Category Archives: people

Pekyaw

Posted on by
Reply

So the Gods, the odds and karma are again in favor of Manny Paquiao.  His win today against the bigger Antonio Margarito only confirms that Paquiao is the greatest boxer in modern history.  Every time Pacquiao wins a boxing fight, I am always so impressed by how the heavens answer the intense prayers of Nanay Dionisia (his mother).  Also, every time Pacquiao wins a fight, I always remember my first ever encounter with this boxing hero.

It was more than a decade ago when I was still working as the Head of HR in 3-star Royal Palm Hotel (now Lotus Garden Hotel) located in Ermita, Manila.   Pacquiao then was a budding boxing athlete who could hardly speak the English language and was worth less than a million pesos.  He was not yet popular then.  Even the boxing ring announcers during that time could hardly pronounce his name.  He is either introduced as “Pakyeyiyow” or “Pekyaw”

Pacquiao during that year was due to have a boxing fight in Manila with Mexican Gabriel Mira and no five-star hotel (I suppose) agreed to sponsor both fighters’ hotel room so the organizers settled with ours.  Both Pacquiao’s and Mira’s team were billeted in our hotel.

I remember the owner of the hotel instructed me, Mr. Sal Magugat the Resident Manager and Mr. Oca Bangayan the Head of the Security to ensure that Pacquiao be given the most comfortable room.  On the other hand, she further ordered that Mira be assigned in a crib where the noisiest air conditioning unit is situated or in a chamber located on the street-side of the hotel where the earsplitting engines and honking of public utility vehicles (like jeepneys and taxi cabs) can be heard inside the room.  That’s just precisely what we did.

The following day, it was in all broadcast media that Manny Pacquiao retained his WBC Flyweight World Title and was tagged as boxer with the greatest potential to be the next boxing hero of the Philippines.  Let me clarify that Pacquiao did not cheat it’s just that his opponent was puyat (without sleep).

Isang sikretong pati si Pekyaw di alam…

Free Hubert Webb

Posted on by
6

After fifteen long years in prison, Hubert Webb is neither innocent nor guilty but should be set free!  This is my personal opinion and assessment after watching last Sunday night the TV documentary “Cheche Lazaro Present:  Dalawang Mukha ng Hustisya”.

I am saying this not because the Philippine court should have accepted Webb’s greatest and absolute defense of being in US during the time of the crime as verified by FBI and certified no less by Madeleine Korbel Albright (first woman US Secretary of State).

I am saying this because some dimwit and defective government agency misplaced and unable to find the semen specimen found in the cadaver of Carmela (one of the victims in the Vizconde massacre) so as to compare it with the semen of Hubert Webb via DNA testing.  The missing semen specimen is a definite and clear-cut evidence that could no longer be presented in court not by fault by Webb but by fault of a Philippine government agency, thus, he in effect is deprived of due process.  Therefore he should be discharged, dismissed and relieved from the confines of prison.

Ang problema hindi ako ang Suprim Kort ng Pinas.  Keys dismis!

Autograph from an Extra-Ordinary Earthling

Posted on by
1

I don’t know.  But there is something about this thespian that seem elusive and mysterious.  He just gets acting projects and act out on it.  He’s not “showbiz” and there is nothing fancy about him at all yet he usually receives the loudest cheer, roar and approbation whenever he makes a public appearance.

He does not possess the Fernando Poe Jr. archetype nor carry the stalwart stance of Rogelio Dela Rosa.  He does not have the clever wit of Dolphy nor possess the magical phenomenon of Piolo Pascual.  He is mellow and subdued.  He is effortlessly simple.  He is actually average, too average to the point of being extra-ordinary.  Maybe he is just a typical earthling with enigmatic bearing in the bewitching and exalting world of show business which makes him stand out.

That is why when I learned that he is to dine in one of the restaurants that I worked for, I abused my power by ordering the restaurant manager to get me this actor’s autograph.  As cynical and jaded as I am, I even threaten the restaurant manager that he will be subjected to medieval forms of torture if he failed to get me one!  I got the autograph which I intend to preserve because I believe it would be precious after a couple of decades.

Walang kokontra! Ako’y isang tanga-hanga.

Komersyal Muna

Posted on by
Reply

This is a Coca Cola ad in the mid-80s when I was still a part of the young population.  It was such a colossal hit then.  The whole Philippines was talking about a pretty singer (with enormously big set of ears) named Lilet being chosen to represent the country in filming this commercial for local release.  She was actually sent to Liverpool, England to shoot this Coca-Cola advertisement. If memory serves me right, there were actually versions of this ad sang in different languages all filmed in one common venue.

The catchy song was about unity, strength and hope among the young dynamic earthlings.  That year, I would have nominated Coca Cola Company for a Nobel Prize for Peace because of this advert.

Lilet, I and the rest of the youth who grew up in the ‘80s are no longer the future but the actual front runners of this planet.  We being todays adults may have not done the best in preserving world peace and in conserving mother earth, at least Madonna, U2 and MTV Channel (plus Regal, Viva and Seiko Films movies produced locally) were some of the unique  conceptions of our time.  Moreover, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that apocalyptic annihilation will not take place during our incumbency and dominion.   

