Willing Willie's comeback, scheduled on May 7th! | Willing Willie Poll Results

"Willing Willie should not return! Everything is over with Willing Willie and Willie Revillame."

This is what 3,673 (63%) respondents of the Noypistuff Poll are saying.

The poll was started when controversial host Willie Revillame announced the show's 2-week break starting on April 11 after sponsors pulled out their ads on the show. There were also 2294 (38%) people who said that Willing Willie should be given a chance and resume airing on TV.

The majority of the voters of our poll may get disappointed with this news.

According to recent reports, Willing Willie will be coming back on May 7, 2011 (Saturday) - which means that the announced 2-week break has been extended for almost another 2 weeks.

Cristy Fermin confirmed the comeback on her show "Paparazzi". She said Willie Revillame already talked to the TV5 heads and set May 7th as the date of the show's return on air.

As previously reported, the show will showcase new games and segments together with its new LED dance floor which is said to be a first on Philippine TV.

Noypi has not closed the Poll, yet. You can still cast your votes below:

With the recent turn out of events, Willie Revillame has announced that his show "Willing Willie" will be off air for two weeks or until he makes up his mind of continuing the show without the sponsors.

What do you think, guys? Should "Willing Willie" go on air once again? Or is it better for TV5 not to have the show anymore?

Poll: ''Willing Willie", to return or not to return? Cast your votes!

Background

The controversial March 12 episode of "Willing Willie" where a 6-year old boy named JanJan Suan did a macho dancing act as his talent in a segment of the show, has been found to constitute child abuse by some government agencies.

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board is currently investigating on the matter. Meanwhile, the show's sponsors have pulled out their ads on the show.

'Willing Willie', still off-air this week | 'Willing Willie' makeover, underway

'Willing Willie' , still off-air this week | 'Willing Willie' makeover, underway

The controversial host of Willing Willie, Willie Revillame previously announced that his show will be back in airing episodes on television after a self-imposed 2-week break following the pulling out of ads of its sponsors due to the alleged child abuse on its March 12 episode. However, fans have to wait longer since the break apparently has been extended.

"Willing Willie" Logo and Photo of Shalani Soleda courtesy of TV5

The 2-week hiatus has passed but "Willing Willie" will not air tonight, according to recent reports. There is also no official and definite word yet on when 'Willing Willie' will return on television.

In a recent interview of Willie Revillame's co-host Shalani Soledad though, she said that they will be back soon. She added that their set has undergone a make over as well.

“Sa mga milyong-milyon na naga-abang kung kelan po babalik ang ‘Willing Willie,’ malapit na po. And of course, marami ang ginagawa, marami kaming ini-improve sa show para pag-balik natin mas lalo pang mag-enjoy ang ating mga [manonood],” Soledad announced on "Paparazzi", yesterday.

“Meron na tayong bagong flooring, which we are very proud [of]. This is the first LED flooring sa buong Pilipinas. So abangan niyo po ‘yan,” she added.

Meanwhile, here's a Noypistuff poll started a couple of weeks ago. The number of votes is nearing 5,000. You can still cast yours though since Noypistuff has extended it for another week.

With the recent turn out of events, Willie Revillame has announced that his show "Willing Willie" will be off air for two weeks or until he makes up his mind of continuing the show without the sponsors.

What do you think, guys? Should "Willing Willie" go on air once again? Or is it better for TV5 not to have the show anymore?

Poll: ''Willing Willie", to return or not to return? Cast your votes!

Background

The controversial March 12 episode of "Willing Willie" where a 6-year old boy named JanJan Suan did a macho dancing act as his talent in a segment of the show, has been found to constitute child abuse by some government agencies.

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board is currently investigating on the matter. Meanwhile, the show's sponsors have pulled out their ads on the show.

Shalani Soledad wishes Willie Revillame's comeback on 'Willing Willie'

Politician and TV host Shalani Soledad is to celebrate her 31st birthday on April 24. She recently shared to the media that her birthday wish for this year includes her co-host Willie Revillame to continue helping the poor and make a comeback on their show, "Willing Willie".

