Starring the House

I went home from work yesterday at around 7PM, which is good as I still get to watch national news even when I really don’t absorb much information (given that working overtime can be draining.)

But one story caught my attention last night. It was, at first,  interesting and at second glance, FUNNY.

The TV Patrol headline talked of a bill from the House of Representatives authored by Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr., first term representative of the third district of Pampanga, “expressing the sense of the House of Representatives to appeal to the local TV and movie industry to minimize, prevent, or stop typecasting congressmen and congresswomen as villains or crooks in movies and television telenovelas, in order not to create stereotypes or negative public perception against members of the House of Representatives.”

“Whereas, as the people’s representatives, majority of the congressmen and congresswomen do their best to bring excellent public service to their constituents; Whereas, there have been a few congressmen who may have been involved in crimes but these are the exceptions, rather than the rule; Whereas despite the good deeds done by many, congresspersons are often portrayed as villains in movies and telenovelas; Whereas, these portrayals are unfair and at the very least, sully the good name of honorable congressmen and congresswomen who work hard for the welfare of their constituents; Whereas, these negative typecastings influence the general public, especially the young children, into forming a negative impression about the members of the House of Representatives.”

And I said WHAT?

That House Resolution 2140 is silly. How can the TV and Film outfits be restricted in portraying political characters, especially Congressmen as villains?

I have learned as a Literature student that Art, specifically Literature mirrors Life. And TV and Films, being modern artforms are mere representations of what writers and directors perceive is true. How can we then argue that the portrayals are misrepresentations?

Typecasts and stereotypes become so because they are evident in the society. Just like kids begging on the streets, or teenage parents, battered wives. Congressmen can’t complain that the portrayals are unfair just because they are stereotyped as evil and villainous.

Rather than complaining over the artistic characterisations, why don’t they work hard to clean out their names and reputations?

 What this bill could do is put a limit to the rights of the artists behind the cameras, or simply the freedom to express thru a medium called TV and film.

Perhaps Congressmen are just afraid that TV and movies will have more truth than what they could tell the public. And the public cannot be blamed. They can see the resemblance between the real and the reel.

 On the contrary, this tells one thing. Media is now thousand times more powerful than anyone with authority. As such, even poor telenovelas that try hard to imitate life are worthy of a legislation specifically pertaining to how characters should be portrayed, or not.

Why doesn’t the congress produce a film that will depict the “good” side of theirs? And let the public watch it, that is, if they want to.

The Price of Triumph

Aside from basketball, Filipinos have become such huge fans of boxing. Credit goes to, of course, our eight-time world champion. (I don’t even need to mention the name).

When Pacquiao became a global sports icon, a lot of aspiring boxers have tried their lucks as well, with the hope that they could get the same, or close to the same prestige (and riches) that Pacman got for himself and for the country (and the promoters, TV networks that covered, and those that make pusta whenever there are fights).

But it is not all glory for the Filipino fighter. Recently, Filipino fighter Johnriel Casimero, albeit winning in the IBF junior flyweight championship bout, has become a hot item because of the attack incident that he has faced during the fight.

Casimero, along with his team were thrown debris like plastic bottles and chairs, kicked, beaten, assaulted by raging fans of Argentine boxer Luis Alberto Lazarte when the former knocked out the latter in the 10th-round of the fight.

The Philippine embassy, as a result filed a protest on the unlikely incident to the Argentina's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Lazarte, humiliated that he is, humbly apologised to the Filipino fighter.

Meanwhile, the government is persistent to demand concrete investigation on the matter, claiming that the attack did not only offend the fighter but the entire Filipino race, in general which Casimero represents. The referee who had officiated the fight is also in hot water as he was unable to control the uproar of the crowd.

If the fight would have been held in the Philippines, should something as such take place?

Granting that Casimero lost the fight, would he be treated the way he was?

Could the misfortune be the price for his triumph?

Happy Valentine’s Day

RIP Whitney Houston

I Will Always Love You
If I should stay,
I would only be in your way.
So I'll go, but I know
I'll think of you ev'ry step of the way.

And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
You, my darling you. Hmm.

Bittersweet memories
that is all I'm taking with me.
So, goodbye. Please, don't cry.
We both know I'm not what you, you need.

And I will always love you.
I will always love you.

I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you've dreamed of.
And I wish to you, joy and happiness.
But above all this, I wish you love.

And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I, I will always love you.

You, darling, I love you.
Ooh, I'll always, I'll always love you.

The Aftershock

Barely a month after the northern part of Philippines was extremely devastated by typhoon Sendong, another calamity has beset the archipelago in the form of a magnitude 6.9 killer earthquake that affected Cebu and Negros Oriental.

