AMBASSADOR GAA COMMENDS STRONG AND UNIFIED RESPONSE AGAINST U.S. TV SHOW DISPARAGING REMARKS

16 October 2007—Philippine Ambassador to Washington Willy C. Gaa reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that following a swift, strong and unified response from the Filipino American community, the Philippine Embassy and Consulates General, that came in the form of letters of protest, an online petition that reached around 60,000 signatories within a week of its circulation, media interviews, press statements and rallies, ABC Studios issued an apology for the disparaging remarks made against Philippine-trained medical professionals and practitioners on a 30 September episode of their television show entitled "Desperate Housewives."

The apology made on 04 October was followed by a dialogue between a Senior Vice President of ABC and various leaders and representatives from the Filipino American community. The community leaders presented ways for ABC to make amends for the offense and harm created by the incident, such as for ABC to remove or re-edit the offensive segment of the episode.

On 09 October, Consul General Mary Jo Aragon of the Philippine Consulate General of Los Angeles informed the Embassy that the Vice President for Media Relations for ABC Studios, Ms. Charissa Gilmore had called to inform her that the offensive segment of the episode is being edited and that a new version of the episode without those remarks is being developed. ABC Studios had also removed the offensive from digital platforms such as abc.com and iTunes until a new version is available.

Consul General Aragon likewise suggested to Ms Gilmore that ABC Studios should continue to engage key leaders of the Filipino American community, particularly those in the healthcare profession, in meaningful dialogue in order to resolve any remaining concerns.

Commenting on these developments, Philippine Ambassador to the United States, Willy C. Gaa said, "I am impressed by the speed and effectiveness in which the community has come together on this issue." He added that the disparaging remarks in the episode were "an offense against the dignity and abilities of our people and our community, especially those who worked so hard to establish solid reputations in the field of medicine and healthcare."

"I commend the efforts of the Filipino American community and of our Consul Generals for maintaining our dialogue and advocacy that has led ABC Studios to address the concerns that we have raised. We have demonstrated the potential of the Filipino American community to influence events. I hope that we can further build on this display of solidarity and collective effort and harness it in support of our common interests in issues such as equity for Filipino veterans or better trading and business opportunities," Ambassador Gaa emphasized.

"Let us remain united and vigilant against all unfounded aspersions against the Filipino," he added. END.

/Allan