BITCHY LETTERS!

I love reading letters most especially if they are well written and their being bitchy is with class. Like this letter of Danton Remoto (do I need to tell you who he is?) published in one of the yahoo groups:

Dear Angmokio,

Since you asked, I will tell you.

Yes, the very intelligent management of Redline, composed of Dodong Rivera, who sends entertainers to Japan and owns a girlie bar and a gay bar, and Genesis Gallios, who was fired from Fahrenheit, said "my services are no longer needed" as of January 3, 2005.

Why?

1. I questioned their insistence on having too many almost-pornographic pictures of men. I said time and again that if gay men want porn, they can always go to the Internet. Not at my expense. I know Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code like the back of my hand, the code that penalizes magazines that "arouse the prurient interest of readers."

The text-picture ratio was supposed to be 50-50. They changed it to 70-30 in favor of photos. They violated the editorial independence that was my only requirement for joining them in October 2004. My friends in the Makati ad agencies said their clients want to advertise, but not when there is pubic hair galore on the pages of the magazine.

2. They treat gay and lesbian issues in such a shallow fashion. I had to fight for the coverage of the Pride March. I had to fight for the inclusion of articles on lesbian issues. To quote the great Genesis, who should instead be called Apocalypse, when one customer on the phone asked what the magazine contains: "Ang magasin ay may lamang tumpok-tumpok na titi." I rest my case.

3. Time and again, I asked them to provide me with a National Census and Statistics Office certification that some of the models are above 18 years old. They did not do this. Violation of this requirement that models should be 18 and above is an act punishable by law.

4. I warned them they are going on a financial hemorrhage. Under Mr. Gallios as VP, the magazine has spent P2 million on two issues. The usual expense should be P500,000 for one issue. Therfore, P2 million should have published four issues. How do I know? I have an M.A. in Publishing from the University of Stirling in the UK, and I have edited the weekend magazines of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Manila Times. I was also the Director of the Research and Publication Office of Ateneo for ten years, which published 200 books and journals.

5. Before me, two people in Advertising resigned; one in Talent Management; and my beloved Art Director. They went to the best schools--UP, Ateneo, De La Salle. My Art Director worked with a top company in Kuala Lumpur. I had taught in the US. But Mr. Gallios--a third-year, high school dropout who thinks globalization is the same as global warming--treats us with disrespect.

6. Now, their website for Campus Face Philippines shows UST, CEU and UE beside pictures of half-naked men. Even the good doctor of the Catholic Church, St. Thomas of Aquinas, has a statue placed beside a half-naked boy, making it appear that the contest is an official activity of the universities. The officials of these universities are now complaining, and I am sure Redline will get some official letters in the next few days.

Therefore, I ask our friends in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community to BOYCOTT L Magazine and BOYCOTT Mr. Campus Face Philippines on Feb 2. I have been with gay groups since 1991, and only now have I met such callous people who think they can treat us in such a reckless fashion.

Not anymore, not now, not here. Let us not give our hard-earned money to people who do not help, but only oppress us.

Many thanks,

Danton Remoto
Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing
Ateneo de Manila University

Columnist, Art and Culture, Philippine STAR

Founder, Ang LUNDUYAN