Willie Revillame and Shalani Soledad on the cover of Willie's album, "I Love You" | Photo courtesy of Google Images

After several advertisers pulled out from the show due to the alleged child abuse on its March 12 episode, Willie Revillame announced last Friday that the show will be off-air for 2 weeks while he would be thinking about whether to return to the show.

Shalani Soledad has been supportive of Willie since the Jan-Jan incident started. She was recently seen among those who staged their protest in front of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) office as the board held a meeting related to the controversial incident.

Now that her show is on a 2-week break, PNoy's former girlfriend Shalani will be focusing on the needs of her constituents in Valenzuela City where she was elected as councilor.

Meanwhile, do you think Willie should make a comeback on the show? Take our poll HERE.

Jan-Jan Incident in 'Willing Willie' highlights sexual exploitation of Asian children - The Australian

Late last month, the child abuse issue on the Jan-Jan Incident in "Willing Willie", was picked up by several international news websites after it was bombarded with a series of complaints from various government agencies and private individuals in the country. The sites merely reported the issue objectively, only presenting the points and contents of the complaints.

A recent article of an Australian news website, however, dwelt deeper on the issue. Check out The Australian's Emma-Kate Symons' April 10, 2011 write-up about the Jan-Jan incident below:

Game show disgrace highlights sexual exploitation of Asian children

IT is a story about show business and the lust for fame, the struggle between permissiveness and social conservatism, and child exploitation: it is a very Philippines sort of scandal.

Willie Revillame, the country's highest-paid TV identity, is under investigation for child abuse after he goaded a bawling six-year-old boy to gyrate like a male stripper before a guffawing live audience and millions of viewers.

In the March episode of Revillame's show, Jan-Jan Suan, tears streaming down his face, agreed to simulate a pelvic thrusting "macho dancer" - male stripper in The Philippines - in exchange for 10,000 pesos ($220) for his poor family.

Footage of Jan-Jan's televised humiliation quickly went viral.

Government ministers and religious leaders rushed to denounce the star. The Movie and Television Review Classification Board and Human Rights Commission announced investigations into allegations of child abuse.

At first glance, images of the skinny lad dancing nervously to a tune from rapper Snoop Dogg seem relatively innocuous.

But a closer look tells a more disturbing story. As Jan-Jan cries in distress while grimly bumping and grinding, the studio audience, including his family, is in fits of laughter, egged on by the host.

Merciless, Revillame pushes the six-year-old to keep dancing for money, mocking his performance as comparable to Burlesk Queen, the 1970s Philippines cult movie starring actress Vilma Santos (now a politician) as a bikini-clad cabaret performer whose sexy dance routine so traumatises her she has a miscarriage on stage.

"That's how hard life is. Jan-Jan has to learn macho dancing at his age, for the sake of his family," Revillame says with a laugh.

The besieged host launched a diatribe against his celebrity critics on Friday as he announced a two-week suspension of the top-rating program Willing Willie. "Don't pulverise me. I'm not a bad person. I only want to help the poor," Revillame pleaded in a histrionic 25-minute "farewell" speech, beseeching viewers to "pray for this program to be back on air".

He charged some of The Philippines' top singers and actors with leading a Twitter and Facebook campaign to push advertisers to pull commercials from Willing Willie.

The network has appointed an internal ombudsman to monitor treatment of minors.

Still, the star of Willing Willie is tipped to return to the TV screen.

The forces that put Jan-Jan in the spotlight have elements peculiar to The Philippines, but Manila is not an isolated case.

Across Southeast Asia, in TV game shows, reality programs and talent contests, product launches, advertisements and mainstream films, children and minors under the malleable Asian age of consent are increasingly depicted in a highly sexualised and erotic fashion.

Thai commercial TV broadcasts popular "mini-Thai idol"-style contests showcasing heavily made-up children as young as three in sexy get-up, dancing and singing provocatively.

Similar fare is increasingly dished up to audiences in Indonesia and in poorer Cambodia. Often it's cutesy but more often blatantly pedophile-friendly. In Thailand, where made-up toddler girls sport pink T-shirts saying "I'm Single", the press occasionally reports on controversies surrounding beauty contests for children from the age of three.

The treatment of Southeast Asian children as commodities extends from the mainstream media to bars and brothels.

