On September 9, which marked the 40th day of the death of former Philippine president and democracy icon Corazon “Cory” Aquino, her son Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III announced that he would continue the fight for democracy by running in the 2010 presidential elections.

Many Filipino Internet users eagerly awaited the senator’s announcement, monitoring and sharing the coverage of his press conference on microblogging sites such as Plurk and Twitter and social networking sites such as Facebook.

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What?

An online petition calling for Revillame’s ouster has gathered nearly 50,000 signatures already; the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board has filed a complaint and called for the preventive suspension of Revillame; Facebook users have launched the Anti Willie Revillame Movement Facebook Group; and different organizations like the Alyansa ng Filipinong Mamamahayag have issued statements against Revillame, and somehow all this convinced Villar that Revillame should run for senator?

Here’s an excerpt from the abs-cbnNews.com story. Read it and weep.

“Oo, naman, very qualified naman si Willie, wala naman akong nakikitang problema kay Willie,” Villar said. “Yun ay isang bagay na dapat niyang pagisipan.”

Villar visited Revillame in Tagaytay after he found out about the controversy involving Revillame’s move to cut the live streaming of the late President Corazon Aquino’s August 3 procession which was being shown simultaneously on Wowowee through an inset video.

Revillame’s move irked many viewers and prompted him to go on indefinite leave from his popular entertainment show. Nearly 50,000 have expressed support for an online petition seeking Revillame’s ouster from Wowowee.

Villar said that although he didn’t get to watch that controversial Wowowee episode, he nonetheless wants to express his support for the popular host.

I guess we should expect it by now, but this move again shows how politics in this country mainly revolves around personalities, rather than principles. A controversial but popular TV host, despite all his past and present sins, is “very qualified” if a politician uses the twisted logic of “winnability” that is so prevalent in this country.

Villar, however, should rethink this decision. Already, those reacting to this news on Facebook and my Twitter and Plurk timelines are saying this would make them think twice about voting Villar for president, as this move to make Revillame a senator is an indication of Villar’s decision making process.

Not only that, but many of the people who are calling for Revillame’s ouster are Filipinos abroad — overseas Filipino workers and Fil-Ams who were outraged when they saw that Wowowee episode on TFC.

How do you think all these people will react to the thought of Revillame becoming senator? How do you think they will feel about Villar making this a possibility?

The sad thing is that people who otherwise would have voted for Villar are now disappointed in him because of this move.

That’s a thought that should give him pause.

Please, Senator Manny Villar, ‘wag magpadala sa maling akala.

As of this writing, the online petition now has 48,009 signatures. The irate viewers are protesting Revillame’s on-air comments on the Aquino cortege video that was shown as an inset during the airing of Wowowee.

Revillame’s critics have also set up the Anti Willie Revillame Movement Facebook Group, which now has over 5,000 members.

Meanwhile, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board has filed a complaint and called for the preventive suspension of Revillame.

You may also check out Rodel Rodis’ “Oust Willie!” column piece for Global Nation at INQUIRER.net. Here’s an excerpt.

CALIFORNIA, United States—The death of Corazon Aquino produced an unprecedented outpouring of collective sorrow, with hundreds of thousands lining up at the Manila Cathedral to personally bid her farewell, from marginalized squatters to high society matrons, from leftist revolutionaries to rightist coup plotters.

The one discordant note in the otherwise unified sea of harmony came from Wowowee host Willie Revillame, who complained on the air that showing the Cory funeral cortege was sucking the fun out of his hugely popular ABS-CBN variety show.

For other Revillame-related new stories, check out my previous blog entry.

Here’s a copy of the video in case you haven’t seen it yet.

You may sign the online petition to oust Revillame here.

Here’s an excerpt from the abs-cbnNews.com article.

Willie Revillame is on leave “indefinitely” in the wake of the controversy generated by his order to cut the simultaneous live broadcast of the procession of President Corazon Aquino’s remains from his noontime show last August 3.

“Yes, naka-leave [siya]. From his (Revillame) own text [message] to me, indefinitely,” Bong Osorio, head of ABS-CBN’s corporate communications, told abs-cbnNEWS.com in a phone interview.

For those who haven’t seen it, here’s the YouTube clip of Revillame commenting on the Aquino cortege video.

A report from the Manila Bulletin, however, has stated that Revillame has gone on a three-week leave.

In an interview with Philippine Entertainment Portal, “Wowowee” director and Star Magic head Johnny Manahan spoke up in defense of Revillame. The article noted that Manahan was speaking as a “personal friend and ally” of Revillame and not in an official capacity for the network.

An earlier report on INQUIRER.net said Revillame was “unperturbed” by the online petition calling for his ouster. The petition has gathered 34,020 signatures as of this writing.

According to this column piece on PhilStar.com, Kris Aquino said Revillame has apologized to her and her family, and that for her, “end of story na.”

Meanwhile, on Aug. 7, Aquino family spokesperson Dee Dee Siytangco rebuked Revillame, issuing a statement that said: “It is regrettable and a crass attempt to desecrate the memory of the beloved Tita Cory.”

Another abs-cbnNews.com story dated Aug. 7 reported that Revillame apologized anew, and that the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board was mulling sanctions against Revillame.

On Aug. 6, the Alyansa ng Filipinong Mamamahayag issued a statement against Revillame, condemning his arrogance and calling on the MTRCB to give him “the hardest lesson.”

Will Revillame be returning to “Wowowee,” and will ABS-CBN issue an official statement about his leave?

Stay tuned.

In what you might call Braceletgate, Senator Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal has earned the ire of Filipino bloggers for the yellow beaded bracelets that were being given away during the memorial services for former Philippine President Corazon “Cory” Aquino on August 5.

The bracelets included a picture of Madrigal, who, incidentally, had announced on July 31 that she would run for president in 2010 in a move that caught even her colleagues by surprise, based on this INQUIRER.net article.

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Here’s an excerpt from my latest CNET Asia blog post.

An online petition has been launched urging Philippine broadcast giant ABS-CBN to reprimand Willie Revillame, host of the network’s popular noontime show “Wowowee”.

Filipino viewers and Internet users have been condemning the remarks Revillame made while a video feed of former Philippine President Corazon “Cory” Aquino’s cortege was shown during the “Wowowee” broadcast on Monday, August 3. Here’s a YouTube clip showing Revillame’s reaction.

Read the full story.

Today, August 5, the Filipino nation will bid farewell one final time to the woman who restored democracy in the Philippines and inspired peaceful People Power revolutions in other countries (some successful, some not).

Thousands of Filipinos are expected to turn out for the funeral of former Philippine President Corazon “Cory” Aquino, with thousands more inside and outside the country watching the live video streams of GMANews.TV and ABS-CBN and interacting with fellow mourners online on social networks, such as on Facebook through this President Cory Aquino Facebook Page and the Global Wake for Cory Aquino in Cyberspace Facebook event.

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Here’s a clip posted on YouTube of Willie Revillame, host of the popular ABS-CBN noontime show “Wowowee,” reacting to the video of former Philippine president Corazon “Cory” Aquino’s cortege.

Aquino’s remains were transferred yesterday from La Salle Greenhills to Manila Cathedral, and thousands of Filipinos lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the procession/convoy and pay their respects. ABS-CBN, which by the way is the “official broadcast partner of the Aquino family,” was covering the cortege on TV and livestreaming it on the Web.

When “Wowowee” started airing, ABS-CBN showed the video of the Aquino cortege as an inset.

Here’s the video on YouTube showing Revillame’s reaction in the middle of interviewing a contestant on the noontime show.

I won’t even say anything. Just watch the video, and you be the judge.

Thanks to Rainier Contreras’ tweet for the heads up on this YouTube clip.

Thousands of Filipinos have lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the cortege and pay their respects as the remains of former Philippine president Corazon “Cory” Aquino were transferred to the Manila Cathedral. As of this writing, the cortege is on its way to the church, where her body will lie in state after being transferred from La Salle Greenhills. The procession is being live streamed by GMANews.TV and ABS-CBN.

Aquino will be buried on Wednesday, Aug. 5, which has been declared a special non-working holiday by Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as part of the 10-day period of national mourning.

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GMANews.TV now has a live video stream of the wake of former Philippine President Corazon “Cory” Aquino, whose remains have been brought to La Salle Greenhills.

Read the full story.