TRAVEL: MABUHAY WELCOME TO THE PHILIPPINES

HOW WOULD YOU KNOW YOU HAVE ARRIVED IN THE PHILIPPINES?

Well here are the things you should see, upon your arrival here, that will give you an indication you are already in the Philippines. This blog post is intended for those people who haven't been to the Philippines ever. Not ever. Because if you've been to the Philippines already or you live here in our country then this blog post is not for you. I wrote this for those foreigners who wants to come to the Philippines as sort of a guide of what to expect when they arrive here. Not only for foreigners but for Filipinos born in foreign countries like the USA who may want to come to the Philippines. This post is for you. I hope you enjoy reading it.

IN THE AIRPORT

So you are a foreigner you rode your plane left your country and flew to the Philippines for the first time. The plane landed on the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and as you go out the airport you will see a throng of people in the waiting area outside. And you will think are all these people riding the planes? The answer is no. three-fourths of the people there are greeters of passengers. They are all relatives who greets their love ones who just arrived from abroad. Or they are relatives who went with the passenger who is leaving the country. Usually a passenger brings along a van or jeep full of relatives to send them to the airport. For those leaving the country this is the last chance that they will see this relative who have been with them since birth and now he is leaving alone to another country. This is an emotional thing for the Filipinos. Seeing their love ones leaving them. Its like they are dying and they would not see them again. That is how painful for Filipinos to see a relative leave. So you will probably see crying and hear shouts of "Ba-bye, ingat ka lagi doon ha? Kumain ka lagi." these are reminders of love. The last words that a passenger will cherish while he/she is abroad. And that's the first sign you are already in Philippines.

IN THE STREETS 

Now you have seen all the drama in the airport. You are about to go out and into the streets. You are greeted by the Manila Traffic. As you go out you will feel the heat in the air. The smell of carbon from vehicles. And the sound of loud horns from cars and jeepneys. You might ask what the hell is a jeepney? Well a jeepney is a public transport here in the Philippines. Not unlike in other countries you only have taxis right? Here we have a lot. We have Jeepneys. Some foreigners calls them a small bus. Just because they look like small busses that can carry at least 30 people in one ride. yes 30 people! You wont miss them in the streets.  They are the king of Manila roads. They are multicolored. They are loud, the machine and their

horns, inside and out. They usually have loud stereos amplifiers and speakers installed inside for entertainment for the passengers while travelling. Warning: The ceiling of these jeepneys are very low so be careful in mounting. Be sure to walk in with your head down low so as not to bump your head on anything inside the jeep. The jeepneys. They are the cheapest form of transportation in the Philippines. Fare rates from 8 pesos up. depends on the distance of your destination. Word of caution though when riding these jeepneys, you must really know your destination or else there is a possibility that the driver will forget the place you told them to go to. These Jeepneys are fast! Next thing you know you are already far away lost in a place you do not know. And the driver does not care sometimes. Thats the next sign you are in the Philippines. The Traffic and the Jeepneys. But if you think you are lost in Manila Streets, dont panic just approach a traffic aide in the middle of the streets or a police they will be willing to help you. Do not go around asking to unknown people in the streets thy might be snatchers. So ask for help to uniformed police or traffic aides.

"But poor as we may be, we are coping up with our poverty. We are doing something to ease the pains of poverty. And we are not giving up. We never stop striving to have a better life. Maybe not today. But someday."

 

IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Well you are on your way to your friends house in this certain neighborhood. This could be a village, a subdivision, or a street. You asked for directions of your friend's house and they told you to ride a tricycle ( pronounced as "traysikel") and they will tell you where to get one. The Philippine tricycle is not your 3 wheeled bike you rode when you were a kid like this one in the photo. Thats your trainer bike you rode when you were still a kid still learning to ride the bike. No that is not the tricycle I am referring to. You might ask how would a tricycle like this one would take me to my friends house? I will

pedal my way there? Preposterous! You are right it is preposterous! The Tricycle I am referring to is a Motorcycle with an attached sidecar with one wheel. That makes it a tricycle. The two wheels of the motorbike and the one wheel of the sidecar where the passenger usually rides. The picture on the left is a perfect example of the Philippine Tricycle. Look. For a foreigner who are big this could look small for you. But believe me you will fit inside easily if you know what part of the body you will put inside first. The best way to mount a tricycle is butt first. Yes stick your butt first inside then followed by your legs then your body. And you slam your butt on the seat and you are ready to go! But if you are kinda small go in with your head first then followed by your legs then your body. Thats the tricycle for you there. Another sign that tells you, you are already in the Philippines.