Significant changes had happened (good, delightful, wicked and screwy) and I hope that today’s luckluster, bland and boring youth will be inspired by the lasting message of this amazing song.

I am the future of the world
I am the hope of my nation
I am tomorrow’s people
I am the new inspiration

And we’ve got a song to sing to you
We’ve got a message to bring to you

Please let there be, for you and for me, a tomorrow (tomorrow)
If we all can agree there’ll be sweet harmony tomorrow (tomorrow)
And we all will be there, Coca-Cola to share
Feeling so real and so true
Promise us tomorrow
And we’ll build a better world for you

Ngayon, matataba na tayo dahil sa kowk na yan.

Remembering BangBang

Posted on by
Reply

BangBang and I were born in the same year and grew up in the bucolic city of Pasay.  BangBang is a second-cousin whom I consider to be a super playmate.  The most vivid memory I have with her is cooking “yema” (a Pinoy custard cream) in their kitchen (with the assistance of Ate Oye) whom we enjoyed eating one happy afternoon.   

She may not be my closest cousin but I don’t remember any particular incident of having a disagreement with BangBang.  Possessing the right amiable attitude I was actually never surprised to know that she became a fine young woman, a loving wife and an awesome caring mother.

I was sad to know that one of my super playmates passed away and taken the journey we all must take.  But one thing is for sure a mortal being here in this earth will always remember BangBang.  That’s me.  Though I’m sad I will not cry for she left because I know she didn’t left but instead arrived.  She arrived in eternal love now wearing shiny wings and gleaming halos…

from the Facebook Wallpost of Ate Oye

A big rownd op aplos para sa ‘yo pinsan…

In Between Slam Book and Facebook

Posted on by
Reply

After the advent and fame of Slam Book, a notebook bearing questions to be filled out by the keeper’s selected friends that is later to be passed around for other invited contributors to write down their respective intimate answers.  And before the genesis of Slam Book’s virtually formatted type – i.e. social networking sites like Friendster, Multiply and Facebook – a conspicuous hype came into being in the pop culture of young Filipinos in the late ‘80s until early ‘90s.  A lot of people think that after Slam Book has depleted its popularity among the youth it was right away replaced by the web-based social networking sites.  Let me insert, inject and connect what transpired in between these two Herculean cultural revolutions.

What happened in between was the young populace’s visit to a photo studio.  During those years, if my memory serves me right, the most popular photo studio for the youth in Pasay and its nearby cities was “Dimension or Dimensione”.  Young people would schedule an afternoon wearing their most bewitching casual attire, sit on a high chair with a background or lighting of his or her choice and flash their sweetest smile in front of a camera.

The picture is not a group photo but a personal/individual close-up that is ordered to be printed on a wallet size photo-paper in abundant number of reproductions. When the photo in immense copies are already picked-up from the studio, he or she will then write a sweet dedication at the back which will be later given away and distributed to his or her friends and classmates.

Recipients then will collect all these photos and bundle it as part of their cherished possessions.  During those times they will not insert it inside a photo album since they enjoy reading the dedications written at the back from time to time.  They would not leave the thick collected close-ups in their respective houses but to be bizarrely brought along with them wherever they go.  The thickness of their photo collection would signify the degree of their social friendliness and congeniality.

Here are 2 of the amazing samples of my collection which up until now is in my possession…

marie & jhong, my wacky close friends now living in california and new york respectively

Para tayong mga ewan noon! Hahaha!

The Devil Inside the Church

Posted on by
Reply

A friend’s friend told me a shocking story of a person who will soon be convicted of qualified theft in a grandiose scale and will soon spend the remaining years of his life in prison.  My friend’s friend told me that this mortal being is known in public as a Taong Simbahan (a church person).  Contrary to his true and authentic lawbreaking character and with his scheming lies and evil manipulations, he was able to project himself as a good-natured child of God.

He never misses to go to church and attend the Holy Mass everyday prior to going to his workplace.  He is a self-proclaimed devotee of The Lady of Manaoag and never misses the yearly grueling street procession of a beautiful and richly robed image of the Virgin Mary called ‘Nuestra Senora de La Naval’.  On Ash Wednesdays, he is one of the first mortals who display ash-laden foreheads making all people who cross his path early in the morning feel guilty of not having one yet.  If attendance is to be checked and awarded on the presence of the population who attended the Filipino Simbang Gabi (midnight mass) tradition during Christmas Season, he would receive the Perfect Attendance recognition on a yearly basis. He knows every mysterious mysteries of the Holy Rosary.  What was even so absurd to know was that he was an Hermano Mayor (a major sponsor) in a fiesta celebration for the feast of a certain Catholic saint in his hometown province.

With all these irrational representation of this person being relayed to me by my friend’s friend, I was left outraged.  I could not believe that such a bipolar and lunatic account could exist.  I was left shocked and speechless.   And all I could say was a borrowed line from a similarly lunatic TV series uttered by Vera Cruz of Vera Couture from the telenovela Magkaribal — “I thought the devil wasn’t allowed in church.”  Well, he may be allowed in church but soon this is going to be the church behind prison bars.

