Transsexual seeks help in fight vs discrimination

The lawyers of a transgender scion from a prominent family in Cebu want to tap the power of television to help in their fight against discrimination.

They have called on television giant ABS-CBN to air a video segment featuring an interview between their client, Wesy B. Quisumbing, formerly known as Norberto Wenceslao Jesus B. Quisumbing III, and popular TV host Boy Abunda.

"We believe that you owe it both to the public and to your profession as responsible journalists and TV hosts to raise the awareness of the people about giving due respect, acceptance and understanding of Ms. Wesy B. Quisumbing and of persons similarly situated," Atty. Paris Real, counsel for Quisumbing, said in a letter to Abunda dated Dec. 17, 2005.

Real lamented the failure to broadcast Wesy’s interview, which was supposed to air as a segment on Abunda’s Kontrobersyal program last Dec. 16.

Real said this failure caused their client "severe depression and psychological trauma."

The non-showing was doubly disappointing for Wesy’s cause since it was Abunda and his staff who had insisted on interviewing Wesy, and had asked her to fly to Manila just to accommodate the requested interview with Abunda’s production personnel.

"In view of your consistent and very ardent requests and despite Miss Quisumbing’s very hectic schedule, my client accepted your invitation for her to be interviewed by the award-winning and very amiable and very respectable host Mr. Boy Abunda," the letter said.

"Several postponements of the interview were thereafter made until such time when the schedule of Mr. Boy Abunda was cleared for the interview. Thus, Miss Quisumbing and her entourage flew all the way from Cebu to Manila for said purpose and the interview was conducted with all your assurances that the same shall be shown on Dec. 16, 2005," Real told Abunda.

Real said that they were contacted by Abunda’s aides shortly after an exclusive report by The STAR was published Dec. 6, reporting on Wesy’s lawsuit against her father, Norberto Quisumbing Jr. — Rainier Allan Ronda