Bishop Bastes Versus Bastos Broadcasters

Bishop Bastes Vs Bastos Broadcasters (BB vs BB)

Sorsogon Bishop Arturo M. Bastes said the Kapisanan ng mga Broadcasters ng Pilipinas (KBP) should regulate programs being aired on FM stations at midnight.

The prelate alleged that some midnight disc jockeys (DJs) are using sexual innuendos when they give advice to callers who have relationship problems.

The bishop claimed that he received reports that midnight DJs are “using foul language” on-air from “a couple, teachers and even drivers,” but he has not personally listened to these radio stations yet.

Bishop Bastes encouraged FM radio jocks to play religious songs instead.

I have two words to say to the Bishop.

Sex sells.



For the FM radio stations, they could only resort to sexual innuendos to make their shows a little bit more interesting while being discrete at the same time, specifically to target their “horny” or “sexually-active” listeners.

This is obviously done to spice up the usual dead or sleepy hours of the night where listeners need more than just coffee to keep awake.

Insomniacs or sleep-deprived individuals are given a "tasty treat" when served some "mouthwatering" and "tounge-tingling" side dishes along with the main course of discussion.

The term sexual innuendo has acquired a specific meaning, namely that of a "risque" double entendre by playing on a possibly sexual interpretation of an otherwise innocent uttering. For example: "We need to go deeper" can be seen as both a request for further inquiry on any given issue or a request to go deeper into an orifice. Alternatively the more simple changing the pronunciation of a word in order for it to sound vulgar e.g. innuendo to in-your-endo. Sexual innuendos are words with double meaning. It is a clever way to say what you mean, but not necessarily mean what you say because of underling hidden intent that must be inferred to be understood.

Sexual innuendo is a hard topic to stay on top of. As a humor tool, it stands erect in the English language. While there are no hard and fast rules as to what constitutes sexual innuendo, many people have mass-debated over the ins-and-outs of the topic, and now the general principles at the root of the topic are firm and well-rounded. However, full penetration of the subject requires that the reader take a long, hard look at the target and be a cunning linguist in order to avoid limp phrases and imbibe the phrase with a large handful of meanings. The topic can become hot by attempting to grasp it, and the more one experiments with it, the more interested they become. Also, as the language changes innuendos must change in order to fill the newly created holes and satisfy listeners.

If the bishop would ask KBP to censor radio shows aired during the late hours of the night, why not give tougher restrictions also to those TV shows that are televised during noon or prime time, where children could be more actively present.

Noon time shows in GMA 7 (Eat Bulaga) and ABS-CBN(Happy, Yipee, Yehey), and a primetime show in TV5 (Wiltime Bigtime) would always have scantily-clad women dancers as support to the main artists or during intermission numbers. They are primarily used as the background entertainment not only to entertain but to obviously arouse the sexuality of the viewers especially men. The hosts would also oftenly use sexual innuendos when interviewing contestants.

The midnight radio shows, which only relies on the listeners creative and wild imagination to interpret their sexual innuendos, are nothing compared to the TV shows where viewers are served with the almost naked bodies of pretty women humping, shaking, or gyrating to a beat. Some women are even just used to display and advertise products.

As a man, I would be lying if I told you I am not sexually aroused by the seemingly “vulgar” or “indecent” type of entertainment.  After generations of debate, science has an answer: Men respond differently to the female species after seeing videos or photos of scantily clad women, and some even demonstrate increased hostility due to heightened “natural urges”.

Often times, the enforcement over whether something is "indecent" or not will come down to public (or I should say assumed public) opinion, or "properness".

Laws defining public decency and properness are so heavily tied to constructed social norms that even when they're lifted, officials and lay people often still attempt to enforce them.

People openly discussing about sex in public would be judged as offensive, women wearing no bras underneath their clothing are going to be asked to cover up, mothers breastfeeding in restaurants are going to be asked to do "that" in private and women wearing short “shorts” or a revealing cleavage are going to be gawked at by strangers.

But, thanks to activists that have been working for years to change laws and social norms, that social change is coming and maybe one day soon the person who can decide how much or how little sexuality to show or " broadcast" can be the person himself.