Court upholds suspension of Willie's show anew

MANILA, Philippines - The Court of Appeals on Monday junked the petition against its earlier ruling upholding the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB)'s order suspending the noontime variety show hosted by Willie Revillame on TV5.

"Willing Willie," which ran from 2010 to 2011 before being reformatted to "Wil Time Bigtime," was barred from airing after featuring a crying six-year-old boy in a game segment, where the host asked the child to perform a raunchy dance.

In separate resolutions dated January 6, 2014, Associate Justice Manuel Barrios dismissed the motions for reconsideration filed by Revillame-owned Wilproductions and Associated Broadcasting Company asking the court to overrule the MTRCB's order.

The classifications body did not commit any grave abuse of discretion when it imposed a suspension over a segment it judged as "insensitive," the court said in the resolution.

"Philippine laws which reflect the needs of the Filipino people and thus, Filipino cultural valued highly recognize the necessity to protect the child," the magistrate wrote, with concurrence of Associate Justices Remedios Salazar-Fernando and Normandie Pizarro.

"The child's interests are safeguarded so much so that the State, as parens patriae, takes upon itself to protect and minimize the risk of harm that may fall upon one who still has not developed his full capacity to protect himself," the ruling added, referring to government's role as a child's parent in times of need.

An earlier ruling on May 17, 2013 also upheld the show's suspension, with the court calling Revillame "insensitive" for sacrificing the child's human dignity in exchange for money.

Read: Court says Willie Revillame insensitive, upholds show suspension

The recent resolution was also extended to "Wil Time Bigtime," which was reformatted in January 2013 as "Wowowillie." The show, however, aired its final episode in October 2013.