AS YOU TRAVEL THE NEIGHBORHOOD 

 

Well you are already traveling  to your friend's house cramped 
inside this little contraption called the tricycle with all your baggage and you, stucked inside the little space of the sidecar. You can barely move but you can see outside the details of a Philippine neighborhood. The first thing you will notice are the many children playing on the streets. Yes, as in many! They play in the streets as if they own the street themselves. It is the vehicles, sometimes, that has to stop infront of a playing child  who are not afraid to be hit by them. They will only realize the presence of the vehicles if its already beside them. Thats just the time they will move away. They are that tough. Then you went pass the kids on the

street. You will notice a group of men or young boys running in the middle of the street. No it's not a rumble or something like that. They are just playing basketball. You may ask. What? Basketball in the middle of the street? I will answer. Yes! Basketball playing in the middle of the street. Just like the kids, these men or young boys play basketball on the street as if they own the street. They sometimes ignore the vehicles passing by. How do they play on the streets? You might ask. Well they will make a court, get a long wood post, nail the court there and dig on the ground and put up the court. And there is your basketball court on the streets. Usually every street has a basketball court. That's is how Filipinos love playing basketball. Thats a sign you are in the Philippines.

INSIDE THE HOUSE

 

And you finally reached your friend's house. He greeted you welcome and lets you in their house. Do not be surprised to see a big fork and spoon wall decor in the kitchen. That is a staple decor in most Filipino houses here in the Philippines. It symbolizes food. Why? because we filipinos love to entertain with food. A sample of that wall decor to the right. Yeah they are that big. So you and  your friend exchanged pleasantries and he offered you something to eat or drink as refreshments from your traveling. You said yes and your friend called his little brother to buy "softdrinks" and bread in the "sari-sari" store. What is softdrink? You might ask. Well softdrink is Soda for you in the states, in the likes of coca-cola or pepsi. But here we have cheaper brand of soda. We have pop-cola or RC cola. They are much cheaper than the international brands. And what is a Sari-sari store? a Sari-Sari

store is like your convenience store in the states. It is located almost everywhere in the Philippines. In every street you will find at least 2 to 3 sari-sari stores in the Philippines. Yes a lot. They are very convenient because they have almost everything you need in the house. Like canned goods, condiments, rice, "chichiria" or junkfood., breads, candies, school supplies, hardware, cellphone load etcetera. For example you forgot to buy a certain item when you were downtown. You could find it in the sari-sari store. Sari-sari is the tagalog term for variety. Because you could find a variety of things in these stores. But in case one store doesn't have the item that you want you can always go to the next store. That is how convenient they are. 

AND WHEN THE NIGHT FALLS

 

So time passed by, night came. It is almost quiet outside. But the silence was cut short by a sudden shout from outside. It is a voice of a man shouting a long cry of "baloooooooot". What

the hell was that you might ask? Do not panic again. It is just a "Balut" vendor. he is a

walking vendor yelling balut. But what is a balut? A balut is the egg of a duck who is almost hatching. Meaning an almost well grown duckling inside the egg is cooked or boiled. This produces a soupy like syrup inside the egg when slurped, makes a loud sound and has a tasty treat at that. How about the duckling inside? You have to put salt and eat the duckling. It taste good actually. That is what a balut vendor sells. He usually roams around the streets of the village around 9pm till the wee hours of the morning. he never stops shouting along the way. so do not panic when you hear the shouting of a friendly balut vendor in the streets during late at night. You want to see what a balut looks like? look at the picture below. That is what a balut looks like. Yummy isn't it? Yes  it might look gross to you but in fairness to the balut it really

taste delicious! A little weird looking but its like chicken soup. As of this writing I am craving for balut right now. How come I dont hear a balut vendor when you need one. Any way thats is enough for the balut.

AS YOU WALK DOWN THE VILLAGE

Now the first night passed by, the next morning around 10 am you decided to walk down the village to explore some more about the Philippines. As you walk down the street you will find kids and adult alike gathering in one corner of the street. You wonder what is happening down there. So you decided to approach the small crowd and you will notice a "fishball" vendor vending small pieces of barbecue sticks to customers and these customers are like punching holes down a small heated wok with lots of cooking oil and swimming filled with fishballs. They are actually flour mixed with fish meat rolled into balls. The vendor also have "kikiam" the brown thing made

also of fish meat. And also bite size hotdogs. A piece of fisball cost 1 peso each the kikiam also 1 peso and the hotdogs around 2 pesos. Kids love this treat. They always wait for the arrival of this fishball vendor and they scamper fast when they see one. And also adults love fishballs. The fishball vendor does not walk like the balut vendor. he rides a bicycle with an attached sidecar. This sidecar a multipurpose sidecar. It serves as the cooking area and selling area of the vendor. Here he got a mini stove built in with a  small LPG tank underneath. Way up front are the dipping sauce of your choice. There is the vinegar dip with onions. Theres the sauce dip made of soysauce and starch. and theres the soysauce and vinegar dip with lots and lots of onions! most of the dips are very spicy so be careful in choosing the dip. Thats the fishball vendor for you. Try the fishballs and kikiam they are yummy.

