Let us wear our barong

Filipinos, especially the celebrities and politicians may not be aware of this, but every time they wear their tuxedo and appear in public, they are insulting our culture and indirectly, our country.

Watch Congress deliberate and you see congressmen and senators flaunting their tuxedo. We can also see artists perform on stage or for television audience wearing tuxedo when the part they play or the program as a whole does not call for it. Manny Pacquiao wore a tuxedo during his press conferences for his fight with Oscar De la Hoya, and during his birthday.

Surely, these people know that Barong Tagalog is our national costume. That fact is taught in school during the elementary years.

Why do we wear the costume of other people when we have our own? A barong made of piña designed by one of our country's reputable designers is as expensive as the expensive tuxedo.

We should wear our barong instead of the tuxedo because: 1. barong is suited for our climate; 2. barong is elegant, unique, graceful, and beautiful; 3. wearing barong is an expression of our love for our country and culture; 4. buying barong helps the Philippine barong industry.

Although this practice must not necessarily start with the "important" people, they should lead it.

Let us make it our new year's resolution to wear our barong.

Marian Rivera's alleged pregnancy and Jobert Sucaldito's abuse of power

Marian Rivera replaced Angel Locsin as the soap opera queen when Angel left for ABS-CBN. But it was not easy for Marian who debuted as Marimar in prime time telecast. She had to duck and dodge criticisms thrown against her: that she does not dance as well as Thalia, and that she possesses a plastic, and therefore, insincere smile.

When you think it is over for her, think again. Just yesterday in The Buzz, the ex-girlfriend of his leading man, Ding-dong Dantes, was interviewed by Kuya Boy Abunda. Was Marian the cause of the break-up of Karylle and Ding-dong? Was Ding-dong ever unfaithful to Karylle? And the exclusibo and explosibong tanong was, is Marian pregnant (with the child of Ding-dong)? As if on cue, Karylle just looked at Kuya Boy when asked the last question. She did not say a word, but with the way she looked at Kuya Boy, and the way her body twisted to the side, she did not have to say a word.

First, let me comment on the way Karylle handled the difficult questions: She was calm, dignified, and impressive. She won a fan in me. But I doubt the authenticity of her answer to the last question. I mean, was she really not informed about the questions, at least the last? And if she was informed, was she coached on how to answer or not to answer it? In short, was it not staged?

I do not know. But the way Marian Rivera reacted to that interview makes me think that Marian indeed is pregnant for the simple reason that she is very emotional. Are not pregnant woman emotional, even over sensitive sometimes? That is what I see in the Marian I saw on TV. She was crying when she was supposed to be smiling as part of the promotion of her new movie.

It could be that as an artista, Marian is indeed sensitive. It is a necessity in her chosen profession so that she can empathize with the character she plays on cue. Whatever the reason for her sensitivity, she had it at the wrong place, at the wrong time, at the wrong audience, and for a wrong reason. She could have easily shrugged it off and said, "if indeed I am pregnant, as Karylle would like to impute, you will know soon as my stomach will grow larger," or anything to that effect. Instead, she sobbed that I could not almost understand what she was saying.

Or maybe, she was coached. Marian was coached to sob when asked about the issue to draw sympathy from the people. To make it look that she is a victim of bad publicity by a rival network, and hope that it back fires.

Well, her sobbing did not help her. It had the effect exactly as the opposite as she wants it to have, at least in me.

***

Also in The Buzz yesterday, prior to the question and answer with Karylle, Jennylyn Mercado was a topic. She was shown in a video clip as saying even if Patrick Garcia, the father of her child shed tears of blood, she is not going to show her child to Patrick. Now, the program moved to other issues: that of Baron Giesler, Ruffa Gutierrez... and finally, that of Karylle. Right before the advertisement, after the interview with Karylle was over, the camera focused on Jobert Sucaldito and his co-host Phoemela Baranda. After saying their piece, out of nowhere Jobert addressed Jennylyn Mercado, saying that Jennylyn should rather shut up, or something to that effect. I find it weird, off handed and offensive that Jobert Sucaldito should do that: return to Jennylyn to force his grievance against the actress to the public. The program had moved on, as in fact, the segment was no longer about Jennylyn. His co-host was offended too as he was scolded by Phoemela.

With the way he talked against Jennylyn, it is safe to assume Jobert Sucaldito has a personal grudge against the actress. What Jobert Sucaldito did was an example how people in the media abuse their power. He was a complete turn off. With his antics, he dragged the prestige of the program to the ground.

Reunion Concert, Family Feud, and Miriam

Few months ago, Eraserheads staged a reunion concert in Taguig. As reported in the papers, they were supposed to perform 30 of their songs. After performing 15 songs (or after the first half of the concert), the band however was not able to continue because Ely Buendia, the lead singer, was brought to the hospital to be treated for his heart problem. Ely's sister apologized to the crowd and on the news days afterward, band members assured themselves that their audience understood. With that, maybe they mean the other half of the money paid for by the audience for the songs that were not sang was already forfeited in the their (band's, organizers', whoever) favor.

