IF ASKING A woman’s age seems unethical, making Joey de Leon admit his biological age (kaarawan niya bukas, October 14) is, for me, irreverent. Pero kung magkaeskuwela sila ni Lolit Solis noong nasa Grade 3 sila, Tito Joey must be ‘Nay Lolit’s age: 63.
Happy birthday muna kay JDL, the ageless funnyman who, I’ve known since my practicum days at the Broadcast City. Back then, IBC-13 that aired Tito Joey’s Iskul Bukol and T.O.D.A.S. was at its peak.
Fast forward ako sa kanyang kuwento which he shared with me. Edad 40 raw siya nu’ng mamanata siya on the 13th and 14th of October. Sisimulan niyang dumalaw sa mga simbahan ‘pag pitada ng hatinggabi until seeing the dawn of his actual birthday. Matatapos daw siya ng alas-dos ng madaling araw.
The last of several churches that Tito Joey visited was Mt. Carmel (little did he know that years later, ang katapat lang nitong Broadway Centrum would be the home of Eat…Bulaga!). Sarado siyempre ang simbahan, nandu’n lang daw siya sa labas, taimtim na nagdarasal. But an old man with tattered clothes lying outside the church instantly caught his attention.
In the middle of his engrossed, meditative state ay bumunot siya ng singkuwenta pesos mula sa kanyang wallet para limusan ang pulubi. Nang iniaabot na raw niya ang pera’y umiling ito, as if to tell Tito Joey he never needed alms.
Tapos nang magdasal si Tito Joey, pabalik na sana siya sa van kung saan inaantay siya ng kanyang asawang si Eileen Macapagal, when a voice from nowhere forced him to backtrack pabalik sa kinaroroonan ng matandang lalaki. May kung anong puwersa raw ang nagtulak sa kanya to at least ask the name of the old man or inquire why the latter refused to get the money.
“Ano nga ho pala ang pangalan n’yo?” Tito Joey asked the man with his posture slightly bent. Then the old man looked up and said: “Ako si Joseph.” Kakaibang boses daw ang nagmula sa matanda, so distinct that Tito Joey — right then and there — knew that the beggar at the church was more than that. Tito Joey believed it was an apparition of St. Joseph, Jesus’s foster father.
Pagbalik daw ni Tito Joey sa van ay humagulgol siya, yes, the TV host-comedian whose real first name is Jose Maria who claimed to have seen San Jose. Hindi naman daw talaga pamilyar si Tito Joey sa mga simbahan, pero binalikan niya ang Mt. Carmel Church kinabukasan only to see an imposing statue of St. Joseph.
Whether it was St. Joseph who assumed a human form that Tito Joey had seen or not, more than 20 years later ay dala-dala pa rin ng TV host-comedian ang paniniwala that he had a saintly encounter on his birthday.
Happy birthday, again, Tito Joey. Your Startalk TX family loves you so much! I love you more!
DINIG NAMIN, HANDS-OFF si Mr. Manny V. Pangilinan, President and CEO ng TV5, sa kaso ng kasado nang pagsisimula ng Willing Willie show ni Willie Revillame to pilot this October 23 (although it seems strange na malalaman pa kung in effect ang TRO sa show on the 29th).
Tulad na rin ng mga naiulat, it’s Boss Vic del Rosario of Viva Films/TV who’s on top of this. Ang istasyon lang bale ang kay MVP, the rest is not within the reins of the prominent businessman.
Crucial lang ang petsang October 29, six days after Willie’s return on TV will have found its redemption. Isa lang ang obvious na nasisilip na “what if” sa senaryong ito. What if the court upholds ABS-CBN’s petition, thereby issuing a TRO on Willie’s show? So what happens to the succeeding Saturdays, butas na time slot ng TV5?
Wala namang kuwestiyon sa muling pagbibigay-aliw ni Willie sa kanyang mga manonood, it’s a fact that needs no proof. Pero kung ganyang may legal pang prosesong dapat pagdaanan, how much joy does Willie expect to share given this legal uncertainty?
Pepperoni
by Ronnie Carrasco III
