Why is Cebuano banned in Pinoy Big Brother?

I’ve been receiving a lot of emails from irate Cebuanos questioning that ABS-CBN Reality TV show dubbed “Pinoy Big Brother” about those Cebuanos currently in this game who are prevented to speak in the Cebuano language. These emails are calling upon all blue-blooded Cebuano speakers (and there are many of them in the Visayas and Mindanao) to condemn this action by the management of ABS-CBN because this is curtailment of our Freedom of Speech or Freedom of Expression.

I got this text message from my good friend Atty. Manuel Lino Faelnar, co-convenor for Language and Culture of the Subsidiarity Movement International and vice-president of the Defenders of Indigenous Languages of the Archipelago (DILA) Phils. Foundation, Inc., director of Lubas sa Dagan Bisaya, Inc. (LUDABI) and member of the Linguistic Society of the Philippines, who once worked with the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Here’s his text in full:

“If the members of the PBB show’s screen family are Bisaya, they shud be allowed to speak Binisaya among themselves. Makes d show realistic. It is unnatural for them to be speaking Tagalog as they don’t do this in their real homes. ABS-CBN shud learn a page from Mel Gibson who made Jesus & companions speak Aramaic in his movie. Also, forbidding d Bisaya screen family to speak Binisaya is a violation of their human rights.”

Indeed, the Philippines is a signatory of the United Nations Human Rights Act which guarantees people their right to speak their mother tongue. Perhaps ABS-CBN executives despite their being so thorough in their newscast haven’t read this provision yet? I’m confused about the policies of ABS-CBN regarding language because their local Cebu radio DyAB is done in Cebuano and I guess they do the same things in other parts of Mindanao. So why should Cebuano be disallowed in Pinoy Big Brother when in truth, not all who watch this reality TV show know how to speak in Tagalog?

I hope that ABS-CBN executives would realize that what’s happening in Pinoy Big Brother is very anti-Filipino; after all, aren’t we Cebuanos Filipinos also? I do not believe that that this act of banning Cebuanos from speaking their native tongue is a policy of ABS-CBN. For all we know, it is just one of the directors of PBB who is making this order. I hope that this problem can be rectified soon . . . before this becomes even an election issue.

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My good friend, Councilor Hilario “Jun Jun” Davide III has finally resigned from the Cebu City Council during their session last Wednesday in order to concentrate on the campaign of Liberal Party (LP) candidate Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and his vice-presidential candidate Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas. Earlier, it was rumored that Jun Jun Davide would run for Governor of Cebu against the incumbent, Gov. Gwen F. Garcia, but that was only a rumor . . . although the Cebu Governor welcomes the idea.

Earlier, those in the opposition were pushing for Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano to ran against Gov. Gwen . . . but despite all the nudging and prodding, Ace has lost interest, perhaps because Gov. Gwen is still very popular, despite the so-called Balili controversy, where the Province of Cebu bought land in the town of Naga, which later turned out to be underwater. Gov. Gwen immediately took responsibility for this, but the greater question which is still unanswered today is, why did the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) allow foreshore land to be titled?

So in the end, no one has yet come forward to run against Gov. Gwen. Meanwhile, Jun Jun Davide has accepted to be the representative of the Liberal Party in Cebu. With this development, The Freeman headline last Wednesday blared “BOPK to Support ‘Noy-Mar’ in 2010.” This move puts the two very estranged cousins, former Sen. John “Sonny” Osmeña and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña with the same Presidential candidate.       

While the BO-PK endorsement of the Noynoy-Mar ticket is a big booster for the Liberal Party, they haven’t yet gotten the nod from the One Cebu Party of Gov. Gwen Garcia. With both Mayor Osmeña and Sonny Osmeña always quarreling with the Cebu Governor, I’m willing to bet that Gov. Gwen won’t be supporting the Noynoy-Mar tandem in the Province of Cebu. One thing more, last Saturday, SunStar Daily headlined, “Noynoy for RH Bill” which the Cebu Archdiocese is vehemently fighting against… hence the Cebuano clergy and obedient Catholics won’t also be supporting the LP tandem and I’m sure that the CBCP won’t help them either.

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