05/24/2011 | 12:25 AM
TV5 host Willie Revillame on Monday asked the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office to dismiss the criminal cases filed against him in connection with a crying, dancing six-year old boy who performed in his defunct game show, “Willing Willie."
In his 31-page counter-affidavit, Revillame denied the allegations saying that the complaints against him were personal and only aimed to destroy him and his career.
“It is evidence [sic] that there was a concerted effort, headed by the complainants, to deploy the machineries of the government against me, a private individual, for a purely commercial action not involving national security or national interest," Revillame said in his counter-affidavit.
The TV host further stated that he did not violate specific provisions of the laws on child labor, anti-pornography and child-trafficking. Revillame said that the complainants were not clear on how he was supposed to have violated the anti-child labor law since they did not allege any specific act he had supposedly committed which would constitute an element of the said crime.
“[I]t is apparent that complainants will not stop at anything to distort and twist the clear language and meaning of the law just so they could purse their agenda against me," he added.
“I cannot fathom the motive or agenda of complainants in filing this case. The ‘body wave’ dance of the boy is no different than [sic] those performed by other children in different [television] shows like Goin’ Bulilit and Showtime. Yet, I and the March 12, 2011 episode of Willing Willie were singled out and vilified in the media, public fora and even before the government institutions like the MTRCB, Commission on Human Rights and now before the Department of Justice," Revillame stated in his counter-affidavit.
Three separate cases of violation of Republic Act 7610 (Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse) were filed against Revillame in connection with the Willing Willie March 12 episode in which a six-year old boy danced in tears while Revillame called him a “macho dancer" as the studio audience laughed and cheered.
The three separate complaints were filed by the children’s rights group Stop Child Rights Exploitation in Media (SCREAM), Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman, and running priest Fr. Robert Reyes, environmentalist Froilan Grate, blogger Noemi Lardizabal-Dado and advertising executive Peachy Rallonza-Bretaña.
The SCREAM complaint is the only one with allegations of violations of the child labor law, the anti-pornography law and the child-trafficking law.