The picket held by some concerned Filipino-Canadians during the April 12 showing of the Eat Bulaga showed some grits than meets the eye. This was precipitated by an Inquirer article written by Rodel Rodis regarding the alleged gang-rape of a 14-year-old starlet in 1982.
It was aimed to let the operators of Eat Bulaga that we in Toronto have not forgetten the sufferings endured by the young promising actress named Pepsi Paloma. The poor girl – may she rest in peace – was rendered no justice at all. No justice is far worse than injustice.
This writer has had conversations with a few Filipino-Canadian acquaintances who immigrated to Canada after 1985 about the veracity of articles and blogs posted on the worldwide web of the alleged gang-rape of this young girl. The responses were that the gang-rape was suspected by the Filipino masses to be true. The names of the alleged rapists happen to be the operators of the Eat Bulaga show.
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Toronto, here we come. To the Filipino community in Toronto, what gives? Accept the fact that they are the villains/rapists or the heroes because they are the villains/rapists who got away from being punished.
The dozen Filipino-Canadians braved the picket line heckled by the same number of fans, out of hundreds, of the show.
Some in the community promised to show up but chickened out. Some Filipinos, I was told, are scared of the power the alleged rapist have in their hands; they might be shot at while picketing. Dr. Jose Rizal died in front of gunshots because he rebelled against the injustice, never mind no justice, of the Spanish imperialists and became our national hero.
I don’t want to be a hero. We don’t need another one. But what did one of the Knights of Rizal told me when invited to join the rally? “Nakakatakot yan, pare.” This one, I think, defies the legacy the hero left them to follow.
Some say they are scared of repercussion their relatives in the native country may suffer in the hands of the powerful operators. Some just don’t care anymore about the rampant no justice laid to the masses in our native land. I don’t either.
But when the no justice is delivered to my adopted land, Canada, it is my time to refuse them. I will let any alleged criminals know that this is not the place they can showcase their operations and get paid for it. This is my territory.
“Umuwi na kayo. Wala na ba kayong magawa,” chanted the fans of Eat Bulaga. Damned right we don’t. We have done it all. The only thing we would like to do is to show your heroes are the alleged villains/rapists.
“Matagal nang nangyari yon. Bata pa ako noon,” another fan chanted. Somehow an acknowledgement that the alleged crime was committed. Does this mean that when an alleged gang-rape is committed and no justice is rendered to the victim, can or should be forgotten till the end of time?
As time goes by, will the alleged villains/rapists be treated as stars or heroes. While standing up in front of the Sony Centre, I noticed some fans treated the operators like a Justin Bieber.
“Filipino naman kayo, hindi ba?” asked one of the fans. This comment reminded me of the scenario that happened at the Intercontinental Hotel two days before the show. Apparently, we of the Balita group, were invited to attend this press conference called by the organizers. And we showed up.
The two ladies at the registration desk, to our surprise, said bluntly “you’re not invited.” However, without creating any hassles, we stayed across the front door of the hall. We took some pictures of some sceneries. At some point, I heard one the ladies shouted at us “please don’t take my picture.”
We stayed a little longer till Toronto police came to talk and tell us to leave the premises. So we did, in fact being watched like criminals. To make the story short, why didn’t the organizers just come to us, without the police getting involved, and make a deal in a human fashion to just leave because of whatever reason they can give us. Like one of the hotel Filipino security said “pare-pareho naman tayong Filipino, kabayan.”
Roll it back to the Pearson Airport scene when the operators, who were the alleged rapists, landed in the wee-wee hour of the night. Apparently, they were welcomed like the Messiah has come to town. The villains in them are forgotten. They are the heroes. Everyone in the welcoming group seemed to be cool as the starry night by the looks of it in their pictures.