AS YOU GO DEEPER INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD

 

So after the fishball incident you walk down deeper the neighborhood and you see two things. First: the junkshops. Junk shops are literally everywhere here in the Philippines. They buy scrap items like empty bottles, plastic bottles, scrap metals, paper, cardboard, wood. Name it these junkshop buys it. They are the source of income of most of the poor people here in the Philippines. The money they get from selling these scrap items is where they get to buy the food for the family. These junkshop owners also get good money when they sell these scrap items to companies that buys recycable materials. Thats why these junk shops are a vital part of the daily life of poor families here in the Philippines. So do not be surprised if you see many junk shops here in the Philippines. I said two things what is the other thing you see in the neighborhood? The second thing is The "Ukay-Ukay" stalls. The Ukay -Ukay word stands for rummage. So an Ukay-Ukay store is a rummage store. As you approach these stalls they all you can see are clothes, mostly

T-shirts hanged in hangers all over the place. You might think they are laundry being dried outside. No they are clothes, old clothes, second hand clothes, sold for a small price. Where do these clothes come from. Well most of them comes from surplus items abroad. From salvation armies, and from Divisoria. The bargain mecca here in the Philippines. That's in Manila. These ukay-ukay are lucrative business here because it need s little or no amount of capital.  Because they only get their stocks so cheap because they are second hands. And they sell the shirt with price ranges from 10 pesos to 150 pesos. Thats your ukay-ukay store. Try rummaging their t-shirts you will be surprised you will find signature items like channel, Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren, addidas and some other well know brands. yes original brands, selling so cheap. They also have shoes, bags, belts, everything that you need. It is the shopping center for the poor.

THAT IS MY LITTLE TOUR OF THE PHILIPPINES

Hope you have learned from these stories of what can you expect when you come visiting our country, The Philippines. What have we learned from this short tour? That the Philippines is generally a poor country. We cannot deny that. But poor as we may be, we are coping up with our poverty. We are doing something to ease the pains of poverty. And we are not giving up. We never stop striving to have a better life. Maybe not today. But someday. Along the way we remain resilient and happy even in our poor environment. That's the Philippines I grew up on. And that's the Philippines I am very proud of. 

Be sure to take note of the things you need to look for in the Philippines. If you saw these things, you can proudly say to yourself...I HAVE ARRIVED IN THE PHILIPPINES! 

Happy trip to the Philippines my friend! 

Mabuhay!

FILM REVIEW: OTJ starring Joel Torre, Gerald Anderson and Piolo Pascual

 

OTJ: NOT YOUR ORDINARY ACTION MOVIE

I have watched a ton of action movies in my life and there is nothing compared to OTJ. It has all the ingredients of an action movie. It is fast paced, gun-toting villains, rugged sets and cursing dialogues. That alone can attest that this is a rough and tough action movie. But this action movie is totally different because of its subject. The story dwells on the never ending corruption in the government and its use of the 3Gs of politicians to get what they want and these are GUNS, GOONS and GOLD. This is the 3Gs in the present time. Totally different during the Marcos Era...This is 3Gs 2.0. Its is much fiercer. Much brutal. Much bloodier than ever before. This is OTJ ( On The Job) a film directed by Erik Matti.

OTJ: on the job

THE MOVIE

What is OTJ all about? Well as the title implies, it is the story of two hired killers namely Mario "Tatang" Maghari (Joel Torre) and Daniel Benitez (Gerald Anderson). Tatang being the veteran hired-killer and Daniel being the "back-up / trainee". The movie revolved around these two characters while Tatang teaches Daniel the ins-and-outs of being a hired killer. That, I think, is where the film title OTJ got its roots. But these two hired killers are not your ordinary hired killers. They are both captive criminals waiting for their sentence in jail. They are hired by politicians and military officers to kill certain individuals in the outside world for whatever purpose they may seem want. as long as there is money involved. Everyone was paid well. The killers, the wardens, all the jail guards and personnels are well paid in this endeavor. They are all contacted by a certain Mam Thelma. The go-between for the government officials and the Hired-killers themselves. The killers are free to go in and out of jail to fulfill their killing duties as long as they come back in to get paid. That is how the machine works. The High Government officials contacts Thelma and Thelma contacts the killers in the jail to do the dirty work.The only paper trail is the MONEY. All guns, knives, paraphernalias and evidences of the killings are all taken cared of and disposed by Thelma herself. So its a clean murder.  Because of this task both Tatang and Daniel are doing they already became monsters, heartless and souless individuals. all they think about is the Money! They even lied to their families that they are in jail. As long as they send the money home they are good.

The movie progressed to one killing after another by Tatang and Daniel that led them to the killing of Atty. Francis Coronel Jr. (Piolo Pascual) who was an NBI Agent and The son of a famous military officer who was murdered because of its principles which are against the rotten and greedy principle of General Pacheco ( Leo Martinez ), another military officer of the government, and also the friend of the Francis's Father in law. Sensing that Francis is turning its back on his plans, General Pacheco hired killers to take care of Atty Coronel. And they succeed in the end.

The story became even richer when the parole of Tatang is finally approved. He hopes that this parole will make his job easier outside of jail. So he reported to Thelma that he can be a much effective killer when he is paroled. But Thelma said otherwise. She, Thelma, hires jail inmates as killers because they are less likely to be suspected as the killers. So Tatang outside of jail his services will not be needed anymore. Knowing this Tatang's world crumbled to pieces. The situation in his life got even intense when he knew that his wife/live-in partner Lolet (Angel Aquino) was having an affair with another man (Mon Confiado). His world became even gloomier. Outside the jail he has no job, no money and no family to go back to...so he has to make a decision. He decided to kill Daniel, his protege, so he will be sentenced again to jail and keeps his job and money and insanity. That was  the tragic ending of Daniel, the boastful, young, aggressive hired-killer that could have a lot of potential as a good killer because of his aggressiveness. There goes his budding career.

