A Couch Potato's Verdict on ABS CBN's New Shows - Katorse and Dahil May Isang Ikaw

The TV is still on but nobody's really watching. We're all doing our own different tasks and it seems like we're just waiting for the one great person who would turn the TV off. The TV session started during TV Patrol, then we watched May Bukas Pa and then we never fail to tune in to Tayong Dalawa. It is a good thing that they placed the latter on an earlier timeslot.

I tried watching Jericho Rosales' new soap on ABS CBN, Dahil May Isang Ikaw. The verdict – the actors and the concept itself are old. It is boring to watch. There is no more magic to the Echo-Kristine tandem. The show is wasting lots of good actors because they have chosen to give them roles that they have played many times during the span of their has-beens careers.

Through this soap, the network could have helped the involved actors in the series to boost their careers. But all of them needed something fresh, out of the box concept that will make people interested in tuning in to the show even if they are not die hard fans of these actors. Is it already too late to redeem the show? I don't think so. They can still try to twist the story in a way that it will not rely so much on any loveteam or any pakilig scenes because I don't think that Echo and Tin can still achieve what the Kimerald team-up does best.

As for Erich Gonzales' new show, Katorse, I think that they have chosen the wrong timeslot for it. The theme of this soap is not suitable to be watched by children who are still very much awake and even manipulate the remote control at such time. Here in the house, we no longer let anyone change the channels into either the Kapuso or Kapamilya channel before the news starts to air. Both stations are showing soap operas with too many kissing scenes and adult-related themes that will not fit to be viewed by minors.

I know, people will only insinuate that this is where the Parental Guidance notice should be placed into good use. But there are really the right time for young kids to know about adult-related matters and the right venue. They are watching TV at the time in the afternoon to get entertained. It may be easy to explain why Gu Jun Pyo is kissing Jan Di softly on the lips because of love. But how would you tell them why a 14-year-old girl (who looks 25) chooses to disobey her family and started making out to another teenager? Argh! This should be moved to a later timeslot. Oh, please.

Manny Pacquiao is a Big Business

Sadly, Manny Pacquiao himself doesn't know how to handle it on his own.

He shocked everybody last week when he appeared on ABS CBN to announce his decision to drop Solar Sports and GMA 7 and team up with the Kapamilya channel in airing his fights, including the one with Ricky Hatton on May 2.

Two of GMA 7's top executives as well as Solar Sports representatives immediately flew over to where the Pacman is training to see and talk things out with him. Maybe he saw it and he was talked to, because over the weekend, he is singing a different tune.

Now that Pacman has turned his back on ABS CBN, he has also made sure that he'd ruin the network's reputation by saying that what he said on TV was scripted and it was written by ABS CBN's lawyers. I am counting the days when he would retract such statement to say that it was also scripted and top executives of GMA 7 made him say those words.

He is a good boxer. I don't want to demean his intellectual capacity because I don't know the guy personally. What I see in him is someone who doesn't have pride, someone who doesn't know what integrity and loyalty mean.

He has gone up so high. He needs to be pulled back to remind him that he will not always be on top. He used to be hailed as someone who unites the Filipino people because of his intent to win on his fights. But now we're faced with the truth. For Manny, it's all about the money.

Annabelle Rama's Threats to GMA 7 that Most Kapamilyas are Dreading to Happen

I am not sure about what tactics GMA 7 has been implementing to develop and make their stars famous because obviously, most of their stars remain to be forgettable. This is aside from one, Richard Gutierrez, period. The fact is that GMA's lady exec, Wilma Galvante, is gaining juicier gossips that have been paving the way for people to remember her, but in a negative way. If only those gossips had been attributed to their nameless stars, they would get their chance to be put on a spotlight once and for all and be known to all those who watch TV, and not by a few who live in Mega Manila and happen to have the AGB meter installed on their antennas.

