I’m sure you have heard or saw this t.v. clip from Desperate Housewives. It has been on the local news for the past few weeks and ‘til now, it hasn’t come to a halt. Teri Hatcher is now very famous for the Filipinos for its line on the series mocking Philippine medical school, well some, not in general. It has earned a lot of protest and negative reactions from the Filipinos, especially in U.S., to the point that some made a petition to ban the said show.
I’m not a fan of Desperate Housewives or its actors and actresses. In fact, I haven’t watched a single episode of it, and I only know Teri Hatcher when she played Lois Lane on Superman series aired on Channel 5 then. So, I think this whole petition brouhaha on banning the show is way out of league; other Filipinos may have overreacted on this issue. Sure, I was a bit offended when I saw the clip, apparently because I’m a Filipino. But I don’t think it’s a racial discrimination. On that certain episode, Hatcher was just appertaining to the doctor’s diploma making sure that he didn’t get it from ‘some med school in the Philippines.’ The writer might have an unfortunate encounter with a Filipino doctor but he clearly did not generalize all Filipino doctors as ‘incompetent or ineffective’. I, myself, have own personal account regarding some medical malpractices. For one, my father’s life could have been saved if he was given proper first aid in one of hospitals somewhere in Pampanga. This same hospital is where my neighbor was rushed from after he had a motorcycle accident. The doctor said he was fine thus sent him home. The next day, he died of internal hemorrhage. But then, I still believe that there are still great Filipino doctors, especially those who are now working abroad.
Or the writer might be referring to Recto, a very popular place in Manila where one can get fake diploma instantly. Or he might have heard the nursing licensure examination leakage. Whatever his reasons may be, the thing is, abc (the network which airs Desperate Housewives), already made a public apology regarding the malicious statement. I think it is enough already to amend whatever damage/s it caused on the image of Filipino doctors or medical schools in our country. I understand if we are being too sensitive with issues like these because it may appear as an insult for us. Furthermore, Filipinos have great contributions globally even though we are tagged as Third World. To name some of Filipino inventions were the fluorescent light and karaoke (but only to be sold to other countries because our government failed to support the said inventions). We have talented artists such as Nicole of Pussycat Dolls, Allan Pineda a.k.a. APL de Ap of Blackeyed Peas, Rob Schneider to name a few. We have Filipino designers who had invaded the U.S. market such as the Cebuano who made the sofa frame on Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s house or the now famous Filipino bag designer who has a store in New York. And, we have a boxing champion in the name of Manny Pacquiao.
But then, the petition to ban Desperate Housewives is not the key to totally uplift Filipinos’ pride. Let’s face it, we also have our flaws. There’s the growing poverty, crimes, and graft and corruption. Why not focus on those instead?