MANILA, Philippines -- TV host Willie Revillame is reportedly set to face a child abuse case in relation to a segment on his defunct program, which showed a six-year-old boy dancing like a macho dancer.
The case, which accuses Revillame of "exploiting the vulnerability of a minor" during the March 12, 2011 episode of the variety show "Willing Willie," is set to be heard at a Quezon City court, according to a report published Thursday on the news website Inquirer.net.
According to the report, the child abuse case against Revillame was pursued by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Council for the Welfare of Children.
On Monday, the case was raffled off to QC Regional Trial Court Branch 86, under Judge Roberto Buenaventura.
In the March 12, 2011 episode of "Willing Willie," which aired on TV5, a six-year-old contestant in one of the show's segments was seen crying as he was coaxed by Revillame to do dance moves similar to a macho dancer's.
Prosecutor Benjamin Samson, in a resolution dated May 17, 2013, said he found probable cause to charge the TV host with violating the Anti-Child Abuse Act.
Samson said Revillame "should have been prudent" in dealing with a minor, and that the TV host "unwittingly exposed (the boy) to mockery and humiliation."
The contestant, according to the complaint, was made to perform the same dance five times throughout the segment.
Samson, however, cleared the other respondents from TV5: board chairman, Manuel V. Pangilinan; president and chief executive officer Ray Espinosa; executive vice president and chief operating officer Roberto Barreiro; "Willing Willie" director Jojo Jardeleza; the program's executive producer Rackie Sevilla; and segment producer Adrian Gret.
In his counter-affidavit cited by Inquirer.net, Revillame maintained that "Willing Willie" was a wholesome and family-oriented program. The TV host said he also had no part in choosing contest participants.
Revillame likewise reiterated that the boy cried because he was scared of one of the program's co-hosts, former basketball player Bonel Balingit.
The TV host also insisted that the boy's performance, which he referred to as the "body wave," was not obscene, immoral or malicious. Revillame cited a statement made by the boy's parents, saying that there was nothing abusive about the performance.
Noting that while Revillame had no part in auditioning the show's contestants, Samson said "the totality of events that transpired during the show reveals that Revillame directly participated and was responsible in committing child abuse."
