ABC Network says sorry for 'racial' slur
"The producers of Desperate Housewives and ABC Studios offer our sincere apologies for any offence caused [by the insulting remark] in the season premier," ABC Network said in a short statement of apology obtained by ABS-CBN North America News Bureau.
ABC Network added: "There was no intent to disparage the integrity of any aspect of the medical community in the Philippines."
The network's apology came after the Filipino community, particularly Filipino health workers, in the US and doctors in the Philippines deplored the insulting line uttered by actress Teri Hatcher's character, Susan Mayer in the show's Season 4 premier aired Sunday.
In one of the premier's scene Mayer asked for the credentials of the gynecologist who examined her and told her that she was approaching menopause.
Mayer said: "Can I check those diplomas 'coz I just want to make sure that they're not from some med school in the Philippines."
Malacañang on Wednesday also condemned the insulting line and asked the producers of the show to issue an apology.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the TV show belittled the abilities of Filipino doctors and sent a message that Philippine medical schools produced "substandard, inferior" medical practitioners.
North America New Bureau chief Ging Reyes, meanwhile, reported that some members of the Filipino community showed discontent despite the apology.
Angry doctors
Dr. Jose Sabili, president of the Philippine Medical Association (PMA), told ABS-CBN's morning show "Umagang Kay Ganda" that he had already talked with the president of the American Medical Association (AMA) and discussed Mayer's insulting line.
Quoting the AMA president, Sabili said the line was "out of bound."
"It's not good for us. They shouldn't have said those [insulting] words, because we all know that there are good doctors who graduated in the Philippines. That's uncalled for," Sabili said in another interview.
ABS-CBNNEWS.com
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