Experts agree that a pernicious popular and private culture of impunity regarding sexual abuse and trafficking of children still exists in the region and is worsening. According to law enforcement agencies and academic specialists, trafficking and prostitution of young children is on the rise. Thailand today is functioning more as a trafficking hub for child prostitutes and "illegal immigrants" from neighbouring poor countries such as Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

A new study backed by the French Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia, "The Trade in Human Beings for Sex in Southeast Asia", edited by Pierre Le Roux, says sex trafficking of women and children, "already widespread internationally, continues to escalate". "Thailand is an emerging epicentre of both sex trafficking and sex tourism", the study says, noting that the first sex tourists are local and regional, followed by the smaller but persistent group of foreigners from outside Asia.

Some figures suggest as many as 250,000 women and children are trafficked annually in Southeast Asia.

Estimates of the number of child prostitutes in Thailand range from fewer than 2000 to the high hundreds of thousands. The Philippines is believed to have more than 100,000 child prostitutes.

Le Roux points to cultural factors, such as Southeast Asian concepts of "sacrifice" and the "younger sibling", as facilitating the prostitution of children and women.

Locals and foreigners often mistakenly think that with economic and social development, the scourge of pedophilia and widespread child prostitution is at least diminishing in Southeast Asia, from the heights of the 1980s and 1990s.

Australians recall pedophiles such as Robert Dunn who were tracked down by journalists and sometimes police. Cambodia has trumpeted the arrests of high-profile foreigners such as Gary Glitter, while local child abusers, the UN and NGOs attest, go unpunished.

Countering the public-relations spin, the US State Department last year placed Thailand, to Bangkok's fury, on the high alert "Tier Two watch list" for only making "limited progress" on combating and prosecuting human trafficking, including child prostitution. The Philippines also shared this ignominious status (second year running), alongside new entrants Vietnam and Laos. Wealthy Singapore appeared on the same US watch list. South Asia is not exempt, with India tagged as a top source, destination and transit country for traffickers.

Gender expert Carina Chotirawe, a professor at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, believes more work needs to be done in the region "to shift the consciousness of the parents and society as a whole on the protection of children".

"Depicting them in a sexualised manner is a form of child abuse and it is very worrying to see children appearing in such lewd ways," she says.

"The Revillame show was despicable. It felt like he was prostituting poverty, making the poor pander to him for quick cash fixes, as he does on a daily basis, and never mind if it entails a kid being sexed up and crying as he (Jan-Jan) does so pitifully.

"Willie was acting like God, dispensing patronage to parents inured to the poverty they see as their lot in life -- and if lewdness gets them instant cash, then so be it."

For Chotirawe, a deep-seated "cultural wiring" takes place in Southeast Asia where "kids are conditioned to believe that being sexy and looking grown up will get you far more".

"It devalues education, toil and perseverance," she says.

"In Thailand, you also see this even at kindergarten performances, with girls dressed up, made up and dancing to songs with provocative lyrics.

"It is no wonder that there is a link to child prostitution. Or in milder cases, if they are more well off and are fortunate to escape that predicament, they are lured to become 'Pretties' like the ones you see (parading) at motor shows."

Australian child protection activist Bernadette McMenamin, founder of Child Wise, agrees that the erotic depiction of children in Southeast Asia is bad news for the battle against sex tourism.

"The sexualisation of children is something that is happening worldwide without society really coming to grips with it," she says.

Meanwhile, do you think "Willing Willie" should resume airing on TV5? Take our poll HERE.

'Willing Willie', to return or not to return? Take the poll!

With the recent turn out of events, Willie Revillame has announced that his show "Willing Willie" will be off air for two weeks or until he makes up his mind of continuing the show without the sponsors.


What do you think, guys? Should "Willing Willie" go on air once again? Or is it better for TV5 not to have the show anymore?

Poll: ''Willing Willie", to return or not to return? Cast your votes!

Background

The controversial March 12 episode of "Willing Willie" where a 6-year old boy named JanJan Suan did a macho dancing act as his talent in a segment of the show, has been found to constitute child abuse by some government agencies.

