DSWD defends psychologist in 'crying dancing boy' issue

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Wednesday came to the defense of a child psychologist being blamed by the camp of embattled television host Willie Revillame for sparking public uproar over the “macho" dancing kid incident on his show. DSWD chief Corazon Soliman said child psychologist Dr. Lourdes Carandang has been the department’s “long-time partner" in dealing with child issues—the reason why she was chosen to provide counseling for Jan-Jan Suan, the boy who performed a dance on the TV5 show “Willing Willie," which the host himself called “macho dancing" and is widely identified with male strippers. “She [Carandang] is the country’s foremost expert on child psychology… We made arrangements to tap her expertise for the provision of child and family counseling sessions," Soliman said in a statement Wednesday. “On the appointed date which Mr. Suan agreed to meet Dr. Carandang, he did not show up. The DSWD social workers conducted a follow-up home visit and learned from their neighbors that TV 5 representatives fetched the family and that the house is now padlocked," she added. Soliman likewise said that DSWD social workers will continue to conduct counseling sessions with Jan-Jan and his family, but maintained that the department will respect their privacy. “The welfare of Jan-Jan and his family is our primary concern – so despite repeated attempts for copies of the home visit reports, we are not releasing these reports and are keeping them confidential," she said. No ‘hidden agenda’ The DSWD secretary likewise said Revillame’s camp should not muddle up the issue by linking it to partisan politics or “any hidden agenda", since the department only wanted to ensure the welfare of the child and his family. Lawyer Leonard de Vera, Revillame’s counsel, blamed Carandang for causing public outrage over Jan-Jan’s performance on “Willing Willie," after she wrote a letter to the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) noting that the incident involved child abuse. De Vera likewise accused Carandang of bias, being the mother of Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Secretary Ramon "Ricky" Carandang, who was a former news anchor in rival network ABS-CBN’s News Channel. Dr. Carandang earlier said that his son’s former ties with ABS-CBN had nothing to do with her criticism against Revillame’s handling of Jan-Jan on his show. The parents of Jan-Jan sued Dr. Carandang and several others for libel on Wednesday, alleging that they made their son the “poster boy" for child abuse. (See: Jan-Jan's parents sue blogger, psychologist for libel) Foreign ‘child abuse’ expert’s statement Carandang is not the only expert to castigate Revillame’s treatment of the six-year old boy on his game show. In an online article by Emma Kate Symons posted on the website of “The Australian", she cited a “gender expert" from Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University‚ Carina Chotirawe. As cited by Symons, Chotirawe said: “Depicting them in a sexualized manner is a form of child abuse and it is very worrying to see children appearing in such lewd ways." Chotirawe found Revillame’s show “despicable" and minced no words using statements like “prostituting poverty‚ making the poor pander to him for quick cash fixes‚" lamenting about “a kid being sexed up and crying as he does so pitifully." “Willie was acting like God‚ dispensing patronage to parents inured to the poverty they see as their lot in life—and if lewdness gets them instant cash‚ then so be it," the expert from Thailand said. —With report by MRT/JV, GMA News