The actors did a great job creating the characters for this movie.

Gerald Anderson as Daniel

GERALD ANDERSON

He is a revelation in this movie. He is full of angst and so into character as the trainee killer. Gerald has truly graduated with his teeny bopper roles in the past. His tweetums days of the kimerald are totally not seen in his acting in this movie. The only let-down with Gerald here is his looks. He is so white and clean looking, even if he is in shabby clothes he is still not believable as a jail inmate.That is only in terms of looks only. His acting is superb here. His love scene with Dawn Jimenez was hot. But it was like its just an add-on to the movie. The director can totally cut that scene and the movie will survive. But it is damn hot. Gerald is great in love making scenes. In general Gerald gave superb acting in the film He was action in this action movie.

JOEL TORRE

Joel Torre as Tatang

If Gerald was the action in this movie, Joel Torre was the soul. He acted low key but intense. He did not shout or run amok here but he managed to portray in a matter of a few scenes that he is the veteran and the old hired-killer who was being taken over by a younger one. Joel Torre's acting shone the brightest here with somber facial expressions and calm line delivery. He is truly deserving of being called a super versatile actor who can act any kind of roles to any whims he have whatsoever. Just right. Just superb. Just Joel Torre.

Piolo Pascual as Atty. Coronel

PIOLO PASCUAL

His role in the movie is not as big as Gerald's or Joel's. He is the NBI agent who tries to investigate a case of a certain individual which led him to trace the killers of his own father which is General Pacheco himself. Eventually led to the killing of his character. His acting was just okay. No dramatic scenes. Just plain NBI agent investigating a case.

surprise guest apperances

GUEST APPEARANCES

There are surprise appearances of veteran actors in the movie which gave a richer character to the movie. Of note worthy are the following: There's Joey Marquez as SPO1 Joaquin Acosta as the partner of Atty. Coronel in his investigation. Rosanna Roces as Joaquin's wife who had a drug-addict son played by JM De Guzman. There's also Nino Mulach as the drug-den operator. Shaina Magdayao as Nicki Coronel, Francis' wife. William Martinez as the greedy Jail warden Rex. Empress Shuck as Tatang's only daughter in the movie. And the mysterious hidden face of Ms.Vivian Velez as Thelma the heartless middleman.

OVER-ALL

This movie brought us to the underworld of prison. It showed us that the walls of the prison cells are silent witness to a lot of crimes and criminals of this world. It also showed us how ugly this world is. This hidden world is not for the weak-hearted and the sissies. For one to survive here, one must be tough from the skin to the bone. One must be ready to kill or yet be killed. This world is very much the same with the world of greedy politicians and military officers in the Philippines today. Greed, lust, and the less value for life littered with stolen money makes their world. The world that made them hard hearted and souless. OTJ may not be the best action film ever made. But this film delivers a timely message for those who have no conscience in stealing people's money for their own well-being. Neglecting the reason why they are in government positions. TO SERVE THE PEOPLE WHO VOTED FOR THEM.

THE LATEST TRENDS IN PHILIPPINE SHOWBIZ TODAY: ANNULMENT, SEX VIDEOS AND GAY TV

WHAT ON EARTH IS HAPPENING?

And we thought it is just the politicians are the ones making the dirty tricks on us.  Look what is happening in the showbiz world right now. It is becoming dirtier and dirtier. No matter how strict these TV networks are in terms of morality of their stars...still scalawags rule over the "juicy chismis" department! Yes I said dirtier. 

DIRTY TREND #1: ANNULMENT

Women in showbiz today, especially married women, are getting fiercer and stronger these days. They are more vocal in terms of their relationships and problems with their marital life. Now one of the latest trends in showbiz today is: ANNULMENT. Everyone and everywhere nowadays you can hear this word as if it is the normal thing to do when you are married? My goodness these women seeking annulment are so vocal about their marital woes they are willing to scatter their dirty linen in public as if they are in character in a teleserye or something. And all of them are shouting..."BATTERED WIFE". This is becoming so cliche already you would expect every couple going through problems the women are already battered.

The trend was started by the "queen of all media". No other than Kris Aquino. Who doesn't know this story. It is all written and broadcast in all media. Sparked by the tell-all interview of Ms. Kris on TV Patrol and this started the ball rolling...everyone was into it and it only stopped when the gag order was released by the courts on both Kris and James.

Then there's Sunshine Dizon and Cesar Montano. Sunshine also cried foul when Cesar was caught with a starlet. And later on developed into "Marital Abuse."

Then there's Claudine Barreto and Raymart Santiago who were denying the rumors of separation before and then BAM! Claudine dropped the bomb with the "I am a battered wife" dialouge and now they are separated.

And politicians are not spared from this controversies. Koko Pimentel and Jewel Lobaton also went separate ways also because the wife is calling "the battered wife" angle to their separation.

Everyone seemed going to annulment. Everyone seemed a battered wife. I don't want this trend to prosper. Please put a stop to this family wrecking trend. The children are the ones suffering from this immaturity of the married couples. Please work things out in your marriage and please stay married!

