Artists oppose Pugad Baboy suspension

Ace Tamayo

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

The Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP) says Medina does not deserve to be singled out for something that was partly beyond his control.

MANILA, Philippines – The Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP) condemned the suspension and eventual resignation of Pugad Baboy’s cartoonist Apolonio “Pol” Medina Jr. from the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) as a “threat to freedom of expression” that “contradicts the PDI’s legacy of asserting the right to freedom of speech and expression.”

In a statement on Saturday, June 8, CAP Spokesperson Renan Ortiz said Medina’s resignation is an “unfortunate development” and “can set a dangerous precedent for other publications and media institutions under similar situations.”

Ortiz added the suspension by the PDI contradicted its legacy to assert its right of freedom of expression under increasing political repression during the term of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. 

“In fact, no less that its publishers and editorial board were sued for libel by former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo back in 2007 for publishing articles about electoral fraud,” Ortiz said.

The comic strip in question by Medina appeared on inquirer.net on Monday, June 3. It depicted two characters talking about how hypocritical it is for Christians to denounce homosexuality when gays and lesbians are tolerated in Catholic all-girls schools. It went on to name St Scholastica’s College as an example. 

The administrators of the exclusive Catholic girls’ school took offense at “being singled out” by Medina’s comic strip that “accused [its Sister-administrators] of allowing homosexual relationships between its female students.”

On Thursday, June 6, PDI issued a public apology for the controversial comic calling Medina’s cartoon “offensive.” Inquirer publisher Raul Pangalangan clarified that Medina was not fired but his cartoon will not appear in the newspaper pending further investigation. 

But on Saturday, Medina confirmed his resignation from PDI effective June 7 and said his resignation is “irrevocable.” He addressed his resignation letter to PDI editor-in-chief Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc that read simply: “Ma’am, sorry I dishonored you. I resign.”

Partly beyond his control

Ortiz said Medina “does not deserve to be singled out for something that was partly beyond his control.” The responsibility for the offending strip goes beyond the individual artist in this case, but is also the result of interrelated factors, including editorial oversight, Ortiz explained.

“As a comic strip, Pugad Baboy did not deserve to be suspended on such grounds. For [25] years since 1988, it has served not only as a source of humor but also satire and relevant social commentary, such as critique against the Marcos dictatorship and other important issues,” said Ortiz.

National Artist and Chair of the Board of Directors of CAP Bienvenido Lumbera echoed Ortiz and said PDI should ought to have spoken up for Medina “instead of panicking and disowning the artist.”

“Medina’s strip was directed in general at what he calls the hypocrisy of Catholic institutions that condemn homosexuality and discriminate against lesbians and gays. St. Scholastica’s College was cited only to give an example but is not the exclusive subject of the criticism,” Lumbera said.

The Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP) is an organization of writers, artists and cultural workers committed to the principles of freedom, justice and democracy. It was founded in 1983 to unite Filipino artists against the dictatorial regime of then President Ferdinand Marcos who imposed repressive laws that curtailed freedom of expression. – Rappler.com


Related Stories:

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!