The Dingdong-Marian team-up is just hype. People love the shows that they've been featured on. But people would have same reaction no matter who were the actors playing the roles that these two had played. This can be proven by their flop movie. People won't bother to pay their hard earned money to see these two lousy acting on the big screen. And this is now a stronger claim due to the poor reception and low ratings that their current soap has been getting.

Before GMA 7 could work out what projects should they give these two in the future, they must first force Dingdong and Marian to undergo serious acting workshops. They are not getting any younger. And people have seen enough of their flesh, they are raring to see some serious acting from them (and well, from all GMA talents who were not previously managed by ABS CBN).

I really didn't care about the tirades being exchanged by Anabelle Rama and Wilma Galvante. That is until I heard in the news today that Rama is planning to pull out all her talents from GMA and move them all to ABS. Oh no, is this another Becky Aguila in the making? Until now, I can't force myself to watch Angel Locsin and Valerie Concepcion on TV. And with Rama's plans, and if ever ABS would agree with that, that will definitely be a disaster for most Kapamilya stars, especially those who are still waiting for projects. Most Kapamilya viewers wouldn't like it either. I don't know who this JC is and I don't have plans to know him either. Let him stay with GMA and soon enough, people will forget about him just like the other artists over at the Kapuso fence.

One important realization that came out during the peak of this Anabelle-Galvante word war is that Galvante said that Heart Evangelista was not the reason why Luna Mystica is getting good ratings (in Mega Manila). Galvante said that people love their fantasy series and they would watch it no matter who are included on the cast. In other words, people don't really care about their stars. Here is an excerpt from Ms. Rama's interview on PEP :::

"Parang nakakasakit na sinabi ni Wilma sa nanay ni Heart na kaya nag-number one
ang Luna Mystika dahil inaabangan ng masa ang fantaserye ng GMA. Sabi ng nanay,
'Ibig sabihin, yung pagod ni Heart na pagpapalit ng mukha dahil sa prosthetic,
na-hospital pa, hindi man lang nila na-appreciate? Wala man lang credits?' So,
matutuwa ka ba? Kaya ako nagwawala dahil sa mga alaga ko. Hindi ako nagwawala
dahil naiinis ako."

I don't really care about the people involved in this issue. I just want to express my concerns for ABS CBN who may later get the services of the stars that Ms. Rama is handling. That would be a very unwise move and for sure, most Kapamilyas are dreading for such event to transpire.

Why I Chose Benjamin Button Over Papa Piolo?

I was able to sit through 2 hours and 39 minutes and got to know all the characters and understood the complex story of Brad Pitt's Oscar-nominated film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The story is about a man who ages backwards. The story telling was unique. But if you want to watch it, you must make sure that you've eaten enough or you have snacks with you. It is longer than what I expected it to be.

At times, the story becomes dragging that leaves me thinking, why am I still holding on? Why am I still sitting and watching the film? True to the title, you will become curious as to how his life would end. It was so perfect. He did not even get himself into any big time accidents. And that was something that I find to be the movie's main flaw.

Again, the storytelling was great. It was full of emotions. It was human. This is mainly because of the path that Benjamin's life was leading to, the revelations to the daughter and the emotions of the lover who would later act as a mother to the father of her child. All the characters were given their own spotlights. You will know each of them to the core after finishing the film.

What makes this something to watch out for is the uniqueness of its story. But aside from the acting and the technical aspects of the film, I don't think that this one deserves an Oscar trophy. But for all the efforts that was made to make me understand everything about how it's like to grow young, the money that I spent to see this film was all worth it.

Love Me Again

As much as I want to show my support to Piolo Pascual for his latest movie project under Star Cinema, I can't convince myself to go see this film. I am a certified Piolo fan. But after watching the trailer over and over again at the Kapamilya network, it made two impressions to me. Piolo is handsome. Angel is beautiful.

The focus became more on how would they be able to utilize the locations, Bukidnon in the Philippines and Australia. They used a very used concept and story that has been shown and rehashed not only in films but on soap operas as well. It was obvious that Star Cinema just wanted to give Angel Locsin a project fast, before the former Kapuso talent regrets her decision of jumping over to the Kapamilya fence.

