MERGED: "Bisaya" Ethnic Slur of Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo condemned by Pimentel

[potterboy]

---

not good. why are these tagalogs like that? they seem to look down upon us. it is expected that we can't speak their dialect with ease since we were not born with it.

hilas!

[vanceloma2nd]

you make it all sound na fault ni juday.

in the Cebuano made movie, CONFESSIONAL, it tackles that issue of language barriers of Bisaya and tagalog too.
www.confessionalmovie.multiply.com

[Empress_Of_Drac]

SENATE Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. slammed the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) with great disappointment for its negligence in scrutinizing movies that took part in the on going Metro Manila Film Festival.

According to Pimentel, an episode in the film "Sakal Sakali Saklolo" to him is conveying wrong message to the Filipinos.

He said it is seemingly denigrating the use of the Visayan language, the language widely spoken in the Visayas and large parts of Mindanao.

Pimentel specifically cited a portion of the film in which a grandmother was telling a nanny (yaya): "Bakit pinalaki ninyong Bisaya and apo ko?" (Why are you rearing my grandchild as a Bisaya?)

The mother butted in telling the yaya: "Speak to the kid in Tagalog. Parang Pinoy. (So that he grows up like a pinoy)".

Pimentel called on the producer of the film to promptly take steps to rectify the error.

He said such conversations smacks of an ethnic slur to non-Tagalog speaking Filipinos.

He pointed out that scenes like this can offend "the sensibilities of the Visayan and other non-Tagalog speaking citizens by making them feel as if they are less Filipino than the Tagalogs. It creates useless hatred in the nation."

"Sakal Sakali Saklolo," with Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo in the lead roles, is an official entry to the ongoing Manila Film Festival. (CPB)



Do you agree that Cebuanos speak better english than Tagalogs? Tagalogs just can't drop their Manileno accent. Cebuanos on the other hand speak more distinct and profound english because of the nature of pronunciation of their dialects.

S-mile for smile
hahahahaha...in-ana mag iningles ang mga tagalog...ahahaha...

bitaw sa...ngano man jud...kung bati ug nawong moana dayun...bisayaa pug nawong nimo bai oist...
kung bati ug sinina...ka bisaya nimo manamit oist...

mura naman nuon negative ang connotation sa bisaya...hahaist...

[geoseph]

It's ironic that Star Cinema would allow a line like that, when the Lopez clan comes from the Visayas. Perhaps, they'll come up with an excuse like 'But, art is a reflection of life,' then apologize ra gihapon in the end. Hehehe.

[erwin_rommel]

mao gyud ning mga pinoy, sobra ka sensitive. naa pud ni si pimentel nga pasikat kaayo bisan gamay kaayo nga issue kung diin gamay ra unta kaayong pinoy ang maka bantay ani, padak on gyud. pwedi man unta ni niya i diretso sa officials sa company para dili mu complicate. pero unsaon, gusto man gyud magpahumot sa public.

[SPRINGFIELD_XD_40]

Bisdaka pod anang STAR CINEMA oi !

[samsungster]

boycott ta...i really dont like tagalog films...

[balatucan]

Do you agree that Cebuanos speak better english than Tagalogs? Tagalogs just can't drop their Manileno accent. Cebuanos on the other hand speak more distinct and profound english because of the nature of pronunciation of their dialects.

I dont. Tagalogs are better English speakers than Visayans because of the hard accent of the latter. But I agree with Sen. Pimentel that the line was a racial slur.

[LytSlpr]

I dont. Tagalogs are better English speakers than Visayans because of the hard accent of the latter.

that's what make cebuanos better english speakers, over the tagalog's TAG-LISH. Cebuanos do not have an accent, their problem is their "hard" pronunciation. Tagalogs on the other hand have a hard time dropping their Tagalog accent so they end up speaking english in a tagalog tone, if you know what I mean. A testament to this are ExPats opinions running multinaional companies in the Philippines.

Ateneo Team won as the best debating team in the world and most of their team are composed of bisaya speaking natives. They were better english speakers compared to their tagalog team mates. You could also compare this at ANC's debating championship.

BTW, we are talking generally of course.

[LytSlpr]

VM Mike Rama: Ignore ‘ethnic slur’ in movie.

AN insult, yes, but Visayans should not dignify with a reaction an “ethnic slur” in the movie “Sakal Sakali Saklolo”, a local official said.

This, Cebu City Acting Mayor Michael Rama said, is what Cebuanos should do after Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. reacted to a line in the movie starring Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo.

Pimentel, a Bisaya from Cagayan de Oro in Northern Mindanao, slammed the movie, which suggested that Filipinos who speak the Visayan dialect are second-class citizens compared to the Tagalog.

In the movie, a character portrayed by Gloria Diaz chastises her grandchild’s nanny for raising him “like a Bisaya.”

“Bakit pinapalaki ninyong Bisaya ang apo ko?” her line goes.

The mother, portrayed by Santos, responds by telling the nanny, obviously a Visayan, to speak to the child in Tagalog so he would grow up a Filipino.

Pimentel called the exchange insensitive and arrogant, adding that it needlessly fuels hatred among Filipinos.

Quoted by national dailies, however, movie writer and director Jose Javier Reyes was unperturbed. He instead advised Pimentel to watch the other movies and then rest so he has strength after the holidays.

“The film is conveying a wrong message to Filipinos by denigrating the use of the Visayan language…. It offends the sensibilities of the Visayans and other non-Tagalog speaking citizens,” the senator said.

But Rama said Cebuanos should just let the slight pass.

“We get to be affected if it is the truth. I don’t want to react violently with regards to that particular scene,” he said.

“I would not want to elaborate and make it big as an issue. It’s an insult if it is really wrong to grow up a Bisdak,” he added.

City Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem, too, said that while he understands what Pimentel felt, being a Cebuano himself, he said the national legislator has overreacted and played into the hands of the movie producers.

He believes that the conversation was intended to get the exact reaction of Pimentel to generate controversy and raise moviegoers’ interest.

“Probably Gloria Diaz speaks like that to her grandchild’s nanny. But that could be before. The Visayans are now the envy of the nation. Cebu is so much better off than Manila. We are in a better shape politically and economically. And I think we speak English better,” the councilor said.

“Sakal Sakali Saklolo” is so far the second top-earning movie in the Metro Manila Film Festival, with opening day gross receipts of P17 million.