Monday, February 6, around 11:49 in the morning, just when everybody was left unguarded, the killer quake claimed many lives in the affected areas of Western Visayas. Until now, many are still unfound. No more chances of life could be gleaned with tons of soil covering the houses located in the mountainous areas of Cebu.

The catastrophe has also pulverized a number of residences, roads, bridges and schools. It has also injured the water system and power services in the most affected barangays.

Traumatized, many residents have now evacuated to the mountain peaks, with their families and a few belongings. They have built tents out of their blankets, and slept, ate, and cured their wounds on the vacant mountain top plains. This is because many aftershocks are still felt to date, a few days after the quake happened. They fear that a similar incident would happen again, maybe this time they would not have luck on their side.

More than that, they cry for water and food. Even when they had all the money in the world, many stores have temporarily closed. This is the time when money is nothing. With broken infrastructure, it has also been hard to send any form of help to the categorically isolated areas.

Needless to say, the physical, emotional and psychological healing and recovery of all who have been damaged, especially the children, should be a main priority. Long-term solutions must be rolling by now.

Nobody can predict an earthquake. Not DOST. Not PHIVOLCS. But there can be ways to avoid or lessen its ill effects.

Lastly, this is another clear manifestation that we do not have control of the world. But we can do the next best thing, HOPE and PRAY.



Right or Wrong

I find it a bit amusing that most, if not all of us are fond of the bigay-todo attitude, as a part of our extreme hospitality.

Just over the weekend, our barangay has celebrated the annual feast day in honor of our patron saint. Needless to say, the occasion was peopled with guests. As for our house, a few of some relatives from my mother’s side came to celebrate. Maybe I am anti-social. I don’t want to be in the company of people I barely know. Worse, being in the sight of them in my own home.

But since we are family, I would just stay in the room until the day ends.

But my parents aren’t the same as me. They have inherited the forefather trait of being hospitable to visitors, sometimes exceeding the limit. The guests will get the best part of the house to sleep in, they get to eat first, and all.

While others may view this as a positive quality or practice, I must say it exceeds the bounds at times. Being too good, too accommodating, to extravagant just to please visitors always has a downside.

In fact, we had to borrow money from the Bombay so we could have a sumptuous lunch. My mother changed all the curtains, bedsheets, pillowcases…

Whenever I question my mom for maintaining the practice, she would often argue that in a way, we are doing this for our own selves. What if, God forbid, we become the ones to face need? At least we would get the idea that those people who we treated well will reciprocate the goodness and help us.

And that makes a point, actually.

Nevertheless, too much of anything is bad. We can preserve tradition but we can also be practical.

It's Showtime

It’s Showtime

I will try not to sound like I am big fan of the talent show aired over TV channel ABS-CBN for over two years now. But I actually watch and enjoy the show.

Let’s put it this way. The perfect word to describe the show would be Contagious. It has been part of many people’s viewing habits. The timeslot was perfect, as it brought out a happy vive right during lunch.

But the transfer to a new timeslot, setting a rival for 30year old Eat Bulaga, could be risky.

The latter has been there ever since and continues to use its charm and gain a wide national patronage. It is a legend.

Nonetheless, it wouldn’t hurt giving the relatively young TV show the chance to prove its worth and give the noontime a new taste. It may not reach the level that its rival has soared, but it sure deserves commendation for braving the challenge.

After all, we have remote controls. And switching channels is a click away. Watching It’s Showtime is a choice. Eat Bulaga is another. And switching the tube off is another.

MORE ON SHOWTIME

It’s also showtime in the senate. Ten days of trial have already elapsed. While we do not know where the impeachment is leading, we are pretty sure there is nice tongue-lashing going on between the prosecutors, the defense, and the senator judges.

More likely, there will be more in the coming months. Yes, months. Estimates say the trial could last up to 40 weeks, 10 months. And that’s quite long time.

Enough time for premature campaign and exposure, just in time for the May 2013 Elections.

Of course, one good show is put up in the presence of Senator Mirriam Defensor Santiago. The iron lady, with her tantrums once in a while, sure puts up a hot debate all the time. So hot that she needed to exit earlier on one occasion because of a very high blood pressure. Thanks to the senator, both sides are poured hot water from the dragon’s mouth every once in a while.

And surprisingly, Sen. Lito Lapid, the generally silent senator judge, broke his long silence yesterday, reprimanding the prosecution for its failure to show the relevance of its evidence to the articles of impeachment. The rest of the senators shared the same sentiment.

Incidentally, Lapid also makes a comeback on TV as he signed a contract with the Kapamilya.

It’s showtime, indeed.