Having two beautiful leads is not enough for a moviegoer to see the film. I don't think that this is a success, no matter how the network may later try to argue such statement. What went wrong? Here are only some of my sentiments.

1. The concept of Lobo, the TV series where the Angel-Piolo tandem first teamed up was too complicated to be fleshed out on TV. This may be the reason why it did not also leave any positive impression to the TV viewing public, whereas, the concept of Love Me Again appears to be so thin to be even made into film.

2. The producers should have experimented more on Angel. She hasn't still proven her bankability in terms of films. And the team-up doesn't have enough following yet. So it was really a bold move to place the two on a very simple concept that would have earned more if it was Piolo and Judy Ann Santos on the screen. Such partnership has legions of fans that are willing to see their idols onscreen even for such a concept as this film.

3. It opened when some of the movies which were part of the Manila Film Fest last year were still showing. I would rather catch up watching Baler (although I did not hehe!), knowing beforehand that at least it won the Best Picture award, than to waste my money on a film that I knew from the teasers I really wouldn't like.

4. Instead of a love story, they could have casted the two on a heavy family drama feature, ala-Tanging Yaman, that people will be interested to watch and rave about even after it was shown. This is the kind of career move that Angel needs badly now, to create a good impression, that ABS CBN, nor Star Cinema have not given her the chance to do as of yet.

In these times when money is so hard to earn, movie producers must give people more than enough reasons to convince them that it will all be worth it to catch their films.

Cristy Fermin is Out, Who’s Next?

The latest development about one of the most hated showbiz host, writer and reporter, Cristy Fermin, is welcome news to all local tsismosos and tsismosas. Ms. Fermin was suspended for two months as anchorperson of DZMM’s Showbiz Mismo and co-host of ABS CBN’s Sunday showbiz-oriented show, The Buzz.

If you have read my previous post, you will know that I am among the happy tsismosas these days because of what happened. Now I think that ABS CBN can focus its attention on giving The Buzz its needed boost by letting Kris Aquino (just a suggestion) grab the mic from the silenced Femin. It will also be of added value if someone who is funny will be included on the show. I wonder why John Lapuz was ever axed from it when he/she is more enjoyable to watch than Joebert Sucaldito. But who is deserving of the spot?

There are fans clamoring for Ogie Diaz’s TV comeback along with his Locomotion gimmick on The Buzz. Ogie has been recently axed on his morning show on ABS CBN, Umagang Kay Ganda, because he had conducted services as a member of the press which was in conflict to his role as a UKG co-host. Well I admit that Diaz is funny and the Locomotion is nakakaloka. But this guy has also gotten himself into trouble with fans because of his biased reporting about celebrities, including the Kapamilya stars. And this is how Cristy started to get herself into the mud. She is biased. She sticks to what she was paid to believe in and will even include innocent children to her expose just to make her statements sound true.

According to the official statement of ABS CBN that I read over Inquirer.net:

“It was deemed that Ms. Fermin did not conduct herself with due regard to social conventions and public morals. Her statements went beyond the bounds of decency as they involved innocent children who are not party to their personal dispute. Ms. Fermin's statements violated the highest standards of professionalism and journalistic integrity.”

This is a good move for ABS CBN to start cleaning up their acts and give people what they want and what they deserve. So who will be next to be voted out? I’d go for Willie Revillame and then Mariel Rodriguez. What a delight TV viewing will be if we will no longer see these kinds of people who fill the boob tubes despite the fact that people want them removed.

What happened to Cristy Fermin must also be an eye-opener for showbiz reporters and showbiz-oriented shows to be responsible with the power they were given as part of the media spectrum. You don’t know the gravity of the effects of the tsismis you bring out for all people to devour to the celebrities involved in those. Stars, despite the glitz and glamour, are also humans. They deserve to be respected and their private lives must stay private.

