Ex-child star Camille defines child abuse

source: mb.com.ph

Appeal to parents: Former child actress Camille Prats, who was known throughout her youth as the young girl who played “Sarah, Ang Munting Prinsesa,” in a local movie, has called on parents of child actors to be more mindful of the needs of their children.

While claiming that she didn’t experience any form of child abuse while working as an actress in her pre-teen years, Camille said abuse is committed once a child is forced to work beyond her comfort zone.

It happens, she said, when the child is made to do something he or she doesn’t enjoy doing or is asked to shoot late into the night.

“They are kids. They can’t decide for themselves and are at the mercy of adults who supervise them,” she said at the media launch of “Munting Heredera,” a new GMA teleserye where she plays a major role as the mother of one of the three heredera wannabe’s.

The role is a turnaround for Camille, who in her most tender years, played martyr children roles.

She added she was lucky in that during her entire stint as a child actor, she was always guided by her parents, who never left her side at shoots.

“I had a happy childhood as an actress. I was one of those kids who liked very much what she was doing,” she said.

Working hours: Camille, who’s now 25, married, with child and who also runs a pre-school of her own, said she believes finishing a working day at 10 p.m. for a child actor is normal. She is hesitant, however, to enlist her three-year-old son in show business.

However, if the boy shows he’s inclined to follow in the footsteps of his relatives (actor John Prats is an uncle), Camille would gladly give in, perhaps, she wondered, at age seven?

On the other hand, TV program manager Regina Alba said the network adheres to a Department of Labor ruling that child actors should not work beyond 8 p.m.

Alba has under her wings three young girls, not one of them over six years old, who play adversaries in “Munting Heredera,” a daily primetime serial set to premiere on May 9. They are Barbara Miguel, Kyle Daniel Ocampo, and Mona Louise Rey.

In one of the scenes flashed to media during a preview, one of the girls, Barbara Miguel, came up to the bida, Mona Louise, and slapped her in the face upon the instruction of senior villainess, Katrina Halili. Mona Louise says she’s getting used to getting hurt physically in the course of her work as a budding actress. She does not consider herself, however, a victim of child abuse.

All three girls claim they are the rightful heiresses to the wealth of Doña Anastacia, played for the first time in a GMA production by Gloria Romero.

“Heredera” also stars Mark Anthony Fernandez, Katrina Halili, Gabby Eigenmann, Leandro Baldemor, among others, under the direction of Maryo de los Reyes.

TV news: “Dwarfina” takes her final bow this Friday on GMA Telebabad. The fantaserye about little girl, big girl reaches its final and deciding battle in the show’s dramatic finale May 6 after “Captain Barbell.”

In the finale, Dwarfina (Heart Evangelista) makes it to Mt. Kamurayaw and realizes how great a responsibility lies in her small hands. As the appointed leader of the Duwende Kingdom, it is now up to Dwarfina to save the mound and what remains of her mother’s legacy.

“Mutya,” the serena-serye on channel 2, is also wrapping up today. Two of the series’ most engaging players, aside from child star Mutya Orquijo in the title role, are Sandy Andolong and Lara Quigaman. We haven’t seen Sandy in such a role before – bitchy, evil and wicked yet cool and not over the top. Lara is a revelation in the drama department. She must be developed through more challenging roles in succeeding teleseryes.

source: mb.com.ph