Category: showbiz

willie, wowowee, way to go

writes emil jurado in manila standard today:

Willie Revillame of Wowowee appeared confident when he, along with his lawyers, met media to bid them goodbye. Where Wowowee would be going next, whether to GMA-7 or to Manny Pangilinan’s ABC-5, he didn’t say. But it was evident that he was aware he had the goods on the Lopez-owned ABS-CBN network.

Wowowee, which used to air for three hours every day, made Revillame a sensation not only among viewers here but also to Filipino Americans who could watch him over The Filipino Channel. But the network changed it so that Willie would only appear once a week. That is, in effect, an abrogation of Revillame’s contract. Every lawyer should know this.

Thus, ABS-CBN cannot hold on to Wowowee, a program which gave the Lopez network some P3 million daily (with Willie getting almost P1 million daily). No wonder, ABS-CBN reported a 178 percent surge in income, what with all those political advertisements during the campaign and close to P3.5 billion from Wowowee.

Despite attempts of ABS-CBN to replace Wowowee, new programs just don’t do as well in ratings. . .

like him or hate him, there is no denying willie’s awesome appeal to the filipino masses and i almost can’t believe that the network has chosento disenfranchise him — it’s like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.   i suppose there’s more to it than meets the eye?

“Willie . . . violated the behavioral provisions of his contract when he threatened the ABS-CBN management during the May 4, 2010 episode of Wowowee, with a resignation if management does not fire another artist of the network. His behavior was generally seen as a display of disrespect and arrogance, completely unacceptable to the Filipino public.

but willie’s may 4 behavior was not “completely unacceptable” to me.   while he may have crossed a line when he passionately if arrogantly reacted to jobert sucaldito’s criticism of a wowowee game calling for contestants na high school graduates with 75-79 general average, i thought that sucaldito also crossed a line when he arrogantly asked, why feature contestants who are bobo?   THAT was completely unacceptable to me.

in the first place, what was he doing, dissing a kapamilya?   he started it, not willie.  (and it wasn’t the first time, i hear.)   wala bang “behavioral provision” ang kontrata niya?   in the second place, what was he doing, dissing these high school graduates given the low and laughable quality of education our public school system provides.   kasalanan kaya nila na mababa ang grades nila?   porke ba mababa ang grades ay bobo na?   and yet willie was quickly sanctioned, suspended without pay, and sucaldito gayly prattles on, i mean, gets off scot-free, nary a public reprimand.

i’m told, of course, that i’m being naive.   that this is political.   that willie is being made to suffer for going orange rather than yellow last may.  the witches won, and the witches rule?

pacquiao’s place

praising pacquiao by showbiz grande dame armida siguion-reyna aka tita midz is a good read.  specially this half:

Day after the fight, the papers had everybody who was anybody with a quote. Sen. Chiz Escudero hoped the boxer “inspires” those “easily disheartened by difficult challenges and setbacks.” Sen. Manny Villar credited Pacquiao as “reason to celebrate and stand proud of the Filipino race.” Sen. Dick Gordon lauded Pacquiao’s traits of “honest hard work, heart, experience, drive, pride an heroic elements” as “elements of a leader.” And from the diminutive Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio, who defeated Pacquiao in his first bid for Congress in 2007: “Thank you, Manny, for making us happy and proud once again.”

Most everyone expressed admiration for Mommy Dionisia’s son, and not only politicians. So did the MILF, perhaps the most realistic of all, for soon after recognizing Pacquiao’s skill, it said through a spokesman: “Boxing is a sport. But time will come and someone stronger will fight him and he will definitely lose.” The religious, with the Bishop of Cotabato claiming the victory as “answered prayers,” and Jesus is Lord leader Eddie Villanueva joining the praise.

And big business, through effusive statements from the likes of Aurelio Montinolla III, president of the Bank of Philippine Islands; Francis Lim, president of the Philippine Stock Exchange; Ramon Ang, president of San Miguel Corp.

Not to forget the one moving heaven and earth that she not be forgotten, wanting to run as congressman in next year’s elections. Gloria Arroyo, in Singapore for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum saying: “I hope we can all learn from his example so that, together, we can also move forward as a nation.”

