WITH THE new set of national as well as local leaders, the country can only pin its hopes for a better tomorrow.
Gaya nga sa wikang Latin, “Vox populi, vox Dei,” na ang ibig sabihin ay, “The voice of the people is the voice of God.”
Maaaring hindi lahat ng mga pinalad nitong mid-terms elections ay pasado sa ating panlasa, the same goes for the also-rans o mga talunan na pinanghihinayangan nating “nganga”. We can only rattle off such names who never made it yet were far more deserving winners.
But the Judgment Day is finally over. Magkaroon man ng kaliwa’t kanang election protests, these are nothing short of time-wasting, fruitless appeals na bago maresolba ng Comelec ay nakatambad na muli ang susunod na halalan.
Sa mga bagong halal na pulitiko, may you not occupy your posts like benchwarmers too lazy to perform your duties as mandated. Patunayan n’yo sa mga botanteng nagtiwala sa inyo ang kahalagahan ng pagtupad sa mga sanrekwang ipinangako n’yo in wooing the electorate.
If we may quote another line that tells a politician from a statesman, “A politician thinks of the next election while a statesman thinks of the next 
generation.”
Next topic please.
THROUGH AN analogy of sorts, ipinaunawa sa amin ng isang GMA insider ang agwat ng contractual status between the network’s prized gems and the so-called dispensables.
Reportedly, merong unwritten policy umano sa naturang istasyon na pangalagaan higit lalo ang mga kontrata ng magkasintahang Dingdong Dantes at Marian Rivera, both homegrown artists of the Kapuso Network. Only these two names (for sure, kabilang din dito si Richard Gutierrez) are said to be closest to the earth-bound gods, so to speak.
Pero ano’t anuman daw ang mangyari, hindi hahayaan ng network na humulagpos sa kanila sina Dingdong at Marian: a somewhat valid information ng nakausap naming insider.
Aniya, “A case in point, eh, ‘yung napabalitang paglipat ni Lovi Poe sa TV5. Hindi nga ba’t she was originally cast in a GMA primetime soap, pero last minute, eh, biglang nagkaroon ng pagbabago, at ang kinuhang kapalit niya, eh, si Bela Padilla?”
‘Yun daw ‘yong panahon na parang on a swinging pendulum ang kampo ni Lovi, would she or would she not grab the offer made by TV5?
“Misleading nga, eh,” opinyon ng nasabing GMA insider, “Nakita nating nakailang guesting si Lovi sa mga programa ng ABS-CBN, so ano’ng puwede mong isipin du’n? That she was more inclined to transfer to Channel 2, ‘di ba? Ang ending, wala pala sa Dos at Singko ang interesadong saluhin si Lovi!”
Entonces, ang pinaka-ending sa kuwentong ito is that Lovi will remain with GMA. Patutsada ng aming source, “For whatever it’s worth, ikaw bilang artista, eh, walang karapatang magmalaki sa network na lumikha sa ‘yo at pinakinabangan mo. Bakit, pinabayaan ba ng GMA si Lovi?”
The sad fact is that, marami kasi sa ating mga artista na nagkakapangalan always think of upping the price on their heads. And if such demands are not met, nagbabanta silang lilipat on the pretext na pinipirata sila for talent fees triple their premium.
Sadder on the part ng mga artistang ‘yon, in fact, ay ang katotohanang the TV networks these days have minds larger than those who threaten to leave just because their whims and caprices are not satisfied.
“O, tingnan mo si Lovi,” panghuling pagtataray ng GMA insider, “nu’ng nagluka-lukahan ang hitad, pinigilan ba siya ng GMA na lumipat? So, saan din pala siya pupulutin ngayon? Hay, naku, I rest my case!”
Hopefully so does Lovi.
Pepperoni
by Ronnie Carrasco III