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board is currently investigating on the matter. Meanwhile, the show's sponsors have pulled out their ads on the show.

Willing Willie March 12 episode slammed by CHR for child abuse

Willing Willie's March 12 episode was lambasted by another government entity yet again. Following the condemnation of the Department of Social Welfare and Development a few days ago, the Commission on Human Rights has recently pointed out how the TV5 show constituted child abuse.

Willing Willie March 12 Episode | Photo courtesy of Google Images

In a statement released on March 29, the Commission said it strongly condemns the episode since it exploited the "child’s innocence and demeans his inherent dignity for entertainment's sake."

It added that "the multiple pressures exerted on Jan-Jan by the TV program’s host, audience, and his parents to perform a humiliating act in exchange for ten thousand pesos constitute child abuse as defined in Section 10 of R.A. No. 7610 or “Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.”

The March 12 episode of Willing Willie had 6 year-old JanJan Suan as a contestant where the boy did a macho dancing routine as his talent. A copy of the episode was uploaded on Youtube where it was flooded with criticisms from concerned parents. (Check out the video HERE.) The video also went viral in social media sites and as of today, it already gained more than half a million hits.

Here's a copy of the CHR press release posted on Facebook by journalist Ellen Tordesillas:

Commission on Human Rights
For Release
29 March 2011



CHR on Child Abuse in the TV program Willing Willie

The Commission on Human Rights strongly condemns the “Willing Willie” episode aired on March 12, 2011 wherein a 6-year old boy named Jan-Jan Suan performed a “macho-dancing routine”. This is an exploitation of the child’s innocence and demeans his inherent dignity for entertainment's sake.

The multiple pressures exerted on Jan-Jan by the TV program’s host, audience, and his parents to perform a humiliating act in exchange for ten thousand pesos constitute child abuse as defined in Section 10 of R.A. No. 7610 or “Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.” It provides that:

Other Acts of Neglect, Abuse, Cruelty or Exploitation and Other Conditions Prejudicial to the Child's Development. –

(a) Any person who shall commit any other acts of child abuse, cruelty or exploitation or to be responsible for other conditions prejudicial to the child's development including those covered by Article 59 of Presidential Decree No. 603, as amended, but not covered by the Revised Penal Code, as amended, shall suffer the penalty of prision mayor in its minimum period.

The willingness of Jan-Jan’s parents to expose him, both in private and public, to a humiliating and degrading situation is child abuse. The Commission is also deeply alarmed that the abuse suffered by Jan-Jan was seen on national television and that its videos are being repeatedly watched by the public, including children.

The Commission will investigate this incident in order to identify the person/s liable and to recommend proper legal actions against them. The Commission will also issue recommendations to relevant private, especially TV5, and public agencies in order to prevent similar incidents from happening again. The Commission also calls upon the relevant government offices such as the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Department of Justice to undertake the appropriate actions to address this incidence of child abuse and to provide the necessary relief to Jan-Jan.


LORETTA ANN P. ROSALES
Chairperson



MA. VICTORIA V. CARDONA
Commissioner
Focal Commissioner for Children

Willing Willie macho dancing 6-year old boy issue intensifies | DSWD condemns child abuse

The child abuse issue on a Willing Willie March 12 episode where 6 year-old JanJan Suan did a macho dancing act as his "talent" for a segment of the show and where Willie Revillame said to have bestowed "emotional abuse and humiliation" to the kid did not just end up with the flood of criticisms in social media sites like Twitter and Youtube, but it also prompted a government agency to file a complaint against the show, its host Willie Revillame and the TV5 network.

JanJan Suan macho dancing like an adult to the tune of "Next Episode" on a March 12 Episode of Willing Willie | Video courtesy of Youtube

In press statement, Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman said that their agency condemns the abuse and they will be looking for the family to "determine the effect/impact on the child and from here determine if necessary counseling and/or stress debriefing should be given to the child and his parents to prevent further trauma and abuse".

Here is the full text of the said statement which was posted in the Department's website:

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) condemns the emotional abuse and humiliation bestowed on a six-year-old child contestant, during the March 12, 2011 episode of the Willing Willie show aired on TV 5.

