‘Wowowin’ criticized for featuring woman impregnated as a teen by 30-year-old lector

Variety show “Wowowin” featured teenage mothers on its “Pera o Kahon” segment during its episode on Friday, Oct. 12. But one contestant, Jona, drew more attention not so much for her talent in singing but because she revealed that she was impregnated at the age of 13 by a 30-year-old church lector.

The official YouTube account of Wowowin uploaded the video of Jona and her partner, Manny, last Saturday, Oct. 13.

Jona revealed she already has four children with Manny and that her parents are aware of their relationship. She said she met Manny while they were both serving their church — he was a lector while she was a choir member.

“Bakit ka nag-kagusto sa ganung edad?” the show’s host, Willie Revillame asked. “Trese anyos ka e.”

(Why were you attracted to that age? You were thirteen back then.)

“Ma-boka po kasi Kuya Will e! (Because he was a smooth talker Kuya Will!)” Jona replied.

Apparently, despite being together for nine years, the two has yet to tie the knot.

“Kita mo yan, lector pero ayaw magpakasal (Look at that, he is a lector but he doesn’t want to get married),” Revillame chastised.

“Bata pa po kami kasi kuya Will nung nagsama po at dahil ngayon apat na po anak namin mahirap na po samin magpakasal kasi nga po… budget po kuya Will, wala po kaming budget,” reasoned Jona.

(We were both young Kuya Will when we decided to live together, and because we have four children now, it’s hard for us to get married, because we don’t have a budget.)

Revillame insisted there are ways to get married without breaking the bank, such as joining the “Kasalang Bayan”.

Meanwhile, Manny divulged he had his eyes on Jona since she was 12-years-old.

“Alam mo noong 12 years old ka pa, nagparinig ka ng talent mo at na-in love ako sa’yo noon,” Manny stated. “Kaya noon pa lang, niligiran na kita.”

(Do you know, when you were only 12 years old, when you showcased your talent in singing, [that was when] I fell in love with you. That’s why way back then, I was already guarding you.)

“Sa mga pagsubok namin, sa aming baranggay, ang daming nag-nenegative, kasi s’yempre laman ako ng simbahan tapos ganun nga,” he continued. “Pero kahit na ganun pinasok ko yun, haharapin ko kasi s’yempre dahil binata naman ako at malinis naman ang intensyon ko sa’yo.”

(One of the trials we experienced was being negatively looked at by our baranggay, because I was a member of the church [when I fell in love with a minor]. But despite all that, I still pursued you. I faced it all because I was single anyway, and I had good intentions towards you.)

But the episode did not sit well with netizens who called Manny a “pedophile.” Outraged commenters said that the huge age gap would not have mattered if both were adults when they started their relationship.

“Pedophile yung guy kasi underage yung girl nung may nangyari!” one YouTube commenter, leyline farlier, said. “Wag niyong idahilan ang age doesn’t matter! Bullsh*t! Kadiri kayo! At wag niyong idahilan na responsable at pina[na]gutan naman! Dapat managot yung guy pati yung magulang nung girl!”

([Manny] is a pedophile because Jona was underage when they had sex. Don’t reason out that age doesn’t matter! Bullsh*t! You are all disgusting! And don’t rationalize that Manny had been responsible for looking after Jona! He and Jona’s parents should answer to the law!)

Other commenters on Twitter expressed their disappointment on the show for featuring Jona and Manny’s story.

See more

13 at 30??? isnt that pedo? Wowowin ano ba yan

— kk xjq (@softdarastan) October 12, 2018

https://twitter.com/chawzooo/status/1050693960241373188

https://twitter.com/missoptimism_/status/1050695939403313152

Another YouTube commenter went as far as to suggest that netizens boycott the show for allegedly promoting pedophilia.