Most adults know that whatever is shown on TV dramas are mostly works of fiction but the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) is the kind of guy who takes them too seriously.
As in, way too seriously.
Yesterday, Director General Oscar Albayalde blasted the ABS-CBN show Ang Probinsyano which he complained portrays the PNP in an unfair and inaccurate light.
He also said that he will write to the country’s censors, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), and ABS-CBN to formally complain about the show.
For those who haven’t seen the show, Ang Probinsyano (literally “The Country Boy”) is about a noble cop named Cardo Dalisay. Originally from the provinces, he is assigned to Manila where the PNP is composed mostly of corrupt cops.
But the part that Albayalde seems to dislike the most is how the PNP chief is portrayed. In the show, PNP chief Alejandro Terante (Soliman Cruz) tried to assassinate the president (Rowell Santiago).
Most viewers know that Terante does not represent Albayalde but the latter doesn’t like how villainous the fictional PNP chief appears.
Albayalde was quoted by ABS-CBN News saying: “That kind of portrayal is not fair to the PNP. The chief of the PNP himself is a villain — I don’t think that ever happened to us. In reality, well, that can never happen.”
Sir, Terante is not you, ok?
But no, Albayalde cannot be appeased.
He told Manila Bulletin: “We will be writing both the production outfit (ABS-CBN) and the MTRCB. We want to probably have an audience and probably [tell them] if they cannot stop that [show] then they can change how the PNP is portrayed.”
In the show’s third season last year, Dalisay became a vigilante to avenge the death of his son. It’s probably storylines like this that Albayalde was referring to when he also complained about how characters take justice into their own hands.
Albayalde said: “It’s very disturbing [how the PNP is portrayed] and it shows to people that justice can be taken in one’s hands and it’s okay. It’s not. We are a nation of laws not of men.”
Albayalde’s complaints have prompted ABS-CBN to release a statement defending the show, one of the network’s most successful ones at present.
The company’s Integrated Corporate Communications head Kane Errol Choa said that the show has no intention to smear the reputation of any organization.
Choa told the PNP that “the characters, places, and incidents in the program are purely fictitious as stated in the disclaimer aired at the start of the show every night.”
He also added that the program “has highlighted that good shall always triumph over evil and has shared valuable lessons and family values that have resonated with viewers.”
Ang Probinsyano has been on-air since 2015 and gets as much as 40 percent in ratings, a far cry from its competitor Victor Magtanggol which only gets 15.2 percent.
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