BLIND ITEM: Malalim, madamdamin at malaman ang panayam ng isang programa sa lola ng isang tanyag na babaeng personalidad. The granny could not help but vent her emotions towards her granddaughter, dahil aniya’y nagbago na raw ito lalung-lalo na sa pakikitungo nito sa kanyang ina, her daughter.
Pero laking gulat ng TV crew (the interview took place at the subject’s residence) nang pakiusapan sila ng lola na pahintuin muna ang pagtutok sa kanya ng camera.
“Alam n’yo,” the elderly paused in mid-sentence, “ang sama nga ng iniisip ko eh?”
The crew eagerly asked, “Bakit, ano po ‘yon, ‘la?”
Bumuntong-hininga raw muna ang lola sabay sabing, “Nananalangin nga ako na may mga lalaking kainuman ang apo ko, eh. Tapos, ‘pag nalasing siya, gagahasain siya nu’ng isa sa mga ‘yon. At ‘yun ang makakabuntis sa kanya! O, nakapatay ba’ng camera n’yo?”
TINILAD-TILAD NG Startalk sa tatlong bahagi nitong Sabado ang kumpleto’t komprehensibong pagtalakay sa isyung kinapapalooban ngayon ni Charice Pempengco. It wasn’t just the usual he-says-she-says cross reference presented in separate VTR packages, as all three sides—panig nina Charice, ina nitong si Mommy Raquel at lola nitong si Aling Tessie—were laid down.
Layunin ng Startalk na ipaubaya na sa mga manonood ang pag-aanalisa—hindi ang panghuhusga o judgment—as to who among the principal cast members of this real-life human drama ang dapat paniwalaan, panigan o kundenahin.
Hindi pa nakuntento ang Startalk sa three-part feature story na ‘yon, it even had Charice Pempengco herself—in flesh, blood and yes, manly haircut—live nang isalang sa segment ng programa na Itapat Sa Apat.
In all intents and purposes, ang live guesting na ‘yon ng international singing sensation—na umani ng makabasag-pandinig na hiyawan sa GMA studio—was no longer in response to her Mommy Raquel’s and Lola Tessie’s personal grudges.
Ginawang light at blithe ng Startalk ang bahaging ‘yon sa pamamagitan ng pagkalkal sa kung sinu-sino sa mga artistang babeng lokal ang tipelya ng hitad. And with the fifth Startalk host being Alyssa Alano, na kapangalan ng dyowa ni Charice, ay kinol-in ito sa set to diffuse the sentimental, if not histrionic atmosphere na pag-e-emote ng mga tauhang sangkot sa isyu.
If it’s more fun in the Philippines, kabog ang “tourism slogan” na ito sa kasiyahang idinulot ng coming out ni Charice Pempengco, herself a human attraction for all the world to ponder na masarap bumisita sa lugar where closeted gays dare to bare their all in the name of honesty.
TALKING FROM experience, a really good story is a really bad one.
Mas pangit, mas masansang, mas mabaho, mas madugo, mas katsipan, all these comparatives make for an “ideal” headline while relegating a positive item to some little editorial space not wide enough to accommodate it.
A recent case in point na lang ay ang pagbabati ng mortal na magkaaway na sina Annabelle Rama at Nadia Montenegro. Matatandaang the two feisty women waged a court battle against each other in 2011. While personal invectives had been thrown at each other, lumalangoy na ngayon sina Annabelle at Nadia sa dagat ng renewed friendship.
Para sa mga peace-lovers, their reconciliation is a breather from all the universal scrimmage and skirmish among earthlings.
Sadly, ang pag-aayos na ‘yon hardly generated as much media nor public attention. So, kung nagkabati, eh, ‘di nagbati!
For most people—after having been exposed to the cases involving the Barretto family, Ai-Ai de las Alas and her allegedly good-for-nothing husband, Vice Ganda and his vicious joke, Charice Pempengco against her family—their natural predilection for what is tsakang isyu is like going gaga over some cheap yet good buys sold in between traffic-jammed malls along Edsa.
Pepperoni
by Ronnie Carrasco III
