Just as Director Cathy Garcia-Molina finally aired her side in a web-only interview with Boy Abunda, it seems that word travels quickly.
UP history professor Alvin Campomanes responded to direk Cathy’s revelations in her online interview through a status post he posted on his Facebook page.
Ngayong umaga ko lamang napanood ang interview ni Boy Abunda kay Cathy Garcia Molina. (I was only able to watch Cathy Garcia Molina’s interview with Boy Abunda this morning.)
Narito ang aking reaksyon sa ilang punto na kanyang nabanggit: (Here are my reactions to some of the points that she mentioned:)
1. Hindi maaring ihiwalay ang karakter sa taong gumaganap nito. Ang pagpapahiya sa isang tao ay tatatak sa kanyang pagkatao, hindi lamang sa ginagampanan niyang papel sa set. Alam ito ng mga talent at crew na namura na at napahiya. Sabi nga ng isang matandang talent na nagpadala ng mensahe sa akin, dala nila ang sakit hanggang pagtanda dahil hindi nila nagawang tumindig at lumaban.
(You cannot separate the character from the actor. Humiliating someone is a mark of one’s character, not just of the role one plays while they are on set. Every single talent and crew member who has been humiliated knows this. As one veteran talent who reached out told me, they still bring the pain with them until they grow old because they were not able to stand up and fight against it.)
Maling-mali ang pahayag na ‘pagmumura lang’ ang kanyang ginawa. Halimbawa, nang sigawan niya ako ng ‘alam mo, ikaw, inutil ka!’ at hinayaan niyang pinagtawanan ako sa set, hindi ba pagpapahiya ang tawag doon? Nakita ko kung paano niyang sawayin ang pagtawa ng crew kapag artista ang nagkakamali sa pagbigkas ng kanyang linya. Dagdag pa, para sa akin, di hamak na mas malaki ang impact sa lipunan ng aking propesyon kaya labis akong nasaktan.
(Saying that what she did was “simply cursing” is completely wrong. For instance, when she berated me by saying, “You know what you are, an idiot!” and left me to be made fun of on set, was that not humiliation? I witnessed how she discouraged the crew from laughing when a popular actor flubbed in his lines. Additionally, my profession leaves a bigger impact on society, which is why I was greatly hurt.)
2. Taliwas sa kanyang sinabi, ang pinakamaraming beses na nagkamali ako ay dalawang hanggang tatlong beses. Puro blocking lang ang naging pagkakamali ko, napakadali sanang itama kung maayos lamang ang pagbibigay ng instruction. Hindi naman mahina ang ulo ko para umunawa ng simpleng instruction, lalo na kung blocking lang.
Ang aking tanong, bakit hindi siya bastos sa ‘malalaking’ artista?
(Contrary to what she said, at most, I made mistakes about two to three times. These were mostly on blocking, which could have been easily corrected had the instructions been properly given. I am not stupid not to understand simple instructions, especially when it comes to blocking.
My question is, why wasn’t she rude to “big-time” actors?)
3. Bagamat maayos ang pagtatanong ni Boy Abunda, may mga detalye ang open letter na halatang mahirap gawan ng tanong dahil sa implikasyon nito hindi lamang sa network kundi sa buong industriya.
(Although Boy Abunda’s line of questioning was fine, there were details in the open letter that were obviously hard to ask because of the implications not just on the network, but on the whole industry.)
4. Ang pagpapalitaw ni Cathy Garcia Molina ng anggulo na natatakot siya sa kanyang seguridad, sa aking palagay, ay kalkulado para kunin ang simpatya ng tao.
Sa aming dalawa, sino kaya ang mas lantad sa panganib? Ni wala akong kotse at sumasakay lang ako sa jeep sa pagpasok at paglabas sa UP. Tahasang sinabi sa akin ng isang prominenteng abogado na mapanganib ang aking ginagawang paglaban, na maari ko itong ikamatay.
(The implication made by Cathy Garcia Molina that she fears for her security is, in my opinion, calculated to garner public sympathy.
Between me and her, whose life is more at risk? I don’t even have a car, and I only ride a jeep to get in and out of UP. A prominent lawyer explicitly told me that my protest was essentially dangerous, that this could cost me my life.)
5. Bakit inilabas ang sulat sa social media? Lampas sa isang taon kaming naghintay ng hustisya mula sa ABS-CBN. Ang tanging hiningi namin noon ay pagharapin kami, pahingiin sila ng paumanhin at patawan sila ng disciplinary action. Nakailang palitan kami ng email nina Cory Vidanes at Lauren Dyogi, pareho silang nangako ng agarang aksyon ngunit walang nangyari. Maari rin nating itanong, kung ito kaya ay hindi naging viral, umaksyon pa kaya ang network? Malamang hindi na.
(Why was the open letter released on social media? We waited for justice from ABS-CBN for more than a year. All we asked for was a proper dialogue, to ask for an apology, and for them to be meted out with disciplinary action. We had numerous exchanges over e-mail with Cory Vidanes and Lauren Dyogi, and both promised swift action yet nothing came out of it. We can also question, had this not gone viral, would the network still have acted on it? Most likely not.)
6. Hindi lamang kami ang nasaktan sa kanilang ginawa sa amin. Hindi ba nasaktan ang aming pamilya? Halimbawa, sa akin, hindi ba nasaktan ang mga aking mga naging estudyante at mga kaibigan, lalo na ang mga kapwa ko guro?
(We were not the only ones who were hurt with what they did. Weren’t our own families affected, too? In my case, were my students and friends not hurt with what they did, especially my fellow educators?)
7. Bakit lumabas ang sulat pagkatapos ng Forevermore at A Second Chance? Delicadeza. Nasagot na ito sa open letter. Sa kabila ng kaapihang dinanas namin, pinili namin na huwag ilabas ang sulat noong tumatakbo pa ang teleserye at nasa mga sinehan pa ang pelikula upang hindi masabi ng network na ito’y paninira lamang o propaganda.
(Why did the open letter only come out after Forevermore and A Second Chance? Delicadeza. This was already addressed earlier in the open letter. And despite the injustice we went through, we chose not to release the letter while the teleserye was still on the air, and while the film was still showing in theaters, so that the network can’t claim that this was just propaganda.)
Nakailang request ng interview ang iba’t ibang network sa amin pero wala kaming pinaunlakan KAHIT ISA. Ayaw naming gamitin ng mga karibal na network ang isyu laban sa ABS-CBN.
Ito ba’y hindi pa rin nila kayang ipagpasalamat?
(Other networks have requested for an interview several times, but we turned everyone down. We did not want rival networks to use the issue specifically against ABS-CBN.
Is this not something they can be thankful for?)
Thoughts on this? Share with us your comments below.
