermita issued statement as Filipino-American nationals have started to protest Baldwin's joke about getting a Filipino mail-order bride in order to start off a "big family."

He said that without Malacañang or the Department of Foreign Affairs or the Philippines Embassy in the United States having to ask Baldwin to make a public apology, he would already feel the effects of such a statement.

"This is a democracy and we cannot prevent anybody from saying what they want to say. Of course that is their own look out if in the process they hear some negative or derogatory remark coming from the citizenry... Let him suffer the consequences of what he did," he said.

He added that Filipinos in the US have already reacted "strongly" about the derogatory statement.

The Philippine consul in New York had likewise sent a letter to Baldwin and the producers of the David Letterman Show expressing "deep concern over the derogatory remark" which they said displayed "insensitivity and tactlessness" even if it was meant as a jest.

Baldwin during Letterman's interview was asked about his family and if he would want to have a big family to which he responded positively, adding that he was even "thinking about getting a Filipina mail-order bride ... or a Russian."

Letterman who laughed with Baldwin said "Get one for me, for later."

Baldwin was the latest personality to take a jab at Filipinos following Hong Kong columnist Chip Tsao's quip in March about the Philippines being a "nation of servants."

Filipinos also protested in 2008 an episode of "The Harry and Paul Show" that featured a Filipino maid gyrating in front of her British employers, and in 2007 an episode of the "Desperate Housewives" after one of the lead characters put down Filipino doctors. (JMR/Sunnex)

Source: Sunstar Daily