‘My Husband’s Lover’ hot topic on social media, CBCP weighs in on issue

CEBU, Philippines - GMA 7 has issued a statement on the comment made by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) against their primetime series My Husband’s Lover.

The two-week old program featuring Dennis Trillo, Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez tackles the story of the love story between two men, where one is married and has kids.

In an interview done by Radio Veritas to CBCP-ECY executive secretary Fr. Kunegundo Garganta, he said the writer should study very well the theme of their program, particularly My Husband’s Lover.

“Malaking pag-aaral ang dapat na gawin sa mga bagong teleserye tulad ng My Husband’s Lover na sana maisaalang-alang na nasa isang bansa tayo na mayroong kultura na pinapahalagahan ang usaping moral o mga bagay na saklaw ng moralidad. Ito ang dapat na isaalang-alang ng mga gumagawa ng teleserye,” Fr. Garganta said.

The GMA Network said they are open to criticism of CBCP to their program. Their statement reads:

“GMA Network welcomes the scrutiny of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) of our primetime program ‘My Husband’s Lover.’

“We believe that our program while tackling sensitive real-life situations is produced with utmost prudence and in good taste.

“The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board or MTRCB has given the program an SPG (Strong Parental Guidance) rating and GMA is committed to comply with all its standards.

“We would like to thank all the viewers of ‘My Husband’s Lover’ for supporting our program not just by watching it but via intelligent discussions and comments in all forms of media.

“The Kapuso Network is pleased with the high ratings that ‘My Husband’s Lover’ has achieved in its first two weeks and would like to assure the Filipino audience that we will continue to produce relevant and entertaining programs.”

My Husband’s Lover has been the talk of the town since it premiered on GMA Network two weeks ago. The new program has become so popular and is widely followed due to its brave storyline. It is being talked about in the social media and other forums.

Due to its sensitive storyline, the MTRCB has given the program an SPG (Strong Parental Guidance) rating, which is just right. In fairness, My Husband’s Lover is not showing any scene that we would say violates the sensitivities of other people. While the story is quite controversial, the treatment is decent and does not go beyond the limits of decency. It is not espousing any wrong cause but is just saying that all is fair in love. The series is also well-acted and this is probably another reason while the audience is hooked.

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On the other side of the fence, on the ABS-CBN turf, Sam Milby is getting good feedback from the audience who are viewing Huwag Ka Lang Mawawala.

Sam is playing Eros, the husband of Judy Ann Santos in the series. The actor is playing a role that is an exact opposite of the good-natured Sam that his fans know him for. As a backgrounder of his character, Eros also suffered when he was young under his sadistic dad (played by Tirso Cruz III). He had a very dark childhood which affected his character later in life.

A lot of people (audience and critics alike, and even fellow artists) are saying it was a good career move for Sam that he accepted the role of Eros in Huwag Ka Lang Mawawala. He is getting good feedback for his acting and even his co-star Juday has taken notice of the improvement in Sam’s acting. Even his Tagalog has improved as well.

Sam’s performance is also being talked about in social media. Many are saying he is effective in his role as Eros, even praising his move to get out of his comfort zone and tackle something very apart from his goody-goody image.

Some comments in Twitter are praising Sam for his work. While they hate Eros, they still love Sam. And they are urging Sam to say goodbye to boy-next-door-roles and opt for more mature and serious roles.

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TV5 is giving their all out support to their homegrown talent Ritz Azul. No less than the world-class resort Misibis Bay is the location of the brand new TV5 show of the same title that will premiere on Monday, July 1.

Aside from pairing Ritz with the iconic drama king Christopher de Leon, they also gave her a mean but beautiful kontrabida in the person of Ms. Vivian Velez, the original Ms. Body Beautiful of the 70s. She will make life difficult for Ritz in this series that will run for only 30 days, another innovative move from the Kapatid Network. So we could expect a real fast-paced program that should sustain the viewers’ interest.

Ritz also gets three dashing love interests namely Daniel Matsunaga, Victor Silayan and Vin Abrenica who will display not only their acting chops but their sexy bodies as well. Based on the pilot episode of Misibis Bay which they presented to the entertainment press during the presscon on Tuesday, the show looks interesting. A real come on for the show is the Misibis Bay Resort facility which we had a chance to visit when the Entertainment Press Society was invited to Bicol by Gov. Joey Salceda.

Monti Parungao directs Misibis Bay for TV5. (FREEMAN)