Alma-Dolphy-ZsaZsa: Trianggulong Pinoy

Bongga 27 June 1989

Napansin niyo ba, nung naging public ang Dolphy-Zsa Zsa affair, hindi lang ang movie-going tabloid-reading TV-viewing star-struck baduy masses ang nabulabog? Di ba’t pati yung mga lumait-lait noon sa movie talkshows like See True ay biglang mala-Inday Badiday ang drama, with questions like, “But what did Zsa Zsa see in Dolphy, he’s so old na, old enough to be her lolo, and well, at least he didn’t leave Alma destitute, ilang bahay nga, apat?

Lahat ng Pinoy (na inaabot ng radyo, pelikula, peryodiko) tinamaan, na-affect ng balita at napa-react. I’m sure isang dahilan is that in the last seven (eight?) years, hindi biro ang iniangat ng stature ni Dolphy, even among the AB crowd, thanks of course not only to his genius and durability but also to the series of Dolphy specials Alma produced for him for TV.

By the time he took off, Dolphy had become a very high-profile figure, nasisilip madalas sa Loveli-Ness, napapanood weekly sa John en Marsha, and even more often sa hamburger at softdrink commercials, besides being a constant item in gossip columns dahil sa kanyang colorful relationship with Alma, a very public figure in her own right. We heard about them, we saw them, all the time, masasabi nga na naging bahagi na sila ng ating buhay, ng ating kamalayan, ng ating karanasan, like it or not.

Kaya naman nung takasan ni Dolphy si Alma, nung nag-break out of the relationship siya, feeling natin ay parang pati tayo’y tinakasan.

Besides, love triangle yung situation, which is one most Pinoys are all too familiar with. Kailan lang tayo binulabog ni Ex-Sec. Tony “Speedy” Gonalez (nainggit kaya si Dolphy?), and even more recently ni Vic Sotto, or rather, ni Dina B. at ni Coney R. na sabay pang umeksena, ‘no, patalbugan blues all the way. Mga dramang nagaganap din in private all over the land sa araw-araw na buhay-buhay ng mga pangkaraniwang Pinoy.

Kahit hindi kasal si Alma kay Dolphy, dahil sa tinagal ng kanilang pagsasama – longer than married couples Nora and Christopher, Sharon and Gabby, Vilma and Edu – parang mag-asawa na ang naging dating nila. And her pain touched us dahil we know what it’s like, we can imagine what it’s like, every Pinay gets a taste of it, mabibilang ang hindi, given the macho double standard.

Actually, Alma’s is the drama of the Filipino woman, who’s always figuring in a love triangle, whether type niya o hindi. Ang kina Dolphy at Zsa Zsa naman, drama ng Pinoy macho at ng kanyang taratitat, all is fair in love and war, matira ang matibay.