THE Philippine Embassy in Washington protested last week to a major American TV network that its fictional drama depicted the Filipino president in a “highly negative” way.
In a statement posted on its website, the embassy said it had written to CBS Corp. to complain that the upcoming episode of its TV series Madam Secretary showed the character portraying the Philippine President as “exhibiting inappropriate behavior toward the female lead character, US Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord.”
“While Madam Secretary is a work of fiction, it tracks and mirrors current events,” the embassy said. “It is, therefore, inevitable that its depiction of world leaders will have an impact on how its audience views the real personages and the countries they represent. This highly negative portrayal of our head of state not only casts doubt on the respectability of the Office of the Philippine President but also denigrates that way our nation navigates foreign affairs. It also tarnishes the Philippines’ longstanding advocacy for women’s rights and gender equality.”
“In view of the injurious effects that this program will have on the interests of the Philippines and the Filipino people, the Philippine Embassy urgently calls on CBS to take the necessary corrective actions,” the embassy added.
The basis for the embassy complaint was a trailer of the upcoming episode entitled “Break in Diplomacy,” which airs March 12 in the United States.
In the teaser, the Philippine president, played by actor Joel de la Fuente, is alone in a room with the main character, played by Téa Leoni, who first laughs off the leader’s advances. When he goes too far, however, she punches him in the face, bloodying his nose.
“I clobbered a world leader instead of saving a major regional agreement,” Leoni later tells her on-screen husband in the trailer.
We are gratified that the embassy recognized Madam Secretary as a work of fiction, but are puzzled why it would waste real-world resources to complain about it.
After all, it can easily be argued that street language, off-color jokes about women and the bloody war on drugs which has claimed the lives of more than 6,500 suspected drug users and pushers cast more doubt on the respectability of the Office of the President.
As to denigrating the way our nation navigates its foreign affairs, we need look no further than Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr., who lied under oath about his American citizenship because he did not want to lose the position to which he is now clinging.
In any case, it is unlikely that Madam Secretary will change its script to suit the embassy’s sensibilities. In the end, instead of minimizing any fallout from the portrayal of the Philippine president on the show, the embassy merely called attention to the upcoming episode–and guaranteed that more Filipinos will watch it when it airs.