WILLIE REVILLAME AND PRESIDENT CORY'S FUNERAL CORTEGE

(Photo from http://tagpuan.com)

Willie Revillame has been absent from ABS-CBN’s noontime TV program “Wowowee” for a number of days now. He is reportedly on indefinite leave that was a consequence of the controversial statement he made regarding the funeral cortege of our beloved President Corazon Aquino.

President Cory has already been laid to rest. Yet, discussions, both verbally and in print, about that above-mentioned statement still go on. Even my own officemates—especially Annie who is a Cory fan and supporter and Reanne who is Kris Aquino's avid fan—are still talking about it.

I read one news item defending Willie for what he had said and justifying both his words and action. But many were criticizing him.

It will be noted that Wowowee is still being telecast until now. But our dearly beloved Tita Cory’s wake was over. Never will there be another President Cory's funeral cortege subject for a TV coverage.

ON WOWOWEE AND WILLIE REVILLAME

Wowowee is my favorite noontime show. It makes me laugh. It makes me happy. It helps me forget my worries even if only momentarily.

I like the show’s format and I love the “Willie of Fortune” portion most of all. Spontaneous laughter makes me feel real good and deeply moving scenes that touch my heart give me positive feeling.

Of course, I like Willie very much. He’s the principal life of the show (my opinion). Perhaps, he was the major reason why many watch Wowowee.

Willie once commented, “Even doctors (maybe psychiatrists) now prescribe or recommend watching Wowowee to their patients,” or words to that effect. He might be right. And I believed him. For laughter resulting from funny scenes as well as spontaneous positive emotion resulting from touching scenes that abound in his show can be so therapeutic. They’re indeed healthy.

The fact that I am Willie’s kababayan (we are both from Nueva Ecija) made me like his program even more. I support someone who comes from my home province.

ON PRESIDENT CORY'S DEATH

I’ve been very supportive of Madame Cory since I learned or read about her sufferings brought about by her husband Ninoy’s incarceration and assassination. Fate seemed so cruel to Madame Cory. She had been deprived of some of her very essential needs in life.

But emboldened by the death of her husband, Madame Cory fought the Dictator for us. And because she gave us back our freedom, she deserved to be loved.

Even the management of ABS-CBN where Willie Revillame has a noontime show is indebted to Madame Cory for giving back said station to its owners after winning her fight for democracy.

But Madame Cory’s winning ways did not stop with the fall of the Dictator. Installed as President, she served the Filipino people—selflessly and with all honesty and integrity.

When Tita Cory died, we shed tears for her. Everyone especially those who couldn’t make it to her wake patiently and intently watched the coverage of her wake and funeral cortege on television.

In our very own office where a TV set was turned on during the late President’s funeral cortege, my officemates closely monitored the latest on President Cory. In fact, I often heard each one watching the coverage (simultaneously with the noontime show Wowowee) ask, “Where is it now?” referring to the funeral cortege. Obviously, on that particular day, they were more interested with ABS-CBN’s coverage of President Cory than watching Wowowee.

Shifting channel or station—from ABS-CBN to GMA which had its own coverage of the late President's funeral cortege—was a clear indication they deemed it more important to watch the late President’s funeral cortege on that day than Wowowee which they can watch some other time and regularly.

ON THE FOUR HONOR GUARDS

It would be worth mentioning here that the four honor guards assigned to escort the late President’s remains as she headed for her final resting place, standing still for more than nine hours without food and drink, braving the elements, and not even attending to their personal necessities, won the hearts and admiration of the public.

The four honor guards were awarded cash, showered with gifts, and accorded other honors for the services they rendered to a very prominent personality that the Filipinos so dearly loved.

Perhaps, in much the same way, anyone from any television station who gave way to the coverage of a well-loved president's final moments on earth will also win the admiration and love of every Filipino.

VINCENT BUENO - MORE THAN JUST A REALITY TALENT SEARCH CHAMPION

Photo from Vincent Bueno Support page on MySpace.com

I first came to know about Vincent Bueno on January 12, 2008 when I watched ABS-CBN's TV Patrol and he was in the news. He just won then the grand prize in Musical! Die Show, a reality talent competition, probably the counterpart in Austria of American Idol, although with a twist.

I was so interested in the news that the following day, when our office's copy of a daily broadsheet was delivered by the newsboy and I saw Vincent on the front page, I immediately read the news item about him.

It is natural for a Filipino to rejoice when news about a fellow Filipino, even if he is not a full-blooded one, who gained international recognition, reaches the Philippine shore. How much more when he is a full-blooded Filipino as in the case of Vincent Bueno!

The next thing I found myself doing was surfing the Internet for more news about Vincent. My effort did not fail me. So many bloggers have already written much about Vincent. Some of them even witnessed the actual competition and have accurately transformed their jubilant feelings into words and put them in print.

My interest to know more about Vincent Bueno's extraordinary talents and sudden rise to fame was further aroused by some bloggers' accounts of Vincent's stage performances as seen in video clips especially those uploaded on www.youtube.com. Even if I had not visited that web site before and had no intention to visit it, my overwhelming desire to see Vincent doing his thing in videos brought me there. I was so impressed and delighted to see his superb performances that I even clapped my hands after each performance. They were so great they gave me goosebumps!

One blogger was justified in saying and sharing her experiences with her readers that, after watching Vincent in videos, she suddenly had a wild craving to see more of him, especially his stage performances. I share the same experience and feeling.

As more and more people had seen Vincent in videos, more and more people started to show fondness for him sending congratulatory messages directly to his web page or anywhere on the Net where their fondness for him could be expressed and, hopefully, read by him. Finding him on MySpace.com, I signed up just for the purpose of sending him a message of praise. To my surprise, he replied to my message—and quite intimately at that—addressing me "Tito Goddy", after which, I found myself exultant.

Since then, I've been frequenting internet cafes watching him on You Tube.

All of the above speak well of Vincent's inherent singing, dancing, and acting talents and skills as well as his superb performances that led him to becoming a reality talent search champion. To me, however, Vincent is more than just that for he even possesses qualities that can be attributed to a modern-day hero.

Having won his prize at a time when news on political turmoil and other negative issues dominated the Philippine print media and the airwaves, Vincent's win provided a respite from such alarming and discouraging news.

Vincent was able to lift the Filipino spirit and has become a sort of a unifying figure to what seems like a divided people.

Yes, Vincent is more than just a reality talent search champion and has, in fact, achieved what a mere reality talent search champion may not, for in a land where the citizens are notoriously known for their colonial mentality and preference for things not their own, VINCENT BUENO has proven his power and capacity to make that nation's people proud—so very proud—of their race!