Joey apologizes to journalists for cracking bad joke on media killings

Actor-comedian Joey de Leon on Saturday apologized to journalists who were offended by his joke during a segment of the noontime show Eat Bulaga! last week. In the “Ang Joke Mo" segment, Joey said: "Wala ‘yan sa lola ko. Ang lola ko pumapatay ng mga press people." The National Press Club of the Philippines and Alyansa ng Filipinong Mamamahayag (Afima) cried foul and demanded Joey to apologize. NPC President Benny Antiporda said he admires Joey but his joke was an affront to journalists who are mourning the deaths of their colleagues felled by assassins. “Hindi nakakatawa yun," said Antiporda who is also the founding president of AFIMA. In his letter to GMA Network, Antiporda said: "Journalist killings are never a laughing matter. There is no joke in it. We respect him as a good comedian. His job to entertain has limits, however. And bragging about an old lady who could kill journalists is way beyond his turf. He stepped over and he should apologize not only to the families of journalists who died but to those who lived to see him make his jokes. He should apologize to the thousands of journalists he insulted." Antiporda said that close to 100 journalists have been killed since democracy was restored in 1986. "We do not believe Mr. De Leon was ignorant of the issue. Up to now, the NPC, Afima and other media organizations are trying to move heaven and earth to find ways to end the violence posed against us. And here comes this comedian who thought killing journalists was something to brag about," Antiporda added. Realizing his mistake, De Leon aired an apology on “Star Talk" where he is one of the show’s hosts. The actor-comedian said he respects the members of the media and considers himself as a journalist as he writes a column in a newspaper. He added he has no intention of insulting journalists with his joke. Joey explained: “Ang ibig kong sabihin noon ay ‘hoy, Jimmy (Santos), huwag kang presko dahil ang lola ko pumapatay ng presko. OK. Hindi ninyo namang puwedeng sabihin na, ayan na naman si Joey nagpapalusot na naman. Hindi po. Papaano po ninyo malalaman ang iniisip ko. Yung ang ibig kong sabihin. Press people… yung ngang nagpaplansta pwedeng tawaging press people, e." Recently, two broadcasters of RMN - Martin Roxas in Roxas City and Dennis Cuesta GenSan -were shot in separate attacks. Roxas died while undergoing treatment in a hospital. In a statement on Saturday evening, Antiporda accepted Joey's apology in behalf of the press club. “In the eyes of the people, Joey’s apologies, which he did thrice, show he is man enough to admit his mistake. This has earned my respect," he said. “For the sake of truce, I will personally visit Eat Bulaga to promote goodwill between the entertainment industry and active media practitioners." -- GMANews.TV