The sequence shows the boy gyrating in a distasteful manner with the audience, including the host (Willie Revillame), manifesting no evidence of concern or alarm for the child. This incident is clearly a violation of Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act and a blatant manifestation of child abuse. The term “child abuse” includes the following acts: “psychological and physical abuse, neglect, cruelty, sexual abuse and emotional maltreatment,” and “any act by deeds or words which debases, degrades or demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of the child as a human being.”

Putting pressure on children to do acts such as mimicking adult sexy dances, in exchange for a certain amount of money, and at the expense of being laughed at and ridiculed by hundreds of people, clearly traumatizes the child. This is a clear form of child abuse and will not be tolerated by theDepartment of Social Welfare and Development.

The Department has already communicated to ABC Development Communication Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan asking that children should not be allowed to appear in TV shows like Willing Willie, especially those capitalizing on poverty as a source of immediate entertainment. In the formal communication with Mr. Pangilinan, theDepartment has also rebuked the insensitive actions and remarks of Mr. Revillame.

The DSWD will look for the family, determine the effect/impact on the child and from here determine if necessary counseling and/or stress debriefing should be given to the child and his parents to prevent further trauma and abuse, especially with the media hype triggered by this incident. ### (DSWD – Social Marketing Service) March 28, 2011

6 year-old boy, macho dancing on Willing Willie

The video of the 6 year-old boy macho dancing on "Willing Willie" below has been the center of criticisms, recently. The issue is that Jan Jan "was allowed to be publicly humiliated on the Filipino entertainment show "Willing Willie" in exchange for money", according to a post in a petition site.

Some people also aired their views on the matter on the microblogging site, Twitter.

According to "@iamhappyamy" she found it sickening tweeting, "a kid gyrating like a macho dancer, willie making fun of him, the audience enjoying – truly sickening!"

"Willie didn't learn the word 'polite' when he was a kid. He thinks he can toy with the 'mass' by dangling them money," "@richard_carpio" said on Twitter.

Noypi's Notes:

*** I previously posted this clip with the comment that I found it funny. As I said, I have not watched this episode. The video only shows the dancing part which I found funny. I did not even notice the boy was crying and Willie was not saying so much either.

I recently saw the entire interview and Willie was indeed making fun of the kid in the earlier part of the interview.

Six year-old Jan Jan macho dancing to the tune of "Next Episode" on Willing Willie. | Video courtesy of Youtube/TV5

WW. Girls suspended from "Willing Willie"

The all-girls dance group WW. Girls that regularly performs in TV5's Willing Willie has been suspended by the show's host Willie Revillame. According to Willie, he made the decision since some members of the group are having a conflict and that they even fight in the microblogging social networking site, Twitter.

"Mga matitigas ang ulo. Suspendido po sila hindi alam, indefinite kung babalik pa sila o hindi. Awayan ng awayan, awayan ng awayan. Pati sa twitter ho nag-aawayan. Yan ang disiplinang sinasabi ko. Biruin mo, programa niyo ‘to e magkakasama kayo dito. Sabi ko sa inyo, pumikit kayo, ibalik niyo yung dati niyong ginagawa nung nandun tayo sa kabilang istasyon, at anong buhay niyo ngayon. Ang lalaki ng sweldo niyo, almost 40 thousand, may kotse pang libre," Willie revealed in the January 12 episode of Willing Willie.


Willie added that they strictly prohibit fighting of crew in the show and that "noone is indispensable."

For the meantime, the group's choreographer Anna Feliciano and some other staff replaced the dancers parts in the show while they are settling the matter.

Check out pictures of each member of the Willing Willie Girls HERE.

Willie, Shalani spotted together in Boracay on New Year's Eve

The controversial TV host Willie Revillame and his co-host in a TV 5 show Willing Willie, Shalani Soledad were spotted together in Boracay on New Year's Eve. They were seen talking at the Discovery Shores in Boracay where a fireworks show was held. As seen on the picture below which was posted on Spot.ph, the TV personalities seem to show some degree of closeness. It was previously reported that Willie is indeed courting Shalani. The big question now is whether they are a couple already. Does this picture answer that question?

Same night, same event... Good thing they are not the ones on the Boracay New Year Scandal Video posted HERE.