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U.S. television network ABC, owned by Disney, released a statement apologizing for the "brief reference" to Filipino medical professionals in a line delivered by actress Teri Hatcher as part of the "Desperate Housewives'" latest season premiere.

Part of the statement read: "The producers of Desperate Housewives and ABC Studios offer our sincere apologies for any offense caused by the brief reference in the season premiere. There was no intent to disparage the integrity of any aspect of the medical community in the Philippines."

According to reports ABC will consider re-editing the episode for future telecasts. However, Filipino-American physicians stressed that an apology or even a possible re-editing was not enough for ABC and "Desperate Housewives" to correct its obvious mistake. such as making an on-air retraction and acknowledge the contribution of Filipino medical practitioners and health professionals to the U.S. Another demand was for ABC to provide training in cultural diversity among its creative staff to prevent such slurs from happening again.

A protest action is planned in New York on Friday (US time) to pressure ABC and "Desperate Housewives" to make such amends.

The problem is deeply rooted. Unless such insensitive creative professionals change their view of the world, these offensive attacks would most certainly persist.

Such mobilization against the tide of hatred is very much welcome. It sends a stern message to these ignorant, callous, and insensitive individuals that Filipinos, most especially, won't take this sitting down.

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Jean Garcia was in tears after showbiz reporters asked her about the alleged "advice" she gave daughter Jennica on the use of condoms amid the latter's rumored affair with GMA-7 teen heartthrob Mart Escudero.

Jean pleaded to the showbiz press and her colleagues in the industry not to "corrupt" Jennica, who has since been affected by the news.

"Sabi ko lang sa kanya, ‘Huwag kang magpapaapekto and you pray.’ Kasi, ‘pag sinabi ko na ganyan talaga ang show business. Hindi dapat ganu’n ang show business, di ba?," Jean said in a press conference of the upcoming horror movie Hide and Seek, which launches Jennica. Jean plays Jennica's mom in the movie.

"Huwag naman. Buti kung totoo. Pero ‘pag hindi kasi totoo, ‘yun po ‘yung hurting, eh! So, nasasaktan ang bata, kasi hindi naman totoo," Jean added.

FILIPINOS, especially our kababayan physicians, in the US were insulted when an episode of the hit series "Desperate Housewives" depicted Philippine medical schools as producing substandard, inferior and worse inept medical practicioners. Actress Teri Hatcher delivered a line reacting to a diagnosis of an OB-Gyne specialist which her character disputed and mocked: "Did you go to a medical school in the Philippines?" I can't blame Teri for that controversial line, since she was just following the script. The producers and scriptwriters of the show should apologize for something they obviously don't know as fact. Philippine medical schools produce well-respected, world-renowned and even internationally-awarded doctors. While I can't describe doctors who finished medical school in the Philippines as really the best in the world, they are definitely not the bungling, looney, or inefficient professionals these Hollywood employees falsely perceive. But why allow such blatant misconception in the script of the show viewed by millions around the world? Creative license, the Americans always say. But someone should draw the line between fact and fiction. Such judgment of another country's abilities, in this case in the medical profession, should be bolstered by fact before they integrate it in an environment of fiction, such as a popular television show. If newspapers or broadcast news programs have consistently reported that doctors who finished medical school in the Philippines had caused the death, further injury, or ill-being of their patients, then it is right to make that "truthful" remark. But the scriptwriter has obviously his own presumptions, pre-judgment not only of Filipinos practicing medicine, but of the Philippines and its people in general. That's grossly unfair, let alone a major Hollywood television production allowing such injustice to proliferate. * * * If you're a SkyCable subscriber and you've gotten used to the no-holds-barred action of the WWE in Jack TV, the rib-tickling comedy in the late night talk shows "Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Late Night with Conan O' Brien" on ETC, and the dramas, current affairs and reality shows on "ETC Second Avenue," the NBA and coverage of other international basketball leagues on Basketball TV, and sports action on Solar Sports, well, brace yourselves for the cable guy to snatch that candy from you. Solar Entertainment channels will no longer air on SkyCable. This is part of the Lopez-owned pioneer cable TV firm's move to re-program its channel line-up due to "public demand." However, SkyCable will launch new channels that it said would more than make up for the lost channels. By late October or early November, SkyCable will launch five new exclusive channels--Velvet (general entertainment), Balls (sports), Maxxx (extreme action and sports), AXN Beyond (sci-fi, supernatural thrillers), Fox Crime (crime-related dramas, documentaries), and Kidsco (family entertainment). The programs on Solar, it said, can already be seen on free TV with the company's blocktime agreement with RPN-9.