by Julie g fianza with larry madarang

BAGUIO CITY- Due to unsavory remarks during last Saturday’s celebration of Mother’s Day at a show in SM-Baguio, comedienne and TV actress Candy Pangilinan was declared “personal non grata” in a resolution approved by the city council.

The aim is to “educate Ms. Pangilinan and others like her,” the resolution which is authored by Councilor Fred Bagbagen states.

The resolution was supported by a letter from Sheryl Phoebe Comiles Duque who witnessed what the comedienne yelled as introduction for the show, “akala nyo Igorot ako, hindi ako Igorot, tao po ako!”

Accordingly, when her statement was received by the audience with silence, she repeated what she said.

Upon hearing those words, Ms. Duque then showed displeasure and confronted the production manager for the show.

In the resolution it was stated that, the incident was an “unmindful, insensitive, sarcastic, careless and irresponsible issuance of any statement of the same nature.”

“It is believed that the statement of Candy Pangilinan that Igorots are not members of the homo sapiens displays an unmitigated bigotry and her total ignorance of the ethno-linguistic groups of her native country which is discriminatory and unpatriotic and should be condemned by peace-loving Filipinos,” the resolution also states.

There are also some ignorant persons who do not know that Igorots are also made in God’s image and treat them condescendingly as second class citizens, it was further stated.

Earlier this week, email messages regarding the SM city incident were floated on the internet, particularly with the yahoo email groups baguiowebinternational and bibaknets.

Both groups have more than a thousand members worldwide.

Over the week, messages expressing disgust over the words uttered by the comedienne posted on social network sites owned by Pangilinan.

In her multiply site, Pangilinan said “I am truly sorry if I have uttered such insensitve remarks. I did not mean to hurt anyone, especially the Igorots from whom I know our roots come from. I did not mean it to be that way. It was a careless remark and for that I am truly sorry.”

She likewise appeared on television on Thursday and made public apologies on different programs of her network station.

A copy of the resolution shall be furnished to the Movies and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), ABS-CBN, Kapisanan ng mga Artista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (KAPP) and SM-Baguio.

During the council session, there were also suggestions that shows or movies in which Pangilinan participates in, be boycotted.

The resolution was approved during a special session last Friday morning purposely for garbage matters in the city . **karitoon.com**