Bisaya Ethnic Slur of Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo

From GMANews.tv

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr on Thursday expressed concern that the film Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo is conveying a wrong message to Filipinos by denigrating the use of the Visayan language, which is most widely spoken in the Visayas and large parts of Mindanao.

Pimentel, who hails from Mindanao, cited a portion of the film where a grandmother was telling a nanny (yaya) in Pilipino: “Bakit pinapalaki ninyong Bisaya ang apo ko?" (Why are you rearing my grandchild as a Bisaya?)

The mother then butts in and tells the nanny: “Speak to the kid in Tagalog. Parang Pinoy. (So that he grows up like a Pinoy)."

Pimentel said that the scene smacks of an ethnic slur to non-Tagalog speaking Filipinos as he called on the producer of the film, Star Cinema, to promptly take steps to rectify the error.

“It offends the sensibilities of the Visayans and other non-Tagalog speaking citizens by making them feel as if they are less Filipino than the Tagalogs. It creates useless hatred in the nation," he said.

Pimentel also expressed disappointment at the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).

He said that the MTRCB had apparently overlooked the flaw in the film which it should not have tolerated.

“Sakal Sakali Saklolo," with Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo in the lead roles, is an official entry to the ongoing Metro Manila Film Festival. - GMANews.TV

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I've seen the film, and I would not go far as to say this film is racist. Maybe just a little insensitive, or perhaps, inconsiderate.

The movie just portrayed some bitter facts about life. And here it is: Countless numbers of people from the provinces travel to Manila in search of high paying jobs including thousands of women who work as househelps. The Visayan populace account for a large proportion of the househelps in Manila. Now, we don't expect these houshelps to speak perfect english or tagalog. These are taught in school and not at home, and most househelps have not finished school. That's a fact. So, was the film racist? Absolutely not. Was the film generalizing? I don't think so. Was the film insensitive? Yes. But what is portrayed was just an observation and dissemination of fact.

Well, I guess to rectify this issue, Star Cinema may have to edit that scene, or remove it altogether in subsequent releases (VCD, DVD, TV screening). After all, it was just a couple of seconds, and around 3 lines.