GOOD SUNDAY TV UNTIL THERE WAS CRISTY FERMIN

Over the weekend, there were triumphant feats on local TV. There was the successful launch of Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson starrer, My Only Hope. The show proved to be a big threat with its attractive visuals, good story and talented leads. I wonder if this is the reason why a GMA 7 starlet who used to be a Kapamilya is hinting that Gerald is courting her and fetches her every day. And the news broke out at a time when the remarkable love team is out of the country for a series of shows. This starlet had already caused a former hit Kapamilya love team to part ways. Will she be able to do it again?

I haven’t heard this starlet say anything about the issue because I don’t watch her shows because I don’t like her. But I have read some write-ups of showbiz reporters under GMA 7’s payroll about the issue. Now, now, GMA 7, if you feel so threatened with the Kimerald team-up, you might as well work your butts out to create stars instead of demolishing the hard-earned careers of good people like Kim and Gerald. Give out groceries or what have you to make sure that people tune in from Unang Hirit to Walang Tulugan. But please, stop the demolition jobs to the Kapamilya stars.

There is really a reason why Judy Ann Santos did not leave ABS CBN despite all the efforts of GMA 7 to acquire her services. But there are still no demolition jobs being set up by GMA 7 to the young superstar. Not yet. They are still courting the actress and giving her what her home studio seems to neglect. Is GMA 7 secretly hoping to get the exclusive rights of Judy Ann’s wedding to Ryan, whenever that will finally happen? I think so. But having observed Juday's, or should I say her manager's love-hate relationship with the Kapamilya network, she might surprise us all by jumping over the bakod one of these days. A piece of advice to Juday, do that only if you want to semi retire from showbiz. See what happened to Jolina Magdangal, she is visible all right, but she fails to shine.

Back to the starlet, a little bird told me that she appeared on the late night comedy show of Joey de Leon at the Kapuso network, Nuts Entertainment, and said that only one guy is courting her at the moment. And that is none other than Deither Ocampo. So it will be better if GMA 7 will watch their own shows to set their facts straight before coming up with issues.
Okay, breathe in, breathe out. Another good thing that happened over the weekend was when Philip Nolasco bagged in the title of being the first champion of the PDA Little Dreamers. Now, now, this child has a lot more potential to be a star than the winner of the PDA adult division, Laarni something who still have to make her presence felt in the industry. But Philip, you must be warned. Once you become a star, GMA 7 might pay some tabloid reporters and create issues linking you with Kapuso starlet. Haha! Spare the child, please.

In between My Only Hope and PDA Little Dreamers, there was The Buzz. So I switched channels because I didn’t want to hear whatever Cristy Fermin would say. But oh well, it has become an item and a bigger issue than the root of all this which was… just to refresh the memories of those who have become lost with all the hullaballoo, the conflict between Gabby Concepcion and his foul-mouthed manager, ex-manager. Gosh, her existence makes Lolit Solis looks like an angel.

So Cristy, in order to get people’s attention, said something that even if it’s true or not, should not be made known to the tsismis-hungered public. My God, tsismosa ako but that is already a private matter that I don’t think people would still want to know, especially from a person who have long kissed her showbiz career goodbye.

I haven’t done the part two of my "Why Do ABS-CBN’s Ratings Keep On Plunging Down." But Cristy Fermin is definitely a big part of that. Why this liar still has a show on a good timeslot, I cannot understand. Does ABS CBN fear Ms. Fermin? That is the only conclusion that I can arrive at. Well, give her a Walang Tulugan rip off. People are talking. People are clamoring for her to be removed from The Buzz. Don’t you read her Pilipino Star Ngayon column? I don’t. But I read the comments’ section. And nobody seems to like her anymore. She has no credibility. And keeping her on the show that caused Ms. Kris Aquino to drop it off is a big mystery, since nobody likes her.

My Only Hope is for Kris to go back on The Buzz and remove Cristy on the face of local TV. And may Philip be given more projects that will make his star shine the brightest.

WHY DO ABS-CBN'S RATINGS KEEP ON PLUNGING DOWN?

