Christine Bersola-Babao in hot water over article on homosexuality

Television host Christine Bersola-Babao is currently in the social media spotlight after her article on homosexuality receives criticism online.
 
In her Philippine Star column titled “Being Gay,” published Monday, March 11, Bersola-Babao discussed what parents should do if their child displays signs of being gay. TV psychologist Dr. Camille Garcia of TV5’s “Face to Face” served as her resource person for the article.
 
On the article’s Q & A section, Garcia said parents should “arrest the situation” if their children show early signs of homosexuality.
 
“Arrest the situation, ’yun ang tama. But most parents encourage the situation. Tatanggapin agad,”she said in the interview with Bersola-Babao. “Let’s be moral in making the child understand the situation, di ba yun ang dapat. We tell our child, ‘Anak, mali ito’.”
 
Bersola-Babao also shared her opinion on the matter. The TV5 host is married to ABS-CBN news anchor Julius Babao.
 
She wrote,” As a mom who has a three-year-old son named Nio, my personal take on the matter is this: Nio, when curious, plays with his big sister’s toys. But we always point it out to him that those are toys for girls, and these are toys for boys. We compare toys so that he will understand.”
 
She added that her husband is one of the reasons why his son is “very much male.”
 
“Now, if you ask me what if my son grows up to be gay? I will not encourage it. But will I accept? A mother will always accept her child. A mom may not agree with all of her child’s choices or preferences, but in the end, being a kind human being is more important than what your gender is,” the TV host ended her article.
 
Her response
 
The “Being Gay” column, which has been shared by more than 10,000 users on Twitter and Facebook on the Philippine Star’s social media counter, raised some eyebrows and drew some strong opinions.

 
On her official Twitter account on Monday, March 11, Bersola-Babao said she only shared how she raises her child. She added the views of Garcia should not be perceived as her opinion on the issue.
 
“In my column i stressed na as a mom ito ang ginagawa ko, this is how im raising my child. Yan ang pinaniniwalaan kong paraan & i stand by it,”
 
“i jst told Dr Camille na madami nagrereact sa Radical Christian views nya. She says sorry if she hurt any1 w her views,” she told one of her Twitter followers.
 
On Tuesday, March 12, the Kapatid TV host reiterated that she has “profound love and respect for gays.”
 

Editor's note: Yahoo! Philippines OMG! welcomes opinions—and the occasional wisecracks—that enrich and highlight new angles on its stories. Below-the-belt rants may be a fact of online life, but that doesn't mean you should turn into a troll. You can speak your mind without bashing anyone. Keep it clean, folks.