Kung din man yan makulong, may kanta si Boy George para sa kanya… Ol togeder naw! “karma-karma-karma-kamiliyon…”

Remembering the Queen of Hearts

Posted on by
Reply

I was in my 5th grade.  Seated in the middle of the lecture room with my classmates, Ms. Balagot was not in her usual self.  Our grumpy spinster teacher was not scary, hostile and sinister that lovely morning.  Rather, teacher Balagot was smiling and seems excited.  After lecturing a couple of topics, she suddenly pulled out a big and heavy hardbound copy of a new book she personally brought from her home to school. The manuscript, covered in plastic was not the usual reference textbook but a brand new copy of a book featuring a lot of lustrous photos that she impatiently showed us.

The pictures she showed to our class featured a young beautiful bride dressed in what seem to be the longest bridal train trailing behind her gown.  She got a sparkling tiara on top of her head and was beaming with the most beautiful smile.  Teacher Balagot explained that the gorgeous lady in the pictures got married to an eloquent prince and will be the future queen.  Teacher Balagot showed every picture in the book stating the names of every royalty persons in each picture.  She pointed her finger to an old lady explaining that she is the present queen and is the mother of the groom.  She presented the pictures of the newly-wed couple riding behind their wedding wagon waving back to thousands of spectators in the street awaiting their carriage to pass by them.  Teacher Balagot after closing the glossy book further explained that the bride was the first common Englishwoman for 300 years to marry an heir to the throne.

This is my first vivid memory of Diana Spencer the Princess of Wales and people’s Queen of Hearts who died exactly thirteen years ago.

Si Ms. Balagot kaya, nasaan na?

Analyses on Venus Raj Q&A

Posted on by
1

It has been less than 24 hours but multitudes of people have been judging, mocking or are still in the process of making fun on the answer given by Ms. Philippines to the question asked by one of the judges in the recently concluded Ms. Universe 2010.  I personally believed that she was thrown with the toughest question.

But if you are to fully analyze the question “What is one big mistake in your life? And what did you do to make it right?” it’s like demanding the candidate in front of jillions of people at the arena and viewers around the world to reveal and confess one huge personal blunder that she has done.  Now, if you are Ms. Philippines, would you reveal it?  Would you have the guts to uncover it?  Would you dare make it public? I’m pretty sure you won’t!

That is why those who had an abortion; those who are drug or alcohol addicted; those who had pre-marital sex; those who are secretly married; those who had sex with their boyfriend or girlfriend’s best friend; those who are cheats and thieves; those who silently farted and made a public uproar out from the released stink-bomb; those who had an episode of violating God’s Ten Commandments; and those who had any form of booboo who has kept it in themselves and refused to reveal it, you actually have no right whatsoever to poke fun at the answer given by the 4th Runner Up of this year’s Ms. Universe Pageant!

For those who consider themselves to be an open-book and does not seem to keep a secret blooper and would proudly raise that they could have answered the question better, my only advice to you is to join first the local pageant here in the Philippines (Binibining Pilipinas) and see for yourself if you can actually land the top plum of the contest to represent our country in the next Ms. Universe.  I’m fairly sure you’re not even qualified to join Binibining Pilipinas!

Now let me personally analyze the answer given by Ms. Philippines. With gentle grace and respect exhibited by Ms. Philippines to the not-so-respectable judge who asked her, she responded “In my 22 years of existence, I can say there is nothing major (major) problem that I have done because I am very confident with my family with the love that they are giving to me.”  It’s like saying “It’s none of your damn business, Mr. Baldwin! And I refuse to answer such a half-witted private question in front of this considerable number of people!” Thus, it’s a case of giving a stupid answer to a stupid question.  At least she was stunningly graceful and incredibly tactful!

With these analyses I therefore conclude that Ms. Philippines did a great job during the Q&A.  Congratulations!

World Pis sa ebri wan…

FlipTop: The Modern Day Balagtasan

Posted on by
12

I disagree that Balagtasan – the Filipino art of publicly arguing in extemporaneous, scaled and rhymed poetry manner – is dead!  There is a new form of modern day Pinoy poetry emerging nowadays called FlipTop (Filipino Rap Battle League).  The partakers are young street-smart dudes who can be considered geniuses in the contemporary Filipino language.

It is similar to Balagtasan in which the participants compete in a free-flowing articulation of rhyming thoughts.  The extemporaneous verbalization is in “rap” form without the music which is so mind-blowing I admit that I personally will have difficulty doing such. Instead of calling themselves master poets they consider themselves Master Rappers.  The free-style rap battle is also being mediated by a moderator similar to Balagtasan’s Lakandiwa.

The challengers’ unscripted choice of words can be very rude, vulgar and screechingly obscene yet their performance is a cross between histrionic art and indigenous oral tradition of poetry they can make the audience enjoy the flavor of rhyme, brainpower and humor.  But unlike the Balagtasan in which the poet who received the loudest applause from the audience wins, the winner is determined by selected judges based on the challenger’s verbal flair, brilliant wisecracks and dynamite cleverness.  Here’s a mind-blowing example on how these reincarnated makata do it…

Shet! Ang lupet!!!