"BAYAN KO": A REVIEW

Political dramas are a big gamble in Philippine primetime television. Only a handful of producers and directors dared to wade in these waters for fear of bad ratings.

Take the case of the legal drama “Your Honor” back in the early 2000s starring Richard Gomez and directed by Joel Lamangan. One can hardly remember a thing about after ABS-CBN cancelled the show after a few months of running. But Joel Lamangan would make the same bet again and in 2001 to 2003 he came up with “Kung Mawawala Ka” one of GMA 7’s longest running soaps during the primetime drama craze of that period. The soaps had all the marks of a gripping political drama the masa would buy—a Romeo and Juliet love story set in the backdrop of a corrupt politician’s rise to power from local executive to the most powerful person in the Philippines.

However, nobody followed in the success of “Kung Mawawala Ka” after it ended in June 2003. There were a few soaps which showed some semblance of the same formula such as “Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin” in 2011 and “Dahil sa Pag-ibig” in 2012, but didn’t live up to the very characteristics of a true political drama soap opera.

Not until “Bayan Ko” aired early this year.

“Bayan Ko” (which roughly translates to “My Country” in English) is director Adolfo Alix Jr’s latest masterpiece intended for the 2013 Elections. Penned by Nessa Valdellon and Rodolfo Vera, the story revolves around the newly-elected mayor of the fictional town of Lagros, Mayor Joseph Santiago (played by Rocco Nacino) and his quest to reform the town’s corrupt system of governance and public service. He and his reform agenda is pitted against the corrupt local executive and archetypal strongman of the fictional province of Sibilan, Governor Antonio Rubio (fantastically played by veteran actor Pen Medina of “Encantadia” fame) and his son, Congressman Anton Rubio (played by Medina’s son, Ping).

While “Bayan Ko” has all the marks of a true political drama, it is in a league of its own with its straightforward and righteous attack on the audience’s political consciousness. It attacks issues we’ve all been familiar with recently such as political dynasties, red tape, bureaucracy, graft and corruption, illegal gambling, and even the morality of politicians’ personal relationships. Albert Banzon’s unique cinematography combined with Diwa de Leon’s striking guitar strings as original music makes the “Bayan Ko” even more tantalizing to watch.

Nevertheless, this mini-series is not without the usual touches typical of Philippine soap operas. We have a budding love story between Congressman Anton Rubio and Atty. Karen Canlas, the mayor’s chief of staff (played convincingly by LJ Reyes). We have classic femme fatale temptress/mistress/corrupt contractor Eliza Bauer (played by the ever captivating Mercedes Cabral in one of her early TV stints). And of course, we have the usual comic relief in characters played by Betong Sumaya and Love Añover.

“Bayan Ko” makes not just for good entertainment but serves as a catalyzing instrument against our society’s broken notion of what constitutes good governance and true public service. It is indeed a huge gamble for GMA News and Public Affairs to come up with this kind of political drama, but it is a gamble worth taking the risk for the greater good of Filipino society. Hence, to stifle its momentum to just 6 episode would be an injustice to the creators and viewers of “Bayan Ko”. I highly recommend that GMA 7 extend this series beyond its intended length so it can live up to its purpose and leave a permanent mark in its audiences, if not in Philippine television.

“Bayan Ko” airs every Sunday, at 6:30 p.m. on GMA News TV Channel 11. TSS

McDONALD'S AD: MISLEADING OR MISINTERPRETED?

I saw in the news today that fastfood giant McDonald's pulled down their new ad after receiving flak from Church leaders, particularly, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

The advertisement (as shown above) shows a young girl asking a young boy if she is his girlfriend, to which the boy answers, “Ayoko nga. Hindi pa ako ready. Demanding ang mga girlfriend. Gusto ganito, gusto ganyan (I don’t want to. I’m not ready. Girlfriends are demanding. They want this, they want that)."

In a statement from Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, he said that “[the commercial gives] the wrong message to children that it’s all right to enter into courtship, and it could pave the way for the very young to be lax and carefree.". The CBCP, through its spokesperson Father Melvin Castro, said in an interview over Radio Veritas, that the ad must be replaced because "it plays with kids’ emotions and cheapens relationships."

Now, I've watched this commercial for the nth time and everyone would agree that the commercial is really cute. Who wouldn't chuckle at the sight of two kids mirroring in a cute and cheeky way what adults find difficult to talk about? But from a moral perspective, the Church does seem to have a point. A young girl asking a young boy if she is his girlfriend does promote entering into early relationships which the Church finds as a dangerous precedent for young kids. From a gender sensitive perspective, it also connotes that women are demanding when it comes to relationships and that men are afraid of commitments.

But, reading between the lines, the advertisement also sends a more positive point -- a point which I think the Church and other detractors of the commercial seem to be missing out. “Ayoko nga. Hindi pa ako ready. Demanding ang mga girlfriend. Gusto ganito, gusto ganyan." Could it be that the young boy is also promoting physical and emotional readiness before entering a relationship? Could it be sending a message to young kids like them that they shouldn't enter in a relationship when they are not yet ready? Could be. But the point has already been missed and the ad is now off-air.

What complicated the matter for McDonald's is that the storytelling of the advertisement itself is misleading. It wants to impart a good message to kids, but the ending imparts an entirely different one. If the commercial could've ended by showing the two kids, all grown-up and now in a relationship, sharing in a heap of McDo fries, it could've have been a happy ending for the company and for the CBCP. The message they'll be sending therefore is that true love waits. The message would have been entirely consistent if closed in a such a way.

But another interesting matter in this issue is the Church being vocal all of a sudden when it was entirely quiet throughout the recent Janjan Controversy in TV5's Willing Willie variety show. It's also surprising that Church is speaking out against early relationships and yet continues to disapprove the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill, when the latter is also against early relationships through promotion of sexual education. I am aghast at this somewhat double standard on the part of the Church. It's good that the Church spoke in this issue -- and made a point -- but looking back at their stand against the RH Bill, do they really have the credibility to make such point?

In the end, an advertisement, no matter how short, can convey a variety of values to its viewers. As I've said in my previous article, the responsibility of extracting values from what we see on TV does not only lie on the viewers and their parents but on the producers themselves, who must ensure that they are conveying the right message on air. TSS

VARIETY SHOWS: A VARIETY OF VALUES

Willie and child/TV Grab

Variety shows have been part of our lunch time since the boob tube became a popular way of spending pastime here in the Philippines. It’s multi-million dollar entertainment industry that has become popular to both the poor masses and rich advertisers. It has built up the careers of many stars in the limelight today and remains one of the foundations of income for the major television networks.

But more than these, imagine what one or two hours of your daily variety show can do to someone’s values? You might think its simply entertainment, but that sort of statement would likely come from the more discriminating mind. For the common person, whose mindset has been filled with a gooey mess of oil price hikes, corruption scandals, low salaries and family crisis, it could do a lot – big time in fact!

Take the case of Janjan, the kid who’s making headlines this week after he appeared teary-eyed in Willing Willie while give his best macho dancing stunt on national TV to the coaxing of his parents and the show’s charismatic host. To the discriminating mind, what Willie Revillame did was outright child abuse. No wonder why the flak of bad press came from no other than the experts, scholars and the educated masses. But to people like Janjan’s parents, the immediate response was in support of the embattled show and its host. People, whose only hope for little boost in livelihood is variety shows, will definitely become instant apologetics of the industry. And that is a result of daily values formation from shows like Willing Willie, Eat Bulaga and the likes.

Imagine what variety shows are teaching us. If you see scantily-clad women dancing vigorously and provocatively on live television, what does this teach to our not so discriminating minds? Precisely. That its okay for women to show off their bodies on public in a malicious and temptuous manner. That’s its okay for women to make a living out of exposing their bodies. And if children are being asked to dance the same way, with a promise of a sumptuous reward after, what does it teach to their not so discriminating minds? That its okay at a young age to dance provocatively and earn a living from it. That kid could possibly think of becoming a macho dancer at age 18 and forgo plans of taking vocational courses and become a productive welder or sales manager. That kid could end up becoming a pimp at age 38, forcing other male teens to do the same as he did.

Imagine what variety shows justify in our already damaged values system. That it is okay to have plenty of children since they can always work for us and I don’t have to worry about getting a job at 40, that its okay to exploit women and children, and that its okay to queue in variety shows everyday instead of loaning funds for a small, profitable business or to apply for job.

Variety shows justifies beggar mentality and human rights abuse.

But don’t get me wrong. Variety shows weren’t supposed to be this way. They are supposed to help people help themselves, not help people exploit themselves and others. In the end, it was just a matter of a wrong values system both for the parents of Janjan and Willie Revillame. The show’s suspension and possible cancellation does not change the system. Variety shows will still be in question, and will still affect our values, just as everything we see on TV. The challenge now lies with the producers of these variety shows: what kind of values would you like to impart to your viewers? You cannot simply show anything you want and leave to your viewers the task of extracting whatever values they can get from behind the “parental guidance” label. Remember that majority of your viewers do not a have a very discriminating mind and do not always receive parental guidance. The bulk of responsibility in censoring and screening your content lies greatly in your hands.

Despite its glitz and glamour, the variety show industry could use some substance. I’ll be hoping for a positive response as the Janjan issue rests its case. TSS

Business: None of their Business

Sidelined. Business News figures little in Filipino news channels.

News channels are becoming everywhere on TV here in the Philippines. In just two weeks, two networks launched their own version of an all-news channel, promising to get Filipino viewers in touch with the latest news and information they need when they want it, right at the hit of the bat. One station promises to give you action aside from news, in line with their public service creed. Another vows to make you in the know about what you want and need to know at the moment you want and need it. Of course, these two new stations were launched to challenge the dominance of another network's all-news channel in cable, the forerunner in the race which from the beginning pledges to be in the service of the Filipino 24-7.

These channels are just great. They, in their own right, have provided viewers with excellent news programs, magazines shows, talk shows, sports news, showbiz scoops and even weather updates that are at par with the well-known international news channels. However, there is one important topic that these news channels have somehow failed to give sufficient light in to -- Business News.

State TV: A Call for an Evolution

We live in times saturated by so much news and information.

This generation of Filipinos' insatiable need for news and information has made this country a record-setter in terms of the number of newspapers, the number of news websites circulating in the Internet, the number of radio stations and now, even the number of all news and information channels.

ABS-CBN led the way in all news and information channels in the Philippines with its launch of ANC in 1996. Fifteen years later, its rivals GMA Network and TV5 is providing competition to ANC's monopoly of the industry by launching their own all news channels -- all in free TV. Last February 21, TV5 launched Aksyon TV which is just one of the milestones made by this rapidly developing media conglomerate. GMA Network, meanwhile, is cementing its position as the country's most respected news and public affairs network with the launch of GMA News TV (replacing its lifestyle channel QTV) on February 28.