Caritas Philippines explains removal of 'YSpeak 2.0' episode with Christian Esguerra from show's YouTube channel
Caritas Philippines has addressed the removal of the third episode of YSpeak 2.0 with former ANC anchor Christian Esguerra from the show's YouTube channel.
In a statement shared on YSpeak 2.0's Facebook page on Monday, June 1, Fr. Tito Caluag of Caritas Philippines said that he was the one who decided to take down the episode, which aired last May 23, due to "internal editorial guidelines and basic values" of the organization.
"It was a difficult decision to make, but there are internal editorial guidelines and basic values of Caritas Philippines I needed to consider. Furthermore, there were other factors I had to take into consideration. I had discussed these with the people concerned," he said.
He also explained why their fourth episode did not air on ALLTV on May 30 as planned.
"Again, this was my decision in part due to the other considerations I referred to in the previous paragraph. The other consideration was to focus on and strengthen our online presence where most of the youth are," Caluag said.
"YSpeak and YSpeak 2.0 were created to always be a safe space for the Filipino youth and will continue to strive to be such. Yes, we want our youth to have the platform to speak the truth with courage, but also to take all things into consideration. We are primarily a civics formation and education program and hope to be as inclusive as possible," he added.
He said he consulted the hosts—Elijah Canlas, Robbie Jaworski, Aya Fernandez, River Joseph, KD Estrada, and Ralph de Leon—on the issue and gave them a key role in determining the way forward. Although two of them were unable to attend the meeting, they remained updated on the discussions throughout.
"Again, thank you for your concern and honest expression. Please keep us in your prayers," he concluded.
'YSpeak 2.0' 3rd episode
In the now-deleted episode, Esguerra spoke with Canlas and Jaworski about fact-checking. Esguerra discussed how to assess the credibility of sources on social media and touched on how he was allegedly censored while working at his previous network.
They also played a game called "YSpeak Your Mind," where he was asked to give one-word descriptions of various political personalities shown on screen, including Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Antonio Trillanes IV, Sen. Bato dela Rosa, and Vice President Sara Duterte, whom he described as "evil."
The third episode was taken down later on—a move that received backlash from social media users.
"It’s disappointing that ABS-CBN decided to remove that Y Speak video involving Christian Esguerra. I thought the point was for the youth to be more actively engaged and be more open to discourse," an X user said. "Ironic lang na kayo na mismo nag-su-suppress [because] takot kayo sa backlash."
In his Facts First podcast, Esguerra expressed his dismay over the video's removal, saying the move sends the wrong message to the youth, who are encouraged to be vocal and active in social issues.
"It's just unfortunate... mukhang lumalabas na natakot yung mga nasa likod nitong programa sa possible backlash," he said.
Esguerra noted he was "not blaming anyone" for the episode's removal from the show's YouTube page.
"Pero ang sa akin lang, it sends the wrong message doon sa mga kabataan na sinisikap sana nila at natin na hubugin, mas patapangin, mas gawing engaged. Kasi kapag pinanood niyo naman po yung buong segment na 'yon, hindi lang naman po nakatutok doon sa word-association portion na 'yon," he said.
"I felt na there was that deep connection with the youth, because I could sense the engagement of the youth, how involved they were, how dedicated they were to the cause," he continued.
YSpeak 2.0 is a "civic education movement for the next generation of Filipinos, transforming the Filipino youth’s already loud voice into something sharper, more informed, and driven toward purposeful action," as stated on its Facebook page. It's co-produced by ABS-CBN and Caritas Philippines.