And mind you not only married couples are traveling  to splitsville the single guys and girls are also following the trend. Take the case of Nikki Gil and Billy Crawford. We all know that these two lovebirds have been together for quite a long time. They were even predicted to get married soon. But where are they now. Separated. Surprise! Surprise!

DIRTY TREND #2: SEX VIDEOS LEAKING IN THE INTERNET

Now this is the dirtiest of them all. Dirty Laundry? Worse! Just last August a sex video of the famous lead singer, Mr. Chito Miranda of the band Parokya Ni Edgar,  just went on hunting who ever leaked the video of him and his girlfriend, Neri Naig, doing all sexual acts imaginable conveniently recorded in digital format in Chito Miranda's computer. Yes he do not know who did the uploading of the video on youtube. There were rumors that his own son who has a grudge on him did the uploading. But that is still not proven to be fact.

Because of this video scandal Chito and Neri's name became household names. Names that will go down the history of showbiz that had sex on cam and the world saw everything that they did. The rest is history.

And we thought that was the last! No, there's another sex video just released and freshly uploaded on youtube a few days ago this September. This video involves of, not a sexy actor or well know actress, but of a famous comedian of GMA7's Eat Bulaga, The side kick of Jose Manalo in all their gigs, concerts and TV Shows and segments in their noontime show. He is no other than Wally Bayola. Together with one of the not so famous back-up dancer of Eat bulaga (EB), Yosh. (thats all I know her name is). I have seen part of the video and it was not pretty. Theres a lot of pumping ang showing of genitals on the part of the girl, Yosh. If this was their launching movie...then I would say it is a cheap one. Ewwnesss to the highest level. Well for one, Wally is not that sexy and handsome...he looks ordinary and wholesome on TV. Then this video. It totally shattered the wholesome peg out of the window. And Yosh, no matter how pretty she is, because of this video with all the vulgar showing of genitals, out goes her credibility and beauty out of the window. She is now an instant porno star. Ready and available to open up her legs anytime. Pure "baboy"! What happens to Wally and Yosh after this sex video scandal? I don't know. I do not know what will the public think of them now and how does the show Eat Bulaga will be affected by this scandal. Wrong Move Wally!!!

AND WE THOUGHT WE LEARNED OUR LESSONS

We thought the sex video scandal lessons were already learned in the past. Remember Katrina Halili and Hayden Kho in the not so distant past? That was a major lesson! Do not record your love making (if you may call it love) or "lust making" on video...it will most likely be leaked! Thats the lesson. But these two artist did not heed the lesson and they are suffering the consequences now.

When will we learn our lessons. I hope someday soon.

But, wait there's more...

DIRTY TREND #3: GAY THEMED TELESERYES AND MOVIES

Hey don't deny, dont tell a lie. Aminin!!! I am sure you smelled it first in the grapevine. The Gays are back with a vengance and they are streaming the TV sets and Indie Films. First of its kind and very popular at that is the TV Soap Opera "My Husband's Lover. Played by Kapuso stars Carla Abellana, Dennis Trillo and former Pinoy Big Brother Housemate Tom Rodriguez.

Shown on GMA 7 on its primetime block where kids are still awake and watching. Well you know the plot. A beautiful girl married a rich handsome man who turns out to be still inlove with his higschool crush and love. But this crush is not a girl. Its a Boy! yes the husband is gay....and inlove with another gay man. Thus the title "My Husband's Lover. I managed to take a peek of this teleserye and the acting was quite credible. But the story is not for TV where kids could still be up, even on its late timeslot. GMA showed it on FREE TV where anybody and anyone can watch it. evan the kids! These topics are not for general consumption and should be restricted on TV. Kids will have the message to be in love with another even on marriage more so gay relationship which is even worse. 

And the worse gay trend indie movie that will be shown in mainstream theaters soon is the movie "Lihis". Stars kapamilya actors, Jake Cuenca and Joem Bascon. I still do not know the story of this movie but what I have gathered in the internet is, it is a story of two rebels who turned out to be gays and fell in love with each other which caused problems with the rebel community. The movie is focusing on the social relevance side of the movie , but the sexual side, the lustful love scenes between Jake and Joem, of the movie is very strong. The relevant story of the movie is outshadowed by this sexual detail. Critics even compared this movie to the famous Hollywood gay themed movie, "Brokeback Mountain." This is such a

risque career move for both actors Jake and Joem. They are both known to be straight men. Doing this gay scenes gives a cringe on my face. Since I both watch them on teleseryes on ABS-CBN before and they are damn good actors. Well if for them doing a gay role will even strengthen their acting skills, then let them do it. But for me its a big No-No! You can become a great actor even if you do not make gay roles on TV or Movies. So this gay themed shows are a BIG NO-NO for me. Please do not follow this trend!

TRENDS COME. AND TRENDS GO.

Well these three current trends in showbiz. Annulment, sex videos and gay TV. They are the in-thing nowadays. And my personal opinion on this is they are all negative trends. Trends that are not worth emulating and gives a bad example to its viewers especially to the young minds we are teaching in school everyday. Its a topic that is not freely discussed in school because they are the works of adults that only think of themselves. 