Arroyo conveniently kept silence on who held us back from progress, as did her House Speaker who went to watch the fight live in Vegas, and later on innocently stated, “At least for one brief shining moment, we in the Philippines forgot all our problems, troubles and political back-biting and fighting each other.” A big fat hello, to the both of them, for playing dedma to their horrible misdeeds that caused our problems to begin with.

And it gets worse, and dreadfully so, when former activist and currently Arroyo spokesman Gary Olivar enters the picture, with “We have exhausted all possible honors and awards that could possibly be heaped on Manny because of his many victories. So if the administration party would want to include him in its senatorial slate, that’s the decision of the ruling party.”

Argh.

I clarify I’m just as proud as every other Filipino to have a kababayan declared as the “greatest fighter of the era.” This one’s clearly no ordinary champion pugilist, he has seven weight-class titles to his name — flyweight, super bantamweight, featherweight, super featherweight, lightweight and light welterweight — the first fighter ever to do so. His wins have been decisive, the one with Cotto had to be stopped in the 11th round by the referee out of mercy for the Puerto Rican who was so clearly outclassed by his opponent on the boxing arena, spouting blood — sa madaling sabi, magaling talaga si Pacquiao, sobrang galing niya.

But must we have him as senator, too?

It’s bad enough that when we applaud him for his boxing skills, we also almost insist he’s the greatest Filipino barring none, and by such fulsome approbation practically tell our young boys to stop going to school and consider boxing and nothing else but, we have to have him as legislator?

We professed paghanga to the OFWs and called them our “bagong bayani” for keeping our economy afloat with their remittances. The OFWs children wanted to be OFWs as well, it’s not a big percentage out there who want to be doctors, lawyers or teachers, most just wanted to earn dollars, period, and this has been so for years on end.

Similarly, what will our next generations want to be, the way we go overboard and salivate at the feet of a Manny Pacquiao? And on another (side) issue, hey. It’s good to praise the worthy, but how truly worthy is worthy when Pambansang Kamao and Pambansang Kulasisi go hand in hand?

pacquiao says he’s interested in running for office because he wants to continue helping the filipino people after he hangs up the boxing gloves.   but he has no experience or preparation or training of any kind for government office or politics, so why go there?   why not stay with sports instead, take on the cause of the philippine sports, raise funds for sports development nationwide, prepare our athletes for international competitions para hindi naman tayo parati na lang kulelat sa rankings. national sports is where he can continue to make a major difference.

manny pacquiao for congressman, for senator, for president, mananalo kasi, is a bad joke.   plain idiocy.   ilagay naman natin sa lugar ang pagmamahal natin kay pacquiao.   he is an absolutely stunning athlete who wows the world with his physical prowess and we’re very proud of him but but but but but but but he should not be allowed to think na okay lang na pumasok siya sa pulitika when all he’s got going for him is popularity.   he should not be allowed to think na okay lang na pumasok siya sa showbiz bilang singer at movie superhero just because he wants to, never mind na pang-karaoke lang ang singing niya at pang-commercial lang ang acting niya.

it’s like, how ironic, and pathetic, that after raising the bar for athletes he proceeds to lower the bar, as if it weren’t low enough, for elective officials and showbiz artists.   what a drag.

last-minute blues

there must be another way of handling the comelec registration process.   alam naman natin na may last-minute mentality ang pinoy.   comelec should have expected, and prepared for, the swarm instead of saying, kayo kasi…   lalo na’t merong concessions made to the rich and famous, like satellite ek-eks in kris aquino‘s case, and good old palakasan as in manuel buencamino‘s.   these, while masses of ordinary pinoys without connections had to line up for hours to register, if they were able to at all.    paano ka naman matutuwa sa ganyang palakad.

