Philippine television personality Willy Revillame handing out cash to a physically-challenged boy. -- PHOTO: AFP
MANILA - FAST-TALKING comedian Willy Revillame is one of the most popular television personalities in the Philippines with a legion of poor fans who crave the thick wads of cash he hands out to audience members.
But to many critics, the 50-year-old star represents all that is wrong with an industry that they say has for years promoted low-brow entertainment and toilet humour.
Producers at TV5 television yanked Revillame's Willing Willie show off the air this week amid an uproar over a segment involving a crying six-year-old boy the host cajoled into simulating a striptease for the equivalent of $230 (S$289).
The incident in March has sparked a heated debate over the standards of Philippine television, with some calling for an end to shows they say prey on the poor and debase moral values in the conservative Catholic nation.
'Local television feeds Filipinos a steady, dirty diet of trash,' leading film and television critic Lito Zulueta told AFP.
He said Mr Revillame was a creation of an industry that had lost its moral compass as networks fought an intense ratings war. -- AFP
