The sins of the father... of a macho-dancing kid

In the mid-‘60s, the famous parents of the late master rapper Francis M., Pancho Magalona and Tita Duran, had a weekly sitcom in the old ABS-CBN called Pancho Loves Tita. In scenes where they were supposed to retire after a long day filled with comic twists and turns, they were shown going to sleep in separate beds.

Off-camera, as a properly married couple Pancho and Tita already had several kids that time between them, Francis M. included (he was still a baby then). And yet they couldn’t be shown on TV sharing one matrimonial bed, which I can imagine was what they had in their home in Mandaluyong (then still Rizal).

However, foolish as it may have seemed, that was what the guardians of morality in media dictated in those days.

A decade later, in ‘Yan ang Misis Ko, Rosa Rosal and the late Ronald Remy, playing husband and wife in the sitcom, were already allowed to be shown chatting in their huge bed like most couples do before retiring at night.

Rules obviously change through the years and society becomes more permissive. All that is supposed to be part of progress.

The very controversial video clips (all on You Tube) of six-year-old Janjan Suan dancing in Willing Willie, however, beg for a re-examination of values.

The kid came out on the show twice. The first time was when he did the macho dancing in tears. When howls of protest — all screaming child exploitation — flooded the Internet, the show had to do damage control.

Janjan’s comeback performance did save host Willie Revillame’s skin, but only up to a certain layer (his detractors will always blame the ugly incident on him). His redeeming value came the second time around — when he stopped the kid from rendering a Michael Jackson routine that began with the boy touching his crotch, like the late Jacko did in many of his performances that have all been immortalized on videos.

Willie, at least, was sensible enough to have prevented further damage when he restrained the kid from proceeding with the Michael Jackson dance. He and the program displayed remorse — in due fairness.

Unfortunately, Janjan’s second appearance in Willing Willie proved to be even more disturbing. Of course, that was done to save the show from trouble. And so they brought in the kid’s parents, plus the little sister, who mechanically kept wiping the tears off Janjan’s eyes.

Why was the boy constantly in tears in the first place? Did the parents drag him to the show against his own volition? Was he really just scared of that giant of a man Bonnel Balingit, who was in the studio? Then why was he still crying the second time around? Was Balingit still there?

Or is there something medically wrong with his lachrymal glands? I’m not making light of the kid’s situation, but maybe medical experts should also look into that possibility.

What proved truly appalling and bothersome in Janjan’s return engagement were the statements issued by the parents. Forgive me, but I have to give it to them straight: Their sense of values are warped. It’s all about money, money, money.

Is it their fault that they’re that way? It’s easy to condemn and crucify them. But should we? Actually, they are also victims of this sick society that can no longer distinguish right from wrong. We’ve lost it — our moral compass. Even I am not sure if I can still spell scruples correctly. What does it mean again?

Blame it on poverty, corruption, politics and even modernization. There are so many factors why we’ve gone astray.

First, there was World War II that turned us into beasts. Japan also suffered with that war they started. But they recovered — economically, especially morally. No looting during that last major calamity.

Then came Marcos — and the succeeding administrations.

Media has also committed a lot of sins against humanity. As a showbiz talk show host, who will kill for the ratings, even I am guilty of some crimes.

But how do we correct the damage? That will take time, but we have to start somewhere. This Janjan Suan episode should serve as another wake-up call for all of us, especially those in media.

Okay, no more macho dancing for six-year-old kids on TV. But what about those little girls who join kiddie pageants and gyrate during the talent portion like they had been trained by bikini-clad performers in the seediest of girlie joints?

 There is a lot of cleaning up to do. In media, let us be more careful with what we say and present on television. In the field of government, maybe politicians can begin by not grandstanding and using this ongoing controversy to gain more media mileage. That may just be a little step, but it is a start.

In his Funfare column last Saturday, Ricky Lo already suggested to Dinky Soliman, secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, to also pay attention to the plight of the street children. That’s a perennial problem that had long been hounding this country and it had always been my fervent wish to see the end of it.

My suggestion, however, is for Secretary Soliman to send a team of social workers to the Suan home regularly and monitor the environment there. The Suan elders (including the uncle who taught Janjan the macho dancing moves) should also be given counseling.

And I bet that they are not the only set of parents who need proper guidance on how to raise children and be told what values to teach them.

Materialism has destroyed our moral fiber. I can only hope this entire Janjan Suan brouhaha will be the one factor to trigger us to move and take steps to make ourselves whole again. 

 When that happens, I’ll dance with joy. Macho dancing? Why not? I’m not six.