I've long wanted to do this. I even wanted to e-mail this to ABS-CBN's bigwigs. Kapal no? =) But the fact is, I am a customer and I want to get what I want. And ABS-CBN is not giving it to me. But do not get me wrong, I happened to switch channels last Sunday because ABS was showing a boxing match of I-don't-really-care who. And God, SOP sucks! They've got no stars. And even the established singers like Ogie and Janno cannot get their notes right. I promise never to watch SOP ever again! And as much as I love to hate ABS-CBN, I cannot transform as a Kapuso either. They are lucky to have good show formats, except for SOP! But star-wise and quality-wise, they still cannot compete with ABS-CBN.

So without further ado, allow me to rant and rant and rant...

Kapamilya ako, but I'm no longer watching most of their shows. I don't know what's gotten on their bigwigs' heads but they are no longer fighting to win. Why do its ratings keep on plunging down when they literally have all the big stars? Here are my thoughts about it.

1. They keep on acquiring 'unwanted' stars. Not because Angel Locsin became the queen of GMA soaps means that the Kapamilya viewers will accept her with open arms. I'd rather see Roxanne Guinoo or Kristine Hermosa on Lobo than the ex-Kapuso star. And the same sentiment also goes to 'kairita' Valerie Concepcion and Cristine Reyes.

Valerie should have been loyal to GMA. The network didn't let her down when she became an unwed teenage mom. As for Cristine, she doesn't have the charisma to be a big star. If ABS wants a sexy star, pick someone from your frozen delight beauties and I'm sure that they'll perform even better than this one.

And oh, is Ara Mina still on ABS? She was on her way down. Gravity seems to keep on pulling her down because of her not-so-nice-to-look-at extremely big boobies. She should have stick with GMA. At least there, they provide work for those who are loyal to them, even though they no longer have the spotlight on them. Just look at the old That's Entertainment stars resurfacing on GMA shows. And other stars like Antonio Aquitania and Wendell Ramos are still active despite the fact that they are maturing and are not as hot as before.

I pity the child star, I think her name used to be Charming when she was on GMA. She was already getting enough exposure. If her manager really cares for her, she should have let the child stay with GMA. She's barely visible now at ABS.

Other stars who should repent and seek GMA's mercy are Long Mejia and Dennis Padilla. They had everything going well for them until they were tempted to jump fences and forgot about gratitude. They were funny. But ABS doesn't have shows to accommodate their talents. I didn't include Dagul here because he still has Going Bulilit. But he could have more had he opted to stay a Kapuso. And Brod Pete could thrive wherever he chooses to. He will shine as a comedian or as a writer whether he's with GMA, ABS, even TV5 or RPN 9 or NBN 4, simply because he is genuinely funny.

And I will not forget to mention Jake Cuenca. This 'yabang' looking guy even became 'Palos' when the then frozen star Jericho Rosales could have done better justice to the role.

The only welcome addition to this roster is Billy Crawford. He shined better when he transferred to ABS. He needed the exposure because he needs to be seen as much as possible by the viewers abroad. And this guy is indeed talented, makes me want to open the TV again whenever he's on.

2. Speaking of freezer, ABS does not care about their talents. If they are no longer bringing in the cash as they used to, the network will freeze their careers until the damage becomes irreparable. And what does this say about them? It is fair enough that they are not the one using the Kapuso tagline because they've got no heart. They don't deserve being called Kapamilya either. What suits them best is Kanegosyo. I pity the stars who have dreamt of becoming big only to be stuck on the rut.

Other worthwhile stars opted to find other gigs at other networks. Kapamilya should have given Charlene Gonzales a better show. People love her. ABS is nuts to let her go so easy.

Sandara Park was brought to stardom by ABS. But the network also brought her to star-doom. This girl was unique in many ways that she could have been given roles where she would excel. But nope, they let her star lose its glow until she decided to go back to her home country. Hopefully, she will become big there that ABS will realize what a gem they had easily let go. Just look at how they are trying to rush deals for the soon to be Hollywood-bound Charice? She was being groomed then by ABS to be frozen. But thanks to YouTube, this young girl's life was changed forever.

