NEWSFLASH

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CLAIRE DANES BANNED IN QUEZON CITY

Quezon City, Sept. 29, 1998 - The unflattering comments of actress Claire Danes about the City of Manila have prompted a Quezon City Councilor to consider banning "all other foreign visitors" who criticize the country similarly.

Weeks after Manila Councilor Kim Atienza authored a resolution banning the movies of Hollywood actress Claire Danes from all the theaters in Manila, the Quezon City Council passed a parallel resolution and Pasay City is reportedly following suit.

The resolution condemns the actress and declares her persona non grata "for her unfounded and derogatory" comments against Manila, published in leading American magazines.

As authored by Councilors Winston Castelo and Nanette Daza, the local ordinance punishes owners of theaters which will be caught showing Danes' movies. Their business permits will be suspended or revoked.

"The entire country and its people here and abroad were humiliated and denigrated due to Ms. Danes' irresponsible, unfounded and offensive comments about the City of Manila," Castelo said, justifying the highly controversial resolution which has been branded by some media practitioners as unwarranted censorship.

Castelo added that if Ms. Danes portrayed Manila as "ghastly and weird" the implication of what she said was that other cities and locations in the country, including Quezon City, are far worse.

Councilor Daza went one step further and said that" all other foreign visitors who will hurl an offensive comment against us should not be allowed to enter the country anymore."

Quezon City has 50 movie theaters. Claire Danes is the star of Romeo and Juliet, a movie that is currently showing several times a week on cable TV, which can be received in Quezon City, Manila and Pasay.

The resolutions of the three cities failed to mention how the city governments would deal with Claire Danes' movies on Cable TV.

The resolutions, while receiving some favorable comments in editorials and columns, are under attack from radio and some print journalists who point out the dangerous precedent set by the local ordinances.

"If I say something that offends the Councilors of Quezon City, they might pass a similar resolution banning me from their city. This is a blow against free speech," said a radio newscaster/reporter.

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