FilAm doctors fuming at American TV series slur

NEW YORK — “Can I check those diplomas again? Because I would just like to make sure that they are not from some med school in the Philippines."

That was a throwaway line from Teri Hatcher’s character from the season premiere of the ABC hit show “Desperate Housewives" Sunday night. Hatcher’s ditzy Susan Mayer was questioning her gynecologist’s suggestion that she may be going through menopause.

If the lines were meant to be funny, Filipinos are not laughing, especially the doctors within the FilAm community.

“So upsetting," said Kariktan Cruz M.D. of the Department of Pediatrics at Texas Tech University Health Sciences. “It is a big insult implying we are quack doctors."

Cruz, a graduate of the University of the Philippines Class of 2001, said that from her class alone more than 80 are successfully working in the United States in the medical profession.

“Some of the university’s finest have come to publish articles in several prestigious journals and have become chief residents or department chairmen in hospitals," she said in a statement made available to PN.

“ ‘Desperate Housewives’ is a very popular show and the damaging effects of such comments should not be underestimated. I practice in Los Angeles and would be happy to help find out where to send a letter at the ABC network," said Rick Tan, M.D., a member of UP College of Medicine Class 86.

“I was dumbstruck. As the child of a Filipino doctor who continues to serve the most needy and sick, I was really offended by the implication that Filipino doctors are inferior. Also, I couldn’t believe that in this day and age, ABC and the producers, writers and actors who work for the network, found nothing wrong with such a hurtful joke," says one comment emailed to Philippine News.

The writer urged Filipinos to send a letter of protest to ABC with these words: “I was very disappointed that Teri Hatcher’s character had to denigrate the community of Filipino physicians in tonight’s premiere. The implication that Filipino doctors are not qualified is insensitive and completely disrespectful to the thousands of Filipinos who have served all over the U.S., many of them working for underserved populations. I trust ABC will issue an apology for its poor use of creative license which only managed to offend a group of hard-working professionals."

The topic is being debated on the message boards on the ABC Web site. While some posters insist there’s no need to feel slighted over the comment, others have expressed disappointment.

A poster with the username “cafemelrose" has this to say: “If you were from the Philippines or are of Filipino descent, you would know full well that the Filipinos are very proud of their people and their country. To have a TV show that blasts Filipinos in the medical fields (the field in which Filipinos are usually known to be in), most especially doctors, is degrading. There are many Filipino nurses and doctors who are brought from the Philippines by the U.S. to ensure that there’s a sufficient number of medical staff in American hospitals. And to have an American TV show that is shown worldwide degrade this connection by putting down the medical excellence of Filipino doctors, well, doesn’t it kind of seem that Filipinos are getting the short end of the stick — like Filipino doctors and other medical professionals are not being respected?"

Other comments fault Teri Hatcher for mouthing the line, instead of making the distinction that it was a line from a script she was made to read.

“I usually like you in the show specially watching you in superman before...Now forget it....that’s why you never win an Emmy!" says a comment made to the ABC message board by the name “berikyut."

A boycott of the highly popular show about the lives of suburban housewives was suggested by “Vmyron" on the ABC message board. Another blogger suggested a $100 million-class action suit against the network.

ABC’s publicists did not return Philippine News’ calls. – Kata Rojas, Cristina DC Pastor, Philippine News