Where is Geoff Eigenman? This actor has a lot of potential other than hosting ASAP segments. He is not just given the right roles. No thanks to the surge of the ex-PBB hunky English-speaking stars. They are getting all the attention. John Avila became the dubbed Kapitan Boom. I wonder how they will remedy Will Devaugn's twisted tongue on the next Judy Ann soap. You already have Sam Milby. This guy is really talented so I have no objections with the attention that he is being given. But enough of his likes already. Masakit sa tenga. Sam just became an exception because he sings really well. And who will ever forget the lines, "I never… said… that I-lahv-you."

3. The horrors of Wowowee. This show should have been suspended from the time it caused a lot of deaths. Willie should have been made liable for all those lives. Whatever they say, it is a fact that the pre-taped shows of Wowowee before the incident happened showed Willie encouraging people to keep on coming to the venue. No one even cared to flash updates or caution that it will be safer for other people to stay at home because of the crowd buildup. ABS wanted good TV. And the hoards of people who flocked the venue may be it. They were not prepared that they would become the news itself. And as a sign of respect to all the deaths that was caused by the network's inefficiency, Wowowee should have been cancelled.

4. The horrors of Mariel Rodriguez. She exposed her real self on her PBB stint. She was far too different from what she's projecting on TV. She thinks that the masa and she referred to the Wowowee crowd as mabaho. She thinks that showbiz is baduy. And she curses so much, I don't think she's suitable to be watched by children. But she's still not being dumped by the network on the freezer. If only this is the 'Apprentice,' I'd tell Mariel, 'You're fired.' She will never recover from her blunders. No one will ever forget her real self. And as part of the masa crowd, if she doesn't like us, we don't like her either.

5. The news and current affairs. How do you expect us to keep up with the ever changing hosts and formats of the shows on this department? You started the early morning news/talk show format on Philippine TV. But you don't show any mercy for the likes of Tin-Tin Bersola among so many others being axed on the show without any replacement for the lost job. With these kinds of shows on TV, I think that viewers have to develop certain level of leaning and association with the programs that they choose to watch. It is better to trust old friends in this regard. You'll have better confidence in learning from the shows that have been around for a long time.

And this is what GMA is good at. They don't just cancel a show in this department just because it didn't get the desired rating for a month or so. Look at where "Imbestigador," "I-Witness," "Wish Ko Lang," just to name a few, are now. These shows are still being watched because like the real sense of "Kapamilya," hindi tayo basta iniwan na lang ng mga shows na to. I cannot cite same samples for ABS-CBN. Yeah, TV Patrol has been around for the longest time. But they were not sensitive to its original hosts. The show was transferred to Korina Sanchez, right? Then it was given to the then new-transferee from the other network. I cannot really understand if ABS even knows the meaning of compassion.

The same feeling goes for Magandang Gabi Bayan. It was a good show. It was better than the one with Kuya Kim now where he's really trying hard to be Steve Irwin. Had MGB been retained, it will still dominate the 6PM Saturday timeslot. Yeah, its ratings may fluctuate from time to time. Pero babalik-balikan pa rin yun ng mga tunay na kapamilya. But the damage has been done and it's getting too hard to repair.

(I'll have a part two on this. I still have much more to rant about. And the second part will focus on the drama block.)

to be continued...

GMA 7 AND ABS CBN, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

As time goes by, free TV in the Philippines has gone more toward giving the audience quality programming. But sadly there are only two stations that stand out and are actually being watched by most Filipinos, GMA 7 and ABS CBN.

The Filipinos are not divided by political parties. No one would ask you in the Philippines whether you are a Republican or Democratic. In this nation, the war is geared towards these two giant networks and the people must choose whether they are Kapuso if they root for GMA 7 or Kapamilya if they are all out for ABS CBN.

