More signing up plaint vs ‘Desperate Housewives’

Despite the public apology from ABC Studios, the "Desperate Housewives" controversy seems to have no signs of simmering down just yet as the number of Filipino-Americans demanding for apology from the shows creators continue to soar. As of 5 p.m. Friday, the number of signatures posted on PetitionOnline.com has reached almost 81,000 and is increasing by almost 2,000 by the hour. The Fil-Am’s demand was also cited as the most active and popular petition in the website and is so far the only one of its kind seeking an apology. The petition, which was initiated by New York-based lecturer Kevin Nadal, seeks not only an apology from the show’s creators but also proper rectification from the damage it has caused by deleting the scene from the episode. ''I was immediately offended and, really, just hurt. These days, people are supposed to be more sensitive or more aware of what's considered appropriate,'' Nadal said. On Thursday, ABC Studios publicly apologized for the insulting remark made by character Susan Mayer in the season premier of the show aired on September 30. In the scene where Susan visits her gynecologist who told her she was undergoing menopause, she fired back, “'OK, before we go any further, can I check these diplomas? 'Coz, I just want to make sure they’re not from some med school in the Philippines." ''The producers of 'Desperate Housewives' and ABC Studios offer our sincere apologies for any offense caused by the brief reference in the season premiere. There was no intent to disparage the integrity of any aspect of the medical community in the Philippines,'' ABC producers said in the apology. “We demand a public apology to the Filipino American community, and we demand the episode be edited to remove the ignorant and racist remark. We will not allow hateful messages against our community (or any other oppressed community) to continue," Nadal said in the petition letter. The Philippine Embassy in Washington earlier sent a letter of “displeasure and discontent" over the rerogatory remark to Anne Sweeney, president of Disney-ABC Television Group. Ambassador Willy Gaa noted that in the absence of the Philippine-trained medical professionals, hospitals in major cities in the US will be crippled. “This kind of message, coming from such a popular TV show, would tend to damage the credibility and hard-earned reputation of these medical professionals, all of whom passed stringent US requirements to be allowed to practice their profession in this country, “wrote Gaa on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (Nafcon) is planning to hold a community picket in front of Manhattan’s ABC Studios on 77 West 66th Street at 6 p.m. Friday (Saturday morning Manila time). Nafcon slammed the “paragraph-sized apology" from ABC claiming that the the “simplistic nature" of the apology only insults the Fil-Am community even more. The National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (Nafcon) slammed the “paragraph-sized apology" from ABC for the slur delivered by actress Teri Hatcher’s character Susan in the show. "This country thrives on the quality skills of foreign-trained doctors and nurses, and Filipino nurses are among the cream of the crop. We all deserve a decent, sincere, and proper apology," Nafcon spokesman Rico Foz said. - Mark J. Ubalde, GMANews.TV