***

i can’t believe people are raving about the noynoy video hindi ka nag-iisa.   what’s so powerful about that torch-lit parade led by noynoy that went nowhere.   i’m like, they love this?   c’mon people, taas-taasan naman ang standards natin.   we already know na hindi siya nag-iisa.   tell us something new, let’s hear him talking platform.   hindi porke anak siya nina Ninoy at Cory ay okay na, siguradong he won’t lie, cheat, or steal.   that’s just too low a bar for a presidential candidate.   i need to hear how he’s going to address the problems of poverty, land reform, environment, education, foreign debt, chacha, atbp.   i will not take him, or anyone, on sheer faith.    i leave that to the pink sisters.

***

ayon kay senador nene pimentel tuloy tuloy ang pag-benta ng gma administration ng government assets, tipong ‘midnight sale,’    mostly to raise money pampuno sa napakalaking budget  ng 2009 or puwede ring pangkampanya sa 2010.    whatever, hindi lang pala ang food terminal inc. sa taguig at ang government shares in san miguel corp. at pnoc energy exploration corp. ang ibinebenta.  pati pala the sprawling properties ng national center for mental health at ng welfareville sa mandaluyong, gayon din ng national penitentiary sa muntinlupa city at ng home for the aged sa quezon city, “in complete disregard of their importance in providing vital social government services.”   ano ba yan.   ubos ubos biyaya.   and then what.   pag naubos, nakatunganga.   there must be a smarter way of handling our resources.    let’s demand that presidentiables be honest, yes, but also creative and wise.

plagiarism and, uh, karen davila? is that you?!

while it was great that upon cory’s death pinoy tv was swamped with docus that revisited her exalted place in philippine history, one docu, Laban ni Cory,  produced and aired many times by ABS-CBN 2 from august 2 onward, raised my ire and my eyebrows.

my ire because some of karen davila’s narrative spiels covering the period of the snap elections through to EDSA sounded oh so familiar, so very close to, if not my very own words in, Himagsikan sa EDSA — Walang Himala! and yet there was no attribution, as though karen davila herself researched and wrote the stuff (wow ang galing), something that took me all of twelve years, lol.

I
KAREN DAVILA:

(010) Sa paniniwalang sila ang tunay na nanalo sa eleksiyon, isang victory rally ang inilunsad sa Luneta nina Cory at Doy, na dinumog naman ng mahigit isang milyong tao.

(013) At bilang tugon sa malawakang dayaan sa eleksiyon, inilunsd nina Cory Aquino at Doy Laurel ang civil disobedience campaign, Himinok ang taong bayan na huwag magbayad ng koryente, tubig, at iboykot ang media, bangko at iba pang kompanyang pagaari ng mga tuta ni Marcos. Marami ang sumangayon at sumunod sa panawagang ito. Wala pang isang linggo mula nang unang manawagan ng boycott si Cory nameligro ang ekonomiya ng bansa at nataranta ang mga negosyante.

HIMAGSIKAN SA EDSA–Walang Himala! page 40 last paragraph

Ika-16 ng Pebrero, sa isang “victory rally” sa Luneta na dinumog ng mahigit isang milyong tao, inilunsad nina Cory Aquino at Doy Laurel ang kanilang civil disobedience campaign. Nagpilit si Cory na siya ang nagwagi sa eleksiyon at nangakong pupuwersahin niya si Marcos na magbitiw, sabay hinimok ang taong-bayan na sabayan siya sa pagsuway sa mga utos ng diktador — huwag magbayad ng koryente at tubig, iboykot ang crony media at crony banks, gayon din ang Rustan’s Department Store, San Miguel Corporation, at iba pang kompanyang pag-aari ng mga tuta at katoto ni Marcos.

page 42 paragraph 2

Wala pang isang linggo mula nang unang manawagan ng boykot si Cory…

page 41 paragraph 1

Nataranta ang malalaking negosyante, gayon din ang multinationals …

II

DAVILA:

(022) Kakaiba na noon ang ihip ng hangin. Palaban na ang taong bayan, sabik sa pagbabago at may natatanaw nang pagasa, salamat sa biyuda ng isang tao …

HIMAGSIKAN page 42 last paragraph

Salamat sa biyuda ni Ninoy, kakaiba na noon ang ihip ng hangin. Mapanghimagsik na ang timpla ng taong-bayan, punong-puno bigla ng pag-asa, sabik sa mga naamoy na pagbabago, noong bisperas ng EDSA.

