THREE senators on Thursday blasted the hosts of all-male podcast Machong Chismisan over remarks against Kristina Bernadette C. Aquino’s son, a person on the autism spectrum, saying ableist behavior has no place in Philippine society and online spaces.
In a now-deleted podcast episode, one of the show’s five co-hosts, Tito P joked that Joshua Aquino-Salvador is “walang kwenta (useless)” in comparison to his brother, James Carlos “Bimby” Aquino Yap, Jr.
The remark was offensive, Senators Erwin T. Tulfo, Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva, and Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel said in separate statements.
A father of two, Mr. Villanueva said it was painful to hear a child with a disability being mocked. All three senators condemned turning the lives and experiences of persons with disabilities into punchlines.
Mr. Villanueva reminded production companies that deleting an episode after a controversy is not enough — clear content standards are required. Digital platforms also must take action against discriminatory content, he added.
“Parents, siblings, and caregivers spend years building a world that is kinder to their loved ones, and they should not have to watch that world be ridiculed for views,” Mr. Villanueva said.
Tito P publicly apologized in a statement, saying he is “reaching out to those who were directly affected by the remarks.”
Meanwhile, The Pod Network in a statement on Thursday said it terminated its contract with the Machong Chismisan podcast, following a review of the episode.
“We have formally terminated our contract with the Machong Chismisan podcast, and are consequently removing the show from the network, effective immediately,” the statement published on Instagram read. — Francessca S. Abalos