You can see this fact on Web forums, on street talks or even in the offices and sometimes, families are even divided as to what TV station they prefer. Oh, well, maybe that is one of the reasons why many households here have more than one TV set at their homes.

This is not a laughing matter, though. The ardent fans are becoming more and more personal with the way they hit at whatever stations they most like. They would even research with the ugliest details behind the people running the stations, uncover buried hatchets and even create intrigues just to spark more controversies.

If you think that the two stations would do something to pacify the fans or at least straighten out lies and lay out the facts, well, that's far from what's really happened and is still happening.

GMA 7, because they lack superstars at their fence, was said to propagate dirty write-ups, scandalous intrigues that are mostly not true and the last issue that they were said to be doing was sabotaging the ratings game, paying people to watch their shows, the people that they were able to locate as part of the AGB rating's system data gathering.

While ABS CBN, being the larger network that owns the largest electric company and various cable channels in the country, was rumored to be sabotaging GMA 7's reception in certain cable channels and cutting down on the electricity when a new and exciting program of the other network is about to be aired.

So which is the lesser evil?

As a televiewer, I still watch free TV whenever I want to. But these past few days, the networks' feud over the "tainted" ratings results fill both the stations' gaps, both saying that it is for our own sake that they want to show the truth blah-blah-blah.

As someone who wants to watch their shows, I, for one, don't really care about the so-called "truth." I don't care about the stations per se, but rather, their programs and talents. I hate it when they do dirty tactics just to advance ahead the competition. Quality programming is all I care about them both and if they have issues to be resolved, I don't think that the public should be flooded about it because this would only cause the Kapusos and Kapamilyas to argue and argue more, benefiting the two stations.

Something should be done about this. Someone should act on it. And for GMA 7 and ABS CBN, be responsible enough to stop the ads pertaining to the "search for truth." Both of you should just actually learn from the spidey guy that with great power comes great responsibility.

Come on, giant networks, enough is enough!

PIOLO-SAM-LOLIT GAY ISSUE, UM… AGAIN, WHAT’S THE ISSUE?

I’ve been reading lately, even from a popular local columnist, Rickly Lo, asking what’s the big fuzz over the Sam and Piolo intrigue, why were the latter reacting like the issue is a big deal, and further defending the poor and aggravated party on this story, Lolit Solis, who stands by what she wrote – that she saw the two whispering to each other (in Filipino, “nagbubulungan”).

Lolit Solis, on the other hand, said that it was not herself who placed malice on it but the editor of the paper who wrote the title for the story that contained the word “naglalampungan” (in English, it is showing affection toward each other, but it is really a strong word that when one sees it, there is already a sexual connotation that comes to mind). What a lame excuse! Or is she implying that if the two matinee idols would sue, the editor deserves that more than she does.

Yes, okay, so what’s the big fuss about this whole hullabaloo? It is because Lolit Solis is affiliated with a network that is the fiercest rival of the station where the two stars are involved. Of course, even if Lolit was full of lies, the pro-GMA would defend her to the utmost that they can, as would the pro-Kapamilya for the two artists caught in this controversy.

Why does everybody seem to be on a defensive mode? You know why, had it been someone from ABC 5 or NBN 4 who had made the statement, who would care? But this is Lolit Solis, who is well-known as a GMA artist. It doesn’t matter that she doesn’t have an inch of credibility, she is a Kapuso baby and that is all what counts.

Let us not act innocent as if the poor Lolit Solis is just saying what she believes is true, and asking people why they are responding and so, making a big deal out of this. This is a big deal. Throw the stones at your own network and let the network mend the issues. But once you throw it over the bakod, it becomes a war, especially since Lolit has targeted two of the most bankable stars of the other bakod.

Hmm, I wonder why? Is it because there is really no “sikat” over the station where she works, that even if she sow lies after lies after lies to any “star daw” on her network, no one would care to react?

But whatever, everybody’s benefiting from this, it seems. Piolo Pascual and Sam Milby, despite disputing Lolit’s claims, were also given the favor to promote their shows