The Filipino reading public is not dumb!

"The Filipino reading public is not dumb. If you want to be popular again, be wholesome. Gusto [mo] ba gayahin ka namin? Ang trabaho n'yo is to inspire us, not to scandalize us." - Father Robert Reyes

FROM: SPOT PH

ABS-CBNNews.com reports that running priest Father Robert Reyes has called out actress Nora Aunor for her cover shot in the October 2011 issue of YES! magazine. The black-and-white photo shows the Superstar standing and artfully holding a cigarette.

It was the sight of the cigarette that prompted Reyes to tell Aunor, "The Filipino reading public is not dumb. If you want to be popular again, be wholesome. Gusto [mo] ba gayahin ka namin? Ang trabaho n'yo is to inspire us, not to scandalize us." He also added, "Nora, you are ill-advised. You think you are moving forward, it's a step backwards."

The ABS-CBNNews.com report said that Reyes' outburst was probably due to the fact that he was a volunteer for the Philippine Medical Association (PMA), which supports the "Smoke Free Philippines." Apparently, the PMA had also said that Aunor's photo on the cover of YES! magazine "conveys a bad image of artists."

YES! magazine editor-in-chief Jo-Ann Maglipon stood by Aunor's cover photo, saying that it "best captures the iconic star as she is today." She explained, "(Nora) speaks out now, against perceived hurts, about her sexuality, about her children. She also smokes. This new openness is her chosen expression of who she is today, and that is the reason I chose that photograph. It captures her."

Maglipon emphasized that the magazine supports the "Smoke Free Philippines" campaign and the cover was not meant to "flout" it. Nevertheless, she said, "In a perfect world, we will not have anyone smoking or drinking or gambling or lying. Not just in magazines, but out there in the real world. But apart from being in an imperfect world, there is the very real concern with freedom of expression, which not even the most well-meaning advocates should trample on."