III

DAVILA

(063) Naghudyat si Ver ng all out attack sa riot police, sa marine artillery, sa mga helicopter gunship, at mga jet bomber.

(067) Naririnig din si Marcos sa radyo. Isinusumpang lilipulin ang mga rebelde.

HIMAGSIKAN page 135 paragraph 2

Sa Fort Bonifacio, naghudyat sina Ver at Ramas ng all-out attack sa riot police, sa Marine artillery, sa mga helicopter gunship, at sa mga jet bomber. Naririnig si Marcos sa radyo, isinusumpang lilipulin ang mga rebelde.

IV

DAVILA

(070) Pumosisyon ang mga sundalo at nagkasahan ng mga baril. Subalit walang atakeng nangyari. Lumapag ang mga chopper sa Crame. Isa-isang lumabas ang mga pilot, may hawak na mga puting bandila at naglalaban sign.

HIMAGSIKAN page 138 paragraph 4

Napakagat ng labi ang mga sundalo, nagkasahan ng mga baril, pumosisyon.

page 139 from last paragraph page 138

Isa-isang lumalabas ang mga piloto, may hawak na mga puting bandila at nagla-Laban sign.

V

DAVILA

(076) Ala singko ng hapon, sa kabila ng banta sa kanyang seguridad sumaglit sa EDSA si Cory …

(081) Sa main entrance ng Philippine Overseas Amployment agency o POEA building nagbigay siya ng maikling talumpati sa mga taong nagtipon sa kantong iyon ng Ortigas at EDSA. Pinuri ni Cory ang mapayapang pagkilos ng mga tao…

HIMAGSIKAN page 165 paragraph 1

Bandang 5:00 ng hapon, nagpakita sa wakas sa EDSA/Ortigas si Cory Aquino, na Sabado pa ay hinahanap na ng mga Coryista. Sa main entrance ng Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) building, sa kanto ng EDSA at Ortigas, siya dumaan kasama ang kanyang pamilya at mga tagapagtaguyod.

paragraph 5

Sa kanyang talumpati sa mga taong nagtipon sa kantong iyon ng Ortigas at EDSA, pinuri ni Cory ang mapayapang pagkilos ng mga tao …

the docu’s closing credits list the writers and researchers.   i expect the researchers cited their sources of info, it’s part of the job, and  if so, who decided not to mention na lang these sources, the writers or the hosts?   na okay lang naman as long as magaling sila and they can write the material in their own words.   but even then, dapat ay mayroon pa ring acknowledgement sa dulo ang sources of information na hindi pa common knowledge.

kung hindi pala sila ganoong kagaling, dapat ay inamin nila by writing-in “ayon kay…  sa librong so-and-so….”    or maybe it was karen davila who couldn’t be bothered with “ayon sa’s”, akala niya ay makakalusot?   whatever, whoever, wittingly or un-, she committed plagiarism by lifting and appropriating my words for her own use without a by-your-leave or a thank-you,  how unprofessional, how dishonest, how disgraceful.

nakakataas ng kilay kasi it doesn’t take much time and effort to cite and acknowledge sources.   unless of course the idea is to give the impression that hosts and writers of ABS-CBN News & Current Affairs productions are all-knowing and sufficient unto themselves?

so, okay, now that i’ve vented, what next?    what do i expect?   well.   iniisip ko nga.   an apology?   too easy to shed crocodile tears.   credits on the docu?   rather too late, unless of course they have plans of selling dvds, in which case, okay, credits, and a share in the profits?

suggests a writer friend:  like a lawyer can be disbarred, a beauty queen forced to abdicate, ask for the head of the plagiarist in the form of dismissal or suspension.   or how about punishing the culprit by having her write a million times in longhand a very long mea culpa — the equivalent of 20 years of keyboarding chores or tendonitis.   oscar lopez could also buy the next edition of your book to give away to all libraries nationwide.

sounds good, all of the above ;)