KUNG NABABATID LAMANG NILA ni Jayson A. Cruz

Hamputsang buhay ‘to!  Noong Fourth Year hayskul ako madalas kong marinig sa titser ko ang payo niya tungkol sa tamang kuhanin naming kurso. Parati niyang inililitanya na “kung nais daw naming yumaman ay ‘wag education ang kuhanin namin.” Wala daw yumayaman sa pagtuturo. Aaminin ko, noong panahong iyon masyado pa akong ideyal na nilalang. Yung tipong ayos lang ang lahat basta’t nakakakain at nakakapagkape. Yun bang mala-bayani ang dating. Kaya itinuloy ko ang pagkuha ng kursong pagti-titser. “Wala ngang kayamanan pero mayaman naman sa kaibigan”.

Pestengyawa, habang lumalakad ang panahon at habang tumatagal ako sa pagtuturo, ngayon ko nakikita ang realisasyon sa aking ilusyon noon. Naiinggit ako sa ibang mga propesyonal na kapwa ko rin naman nagsunog ng kilay sa pag-aaral. Bakit sila lang ang may karapatang yumaman? Bakit ang mga titser, hindi? Lalo pang tumindi ang nararamdaman ko nang abusuhin ng mga motivational slash inspirational speaker ang kaisipang ito “Nasa langit diumano ang pagpapala sa katulad naming mga guro, wala dito sa lupa”. Wow! Anlakas ng tama ng speaker na ‘to. Gusto kong itanong sa kanya, bakit na-try mo na ba ang buhay sa langit? Ikaw ba ay anghel na binigyan lamang ng misyon ni San Pedro para sabihin sa mga guro ang mabuting balita para sa sangkatitseran?

"Bakit hindi pa ako ang nakapagturo kung nasaan si Napoles? Sana ngayon, instant milyonaryo na ako”.

Sanababits, nilalango tayo ng mga hinayupak na ‘to. Pilit isinisiksik sa atin na

tayong mga guro ay limitado lamang na mangarap para sa pag-unlad ng ating kabuhayan. May katubusan naman daw ang ating mga kaluluwa. Bigla ko tuloy naisip, mabuti pa ang mga katulad ni Napoles dito sa lupa, isang pirma lang ay makapagpapalusot na ng milyon-milyong salapi ng bayan. Kindatan lang ay ayos na, may instant brand new luxury car ka na, isang kalabit-penge lang ay may isang magarang condo ka na sa Makati. Iyan ay magaganap sa isang pirmahan lang ha. Samantalang kami, tayo, na tinaguriang bagong bayani ng bayan ay halos magkandakuba’t magkanda- tuberkulosis na sa kabibitbit ng mabibigat na biswal at kalalanghap ng alikabok ng chalk sa pagtuturo. Hindi nga kaya nakikita ng pamahalaan ang sakripisyo ng mga guro?

Bwakanang buhay ‘to, ang hirap kayang maging titser. Kaya ba ng ibang propesyon ang maghugas ng puwet ng mga bata na hindi naman nila kaano-ano? Tapos, sasabayan pa ng sumbong ng isang bulilit na, “ titser, titser si John po sinaksak po ako ng lapis sa likod, heto po o, nakabaon pa”. Madalas ko ngang maisip, bakit kaya hindi na lang ako sumama doon sa samahan ng mga titser na nag-abroad at kinalimutan na ang kanilang sinumpaang tungkulin bilang mga guro ng bayan. Yun bang ABAKADAGUMANDABUHAYKO (Asosasyon ng mga Bagito, Kare-resign, at Datihang Guro na Maninikluhod sa Dayuhan, Bukas sa lahat ng Hanapbuhay Komita lang ng dolyar) Ito pa, kaya ba ng iba pang nagsunog ng kilay na gumuhit ng napakaraming bituin sa report card ng mga estudyante? Yung nasa likurang bahagi ng report card.

"Kaya ba ng ibang propesyon ang maghugas ng puwet ng mga bata na hindi naman nila kaano-ano?"

Naknamputsa, hindi biro yun ah! Kung may otsentang estudyante ka, ilang daang bituin ang iguguhit mo sa card, unang markahan pa lang iyon. Kapag tinotal mo na, mula una hanggang katapusan, aabutin siguro nang mahigit sa isanlibong bituin ang iluluwal mo, tag-iisa lang iyon ha, dahil may dagdag na bituin para sa masisipag na mga mag-aaral. Ito pa ang maluphet, ang bahaging kailangan mong sulatan ng puna, ang behavior slash attitude at academic performance ng mga estudyante. Mantakin mo iyon, walumpung estudyante ang pag-iisipan mo ng iba’t ibang komento batay sa kanilang naging performance sa loob ng isang markahan. Mabuti sana kung puro totoo ang isusulat mong puna, mas mapapadali. Kaso, hindi puwede. Hindi daw kasi bagay sa isang titser na mag komento kagaya na lang halimbawa ng ganito “Ang kapal ng mukha mo, hindi ka pumasok ng buong markahan tapos kukunin mo ngayon ang card mo!” O kaya naman ito “ Try mo kayang maligo o kaya mag-brush, amoy hampok ka na eh”. Mas maganda ‘to, “Anlandi mo naman neng, ampula parati ng labi mo, try mo kayang mag-Japan.” O kaya, ito, “lakas ng tama mo bata, sige shabu pa, tsongke pa”. Nakakabwiset di ba? Tinuturuan kang magsinungaling kung ano ang tunay mong nararamdaman. As in, ginagawa kang ROBOT. Kaya dapat ganito parati ang puna mo. “Sikaping mapataas pa ang mga marka”, “pag-ibayuhin pa ang sikap at tiyaga sa pag-aaral”, “Ipagpatuloy ang magandang nasimulan”, at ang pinakagustong isulat na puna ng lahat ng mga titser tuwing Ikaapat na Markahan, ang “Binabati Kita!”

Diablong buwang hane? Ngayon, ito pa ang pinakamasaklap na

kalagayan  ng mga guro sa kasalukuyan na sa tingin ko’y walang makagagawang pantayan ng kahit na alinmang propesyon sa buong mundo. Ang murahin ka sa harap ng estudyante mo sa harap ng klase. Ooops, tandaan ROBOT ka at hindi dapat na magalit. Kung may pampiyansa ka, puwede mong sampalin ang bata para ipaalaala sa kaniyang mali siya at hindi tamang minumura niya ang kahit na sino lalo na ang titser n’ya. Pero kung baon ka pa sa Manila Teachers, City State, at sa iba pang Palit ATM Loaning Individual, wala kang karapatang manampal. Hindi mo rin dapat balikan ng mura o kahit pandilatan man lang ng mata ang bata dahil baka maasunto ka pa, mas lalong malaking problema. Kaya ang dapat mong  gawin pagkatapos kang murahin ng estudyante mo ay ganito: “Okay class, tapos na niya akong murahin, balik tayo sa ating talakayan.”

Marianong Garapon, hindi ko alam kung saan aabot at hahangga ang aking pasensiya slash pang-unawa sa kasalukuyang kalagayan naming mga guro dito sa Pilipinas. Mukhang talagang naabuso kami ng kaisipang “Bokasyon ang iyong napili at hindi Propesyon”. Sana dumating ang panahon na mapansin naman kami ng pamahalaang ito lalo na ng lipunan. Hindi lamang tuwing may eleksyon,o kaya’y kapag Teachers Day. Hay buhay! Kailan kaya darating ang panahon na hindi lamang ang mga ARTISTA, NEGOSYANTE’T POLITIKO ang maaaring yumaman kundi pati TITSER din?

Agosto 29, 2013

MPNAG, Mandaluyong

FILM REVIEW: EKSTRA starring MS. VILMA SANTOS

Vilma Santos

EKSTRA AN ACTING COUP MOVIE

Yes it is an acting coup movie. From the the main cast to the subcast to the "talents" or better known as extras or bit player. Vilma Santos played the best in this movie. Not because she is Vilma Santos but because she is the best actor to play this part. The Ekstra.

Vilma Santos played the role single handedly as if effortless, just like a true actor as she is. Come to think of it she is a movie star, a Governor of a Province, Wife of a Senator and a Grand Slam Actress but she acted in this movie as if she is really a trying hard movie bit player.

LOIDA MALABANAN The movie is about the bit player named Loida Malabanan a single mom whos main objective in life is to provide a better future for her daughter. She is a profesional bit player all her life. She appeared in almost all movies and soap operas. She is either part of a crowd, or a double, or deliver lines in all her appearances. The pay is minimal. She gets P500 for being part of a crowd, P1000 for playing double, and P2000 for bit play with lines. She loves her job. She loves being a bit player. She is very professional. She is very diligent in bringing her own costumes on the set always ready for any role the director demands from her. 

THE SUPPORT CAST

Although Loida loves her job so dearly, it seems, the job does not love a bit player like her. Her job is to please a lot of people in the set. There is the Talent Coordinator, Ruby (played by Ruby Ruiz), who is at the mercy of the Assistant director Vincent (played by Vincent de

Marlon Rivera, Vincent de Jesus, Tart Carlos and Ruby Ruiz

Jesus) and the foul mouthed, ever hot headed, director from hell, Direk (played by Marlon Rivera who is a real director by the way in "Babae sa Septic Tank") .These three characters including Trina the Executive Producer of the soap are always getting into each others nerves. Blaming and bickering who did what, and who is suppose to do or not suppose to do what in the movie. Of course these bickering and blaming has to have a fallguy or girl...yes the bit players are always to blame for all their mistakes. So they are all putting all their anger to the innocent bit players or ekstras. Vincent, Marlon and Ruby played a major role in the movie for the acting prowess of Vilma to come out. I really love all their characters. But despite of this negativity around Loida in the set of the Soap "Una Kang Naging Akin" she have a friend to go to and pour out her problems and woe she is Venus (played by Tart Carlos). Venus was the only positive side of the movie for Loida because she is the best friend of Vilma here.

"Tao ba tayo dito? Props lang tayo 'no?" - Venus, Ekstra.

