CARTOONS HAVE been part of Philippine newspapers since the late Spanish era. They flourished in the reformist press during the propaganda and revolutionary period, and gained greater popularity during US colonization despite political constraints.

THE TEMPEST over artist Mideo Cruz’ art installation underscored one of the ironies of Philippine society. There are no laws explicitly partial to religious groups, but journalists, artists, and writers can still be sanctioned when their work is labeled blasphemous, obscene, and/or immoral.

THE BROUHAHA over visual artist Mideo Cruz’ “Poleteismo”(Polytheism) was the result of deliberate sensationalism by ABS-CBN 2’s “investigative” program XXX.

By focusing on Cruz’ art installation (especially on its most controversial images) and falsely linking it to the raging and bitterly divisive reproductive health (RH) bill debate, XXX provoked outrage over Cruz’ work, resulting in the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) taking down the “Kulo” (Boil) exhibit of which it was a part.

As the often colorful language of Filipino journalists would put it, the “XXX” episode was an “SS” story, “SS” being shorthand for masturbation.