“ A love one's passing away causes emotional stress. This fact should have been enough reason to postpone the concert. They would have done a favor to Ely and the fans of Eraserheads. In the alternative, considering that Ely had undergone angioplasty surgeries, the foregoing circumstances should have prompted him, his band mates, his loved ones, or the organizers to prohibit him from staying until 3 am on the concert day to set up the sound system. ”

Before I proceed, I would like to make this clarification: I was not in the concert nor did I buy one ticket. Also, that I am a fan of Eraserheads as "With a smile," "El Bimbo," and others used to be my favorite guitar pieces.

Stress was the reason for the cancellation of the other half of the concert and the hospitalization of Ely. According to the reports, Ely's mother's passing away added to the stress Ely was experiencing in connection with the band's rigorous preparations for the concert. Ely must have been so excited for the concert when her mother died. It must have been an emotional roller coaster ride that would turn the stomach inside out.

Concert or no concert, what happened to Ely was very unfortunate. People were glad to hear the news he had recovered. We hoped he continues to get better and keep writing songs for the world to enjoy. However sympathetic I was to Ely's condition, I could not agree with the action the organizers had taken to address the crowd in reaction to what happened. I mean, I do not think apologies served as a balm to heal the crowd's disappointment for the abrupt end of the reunion concert they had so long anticipated and were so excited to participate in. I believe the organizer's should have either refunded one half of the ticket price, or advised the audience to keep their tickets for the concert to be used as a discount "card" for the next concert (of Eraserheads, should there be any in the future, or any band with the same organizers). And of course, the band members should have taken only half of the talent fee they ought to receive. They performed only half of the job, anyway.

I am sure what happened to Ely was not one of his choosing. But I am not sure if that event could not have been avoided. According to an Inquirer report, “He had a slight attack because of stress due to the recent passing of his mother (Lisette Buendia), and their sound check which lasted till 3 a.m. today (Saturday),” said MTV Philippines and Radiohead director for marketing Ronald Esguerra in an interview with INQUIRER.net.

A love one's passing away causes emotional stress. This fact should have been enough reason to postpone the concert. They would have done a favor to Ely and the fans of Eraserheads. In the alternative, considering that Ely had undergone angioplasty surgeries, the foregoing circumstances should have prompted him, his band mates, his loved ones, or the organizers to prohibit him from staying until 3 am on the concert day to set up the sound system. The second explanation is stupid and unprofessional.

***

The game show "Family Feud" aired by GMA 7 right before "24 Oras" would have been a boring show. The game staff asks a set of questions to 100 people before the show. The same questions are asked the contestants who would guess the first five or ten top answers with the corresponding points (I guess based on the number of people who answered the particular answer). The family who earns the highest point wins, of course.

“In one word, Richard was "refreshing" to watch.”

The contestants last night were asked about the things that could be found in a wake, the places where couple who dates for the first time go, and the most common things sold on board the passenger busses. I was not interested about the questions, neither was I interested about the answers. What was so interesting about them, anyway, and about the game show? The host, Richard Gomez. Richard was just having fun, as if he was not hosting at all. He was not at all nervous, giddy nor did he exhibit any body language that set my expectations high. In one word, Richard was "refreshing" to watch. So, I rode along, and before I knew it, the show was over and the Gatmaitan family had won 500,000 pesos.

***

“Not Miriam. She was as articulate as she was angry.”

I loved seeing Miriam Santiago on TV news lashing out against the Chief of Police and the head of the Department of Interior and Local Government. No one among the two officials could explain where such a huge amount of money the wife of Retired Police Comptroller dela Paz was carrying came from. Moreso, the two could not explain why dela Paz himself was not present but was instead represented by his counsel who objected to the power of the Committee on Foreign Relations to conduct the hearing. Indeed, as Santiago highlighted, dela Paz had many times assured the public through the press that he has nothing to hide, and that he would cooperate and be present in the Senate Investigations. Needless to say, he was absent time hearing came.

If people noticed, since this controversy erupted, Government Officials including Secretary Puno and General Versosa, had different versions of the story. This fact is very curious because, as far as I can remember, after the "Hello, Garci!" controversy, officials from the Executive Department had been synchronized. May it be in defense of the president or attacking her critics and opponents, they speak with one voice; and although with different words, they point to the same idea. But now it is different. I wonder if this is intended. People are hanging on to what they say, and as people get confused, they do not care anymore so the issue is forgotten. It is like going into a maze. When a person is tired figuring out the where he comes from, where he is going or where he is, he simply gives up.

Going back to Miriam, what amazed me was that, when she was angry, every one in the hall was still. She was not threatened by the officials in front of her. In fact, it was she who threatened them never to assassinate her character because she would defend it "to death". I had seen Jamby Madrigal angry. But when Jamby was angry, she could almost not speak. Not Miriam. She was as articulate as she was angry.