CAUGHT
last Saturday’s Imbestigador. I read somewhere
that an entrapment episode would be aired that it
would involve a gay person named Alex. This Alex
said he was a “producer” conducting an
audition for an “international film.” The
audition process was supposedly confidential and
would occur inside Alex’s room. There would
be no one else around. The “audition” would
require the guy auditioning to strip, dance provocatively
and masturbate as the camera rolls.
The person who reported this “audition” to Imbestigador, GMA’s
reality program highlighted by raids and exposes, is a snake man named Harold
Montano. One of Harold’s friends received an SMS from the purported producer.
The friend was eager to work abroad so he went to the audition and did all the
deeds expected of him The video that was screened on TV showed the a half naked
Alex and the anonymous “auditonee” doing what was needed.
Knowing Imbestigador’s penchant for the sensational, including portraying
gay men as either perverts or demented, the raiding team swooped down on Alex
and Mr. Anonymous. Take note that this occurred in Alex’s own home. Armed
with their warrant of arrest, the police swarmed the gay guy’s home,
told him blatantly the sin he was committing, went to his room and gathered
damning
evidence. They then brought Alex to the National Bureau of Investigation where
he was brought face-to-face with the tipster, Harold Montano, and Mr. Anonymous.
Alex was beside himself. He cried and cried and cried and cried as the tempest
raged.
Though I do not agree with Alex’s plan to lure the men so they could play
with themselves in front of the camera, I felt there was something wrong with
the way the rading team “captured” Alex. When the NBI presented Alex
the warrant, shouldn’t they have informed him of his rights? Did the NBI
or Imbestigador give Alex the opportunity to have a lawyer by his side while
he was being questioned and as he went through the whole process of “pag-piano” for
fingerprints and the “photo op”?
Let me reiterate that I am not in agreement with
Alex’s ploy of fooling
men. What he did is wrong in my book. However, the manner in which Imbestigador
handled the whole situation felt like bullying to me. It implied that gay men
are not to be trusted and that gay men will do anything for a quick fix. The
episode ran for more than 20 minutes and felt like a slap on every gay guy’s
face.
Talagang we will never make it. Mababa na naman ang tingin sa mga bading pagkatapos
ng karnabal na nagpapanggap na taga-ligtas ng mga naapi! And I cannot help but
wonder how Montano the snitch and Mr. Anonymous would face their other gay friends
and benefactors after the stunt they pulled.
Is there anything that pro-gay groups or so-called “gay empowerment groups” like
Ladlad will do about this situation? It might take time, especially since their
party list group has been disqualified and their senatorial candidate, Prof.
Danton Remoto, disqualified by the
Comelec for being a “nuisance candidate.”
I feel for the plight of Alex. There are so many gay guys just like him who
come up with desperate measures just to feel that he “belongs” or is “with” someone
even for a brief moment, keber ba sa consequences.
This Alex episode is a blatant reminder of why the “leaders” of the “progressive
gay groups” are failing in their quest for political representation.
Their causes seem rarefied. They have become so full of themselves, believing
that
what they want is the best for everyone. They have failed in the fundamental
task of touching lives, communicating, and making gays like us realize that
there is more to gay life than having a lover, and that kahit nag-iisa, you
can choose
to be happy.
How many more Alexes must be captured and presented like an animal on national
TV? How many more exposes can a divided pink community take for us to really
come together? Why is this happening? What are we going to about this? |