THE AUDITION SCENE

Loida and Venus auditioning for the maid role

So my favorite scenes in the movie are the time when Vincent the Asst. Director needs a maid in the scene they are making. He talked to the ekstras, and Loida and Venus where chosen from the group. The two have to outdo each other as in a competition to get the plum role. So they both gave their best. Acting out different scenarios of a maid and guess who got the part, Loida of course. Now Loida is now the maid and after all those audition antics all she has to do is hand over a bottle of gin and a glass to the lead actress (played by Marian Rivera). Thats it. The only shot taken of Loida is her back and that ends her role. Then she waits and waits for nothing anymore. Until she was forgotten.

THE DOUBLE

Vilma Santos acting as double for Eula Valdez.

Another favorite scene is when she got the part of a double of Eula Valdez in the torture scene. The scene required a double for Eula Valdez because she walked out of the set tired of waiting for her part to be shot. The director had no choice but to get an ekstra in replacement of Eula. So they got Loida, since the assistant director saw how good Loida is in the maid's role  mini audition. She got the part. The part was tough. She has to be gagged in the mouth and hands tied and wear a sack on her head the whole time of the scene plus being burned on the arm with a lit cigarette by the villain of the soap played by Cherie Gil. Then when the director says cut. Cherie Gil was so apologetic of what she did to Loida and Loida blurted out her favorite showbiz line "Its part of the job".

THE ATTORNEY SCENE

Vilma Santos played an Attorney

And then my most favorite part of all is the scene where Vilma has to play an attorney role. The assistant director was irked of the talent coordinators choice for the attorney role because she speaks english with a bisaya accent. So they have to look for a replacement. Well fortunately the AD liked the looks of Loida and ask to read the script. She did good in reading it and she got the role. Now this a role with speaking lines and the pay is much bigger than just being a crowd or double. So she made an effort to do her best to deliver the part. This is for her daughter, who is taking nursing. Loida's daughter here has been texting her all day about payments in school. This distracted her a bit and put a preasure in her. But she used this to be good in what she will do. Anyway she is doing this for her daughter. She memorized the lines. Internalized her role as an attorney. Now its taping time for the scene.  She is ready. But when the camera starts to roll. All things bad happened. She buckeled her lines and missed her blocking a lot of times. Which caused the scene to be retaked again and again. This made the Director very furious. He could not take the fact that an ekstra like her will cause delays in a very important scene in the soap. So he came rushing out of his airconditioned tent and started shouting at everyone and that includes poor old Loida. She was shouted at, cursed and crucified infront of all the cast and staff. Even infront of her long time idol actress, Amanda (played by Ms. Pilar Pilapil). And her celluloid world started crumbled into pieces infront of her. The job the she loves so much is persecuting her. Thinking: "Is this the job that I fought for all her life?" You can see the look in her eyes during this time that she was humiliated. She was tired.  Her body aches  because they have been on the set since the early morning the day before now its again almost dawn. She can take all the aches and pains. But she cannot take this maltreatment and humiliation from the director. She cannot fight back, remember she is just an ekstra. Then her eyes started to speak volumes, no dialogs, and then tears started to roll from her eyes and that was a heartbreaking moment of the film.

MY LEARNINGS

This movie changed my perspective of my favorite pastime, watching telenovelas / soap operas. This movie has dramatically shown to us how tedious the task of the directors, the assistant directors, the staff , the props man, the art dep. and of course the actors and the 

Ekstra a very good movie.

talents for them to come up with a TV show for us to watch during our rest time during primetime. Its laborious, tedious, imagine going on far flung places just to shoot a couple of sequences then pack-up again to go to the next location. And on top of that are the irregularities that happen on the set like generator sets left behind, catering services delayed, actors being late on the set. And the most unpredictable problem is the weather, is it going to rain or not. You must have a lot of energy and creativity and patience for you to surpass all those challenges. Imagine the toll it will take on your body and your psyche when faced with endless problems like that. I cannot blame if the directors have very thin and sensitive patience. Imagine aside from the problems on the set they have deadline pressures  and "for airing" pressures and the bosses that nags on their backs for budget control, plus the pressure of pleasing the sponsors and the naging ratings game and all that. Our telenovela pastime is their work. Hard, freakin, work. I salute the production team of these teleseryes for doing the hard work for us the televiewers. Thank you.

MY LESSON
But the other side of the coin is this and the lesson that I got after watching this movie. No matter how pressured you are, No matter how hard working you are or how high your position in anything that you are doing, it will not be an excuse for maltreating, maligning, and harassing  equally hard working people below you. It will not solve any problems, worse, it will worsen it. Do not blame your people if they are not working as good as you expect them to be. You have to blame yourself for being disorganized and not guiding them with what you expect the outcome to be. Remember as a leader you have the power. And with power comes the responsibilty to teach your people and not always blame them for your lack of organization and concern for them. 

I will remember this movie everytime I see myself leading people. As a teacher I lead my students in the classroom. I sometimes get irritated and impatient with them when they are not getting the lessons I teach. This movie opened my eyes to be more patient and nurturing to my pupils for them to get to where they want to go. To be educated.

Thank you Vilma Santos for this great learning that I get in this movie. Thank you Jeffrey Jeturian for directing this gem of a movie. Thank you Star Cinema for distributing this movie for us to see it in mainstream theaters.