By Cheryll D. Fiel
davaotoday.com
DAVAO CITY — A tabloid circulated in this city got a beating at the City Council session early this week.
Councilor Pilar Braga told the council about the proliferation of the tabloid Brigada, which, she said, contains “lurid description of sexual acts” particularly in its column entitled “Sexperience” written by one Desidido Muhabal Jr. The newspaper is said to be printed in General Santos City.
Braga said she was able to take hold of the papers May 13 issue where the said column talked about the confessions of a man seeking sex with a woman, with vivid description of sexual acts in the Cebuano dialect. “This is simply pornographic,” Braga said, noting that even the writer, upon closer inspection, is just a pen name and, in itself, offensive. Desidido Muhabal means determined to have sex.
Braga said this is the kind of material that Davao, being what she called a city of character, should be wary about. “Definitely, this is against decency and moral standards. The intention is immoral and the language used is objectionable. The readers, especially the young, may get the wrong idea,” she said before the council.
Braga said she is bent on filing a resolution at the City Council to deal with this matter.
Bragas move was seconded by another woman councilor, Nenita Orcullo, who said that the gains women achieved with the passing of the Women Development Code could be put to naught by establishments that continue to violate women’s rights.
Orcullo told the council that she also received reports that a the old Lawaan Theater has been showing pornographic movies. She also noted that petty crimes such as theft, robbery and even stabbings have also been occurring in the moviehouse.
Vice-Mayor Luis Bonguyan, who presided the session, recalled that a few years back the City Council also banned Bandera, a tabloid that featured sexy stars and articles. Bandera is now a family-oriented tabloid owned by the same company that published the Philippine Daily Inquirer. (Cheryll D. Fiel/davaotoday.com)
