MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) A food firm has decided to continue with its ad placements on TV5 game show “Willing Willie” amid a child abuse controversy which has prompted a drive on social media to boycott products of the top-rating show’s advertisers.
“We have decided to continue our sponsorship with TV5 until the end of our prior advertising commitment with them,” said CDO Foodsphere Inc.
In a statement published on its website, CDO said the controversial episode, where television host Willie Revillame was seen egging on a six-year-old boy to simulate a striptease, “jolted us out of our comfort zones” but maintained that it was “in no position to pass judgement” on the issue.
The meat processing company said that the decision was made following a meeting with the management of TV5, which promised to install an internal ombudsman and ensure a stringent screening of contestants in light of the controversy, which earned the ire also of government’s rights and social welfare agencies.
Various groups on social networking sites have called for a boycott of products of the show’s advertisers.
Responding to a Facebook lobby group, Jollibee Foods Corporation announced that “Mang Inasal will be holding off ad placements from ‘Willing Willie’ this week.”
The giant food conglomerate said it was “aware of the issues and the various sentiments raised” following the show’s March 12 episode.
Oishi described the incident as “regretful” but said it was not pulling out ads from “Willing Willie.”
Procter & Gamble said it recognizes TV5’s efforts “to prevent the occurrence of any similar incident in the future.”
“We would like to reassure the public that we are working closely with TV5 to uphold applicable regulations and improve guidelines on the appropriate handling of participation of children and minors in their TV shows,” it said in a letter to lawyer Ipat Luna, a copy of which was furnished to INQUIRER.net.
TV5 television network last week said it was conducting a “thorough investigation” of the incident.