TV host and comedian Vice Ganda (L) and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile (Photo from Instagram/@praybeytbenjamin and Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippine — “It’s Showtime” may have rougher sailing ahead as Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile voiced his own objections to its main host Vice Ganda amid the show’s ongoing tussle with the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).
In his radio program on SMNI News on Saturday, Enrile called Vice Ganda “salacious” and indecent, comparing him with those wielding their power and influence.
“Salacious, ibig sabihin nun malisyoso. Ang problema kasi sa bansa natin kapag meron kang kapangyarihan political, social, o economic o whatever, hindi mo na iniisip yung kapwa,” Enrile said. (Salacious, meaning malicious. The problem with our country is that people with political, social, economic, or whatever power do not think of their fellow people.)
“Yung binigay na katangian mo sa iyong lipunan ay hindi mo na tinitignan ang kakulangan ng iba. Sarili mo na lang iniisip mo, akala mo maganda yung ginagawa mo. Super bastos ka, bastos kang tao,” he added.
(You’re not thinking about the effect of what you display in public. You only think of yourself. You think what you’re doing is okay. You think what you’re doing is right. You’re so indecent, you’re an indecent person.)
Enrile said that he was able to follow Vice Ganda’s rise in popularity, and that’s when he realized that the host-comedian has been using “indecent acts” to earn a living.
“Hindi lang walang decency kungdi abusado. Alam ko na mapagpatawa yang binabanggit mo na babae (Vice Ganda) magmula pa ng araw ganyan na yan […] you’re earning your living and popularity sa kabastusan,” he said.
(Not only indecent but also abusive. She’s been like that since, using inappropriate acts to earn your living and popularity.)
Last September 4, MTRCB handed a 12-airing day suspension on “It’s Showtime,” citing “indecent acts” by Vice Ganda and his partner Ion Perez, during the show’s “Isip Bata” segment on July 25 and the use of “inappropriate language” by another host in other episodes.
The producers of the show have been given a few days to submit their motion for reconsideration.
As President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr’s chief legal adviser, any ruling meted by the MTRCB may be elevated to the Office of the President, who may then refer the matter to Enrile’s office. JMS / EDV