KC-Piolo-Mo Twisted: Why libel law sucks

I never thought I would see the day when young Filipino professionals would actually thank the entertainment industry for providing some relief or welcomed distraction from the Aquino-Arroyo title fight.

In spite of classic lines such as “we don’t deal with fiction” or “she should have her head examine” or “Yes, I’m willing to have my head examined, maybe we should all have our heads examined, including the President”, it was just a matter of time before people got sick and tired of the Aquino versus Arroyo title fight the same way they got fed up with the Pacquiao Vs. Marquez trading barbs, fists and claims.

Last week, we can thank the entertainment industry for making us watch the “KC Concepcion interview” as well as how the industry eats its own in terms of going after Mo Twister who now looks more like Mo Twisted thanks to the on-going hate campaign against him.

For people who actually look for lessons in the lives of others, last week’s twin billing leaves all of us a lot to think about.

First of all is: Never love someone more than yourself. Always leave enough to keep your dignity intact and manage whatever disappointment comes.

I have made this mistake several times between the age of 16 and 30, and later in life as wisdom and GOD’s love took over, I realized that when I gave it all, I was doing so expecting the same in return. That was not love, it was a “need”, something we all have as a consequence of our “family” life or personal losses.

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Parents should remember this lesson: “What your children can’t find at home, they will seek elsewhere”

Kids need fatherly, motherly love. They need mentoring, discipline and support. What they can’t get at home they will find in other relationships. Even if one parent gives it all, it will still be half the equation. In the end, that imbalance creates a need that is confused or replaced with romantic love.

Unfortunately, while we are looking for “Romance” and for “Love”, we also discover that other people have a different way of expressing love. Some are physical, some are verbal, some are material and some are just bizarrely, strangely loving but restrained. They call it our different “Love Language”. The fact that several books have been written on them, tell us we need to speak several love language to stay in love. Only married people understand that!

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I’ve also learned the deep and liberating truth that I needed to love GOD more than anyone and anything in my life. It is the one sure thing that will help you survive losing a loved one, a child, a job, material possession or social status. I have gone through all of it in one form or another and by GOD’s grace, “It is well with my soul”.

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Next lesson: No matter how disappointing things may get, never let the disappointment or the pain lead you to say or do something that may ultimately discredit the love you had for someone. You cannot talk about “love” while it’s good then lash out when it’s gone bad. Real love is dignified, it’s private and when it brings pain, should never be part of public or private conversations.

People should take to heart this memory verse to guide them:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, IT KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. IT ALWAYS PROTECTS, ALWAYS TRUSTS, ALWAYS HOPES, ALWAYS PERSEVERES. LOVE NEVER FAILS (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

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In the case of Mo Twister, many people now know about his alleged “twisted confession” or post about someone having an abortion, and the fuzzy assumptions that he was an unwilling or repentant participant to the abortion, all in the name and the glory of the entertainment industry.

First up, lets face the facts, ABORTIONS have been happening in this country, in schools, colleges and universities from the fifties, all up to today. Some women were forced to do it by their partner or by social pressure, or fear. But I also know of young women who had abortions because pregnancy would ruin their careers or their life. Men have been party to them or have been opposed to them but could not stop them.

We are a nation that has lived with this generational lie, we are a society that has opted to live in denial and ignorance rather than do something educated, civilized and Godly about pre-marital sex, about sex education and most especially about unwanted pregnancy. And while factions were fighting as they do today, the killing of unwanted babies continued.

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Last I heard, Mo Twister has left the country and his former “allies” now turned critics are calling him a coward. But he’s not the only person I know who’s had to leave town because of our Libel law.

The Leader of the “Dating Daan” movement Ely Soriano has lived abroad for several years because his enemies sued him for Libel, which automatically lands you in jail until you post bail and if you’re found guilty you actually spend years in prison.

If Libel were merely a civil case, I would bet that Mo “Twisted” would still be in town and would be providing us even more interesting twists to his emotional rollercoaster ride. Keeping Libel a criminal case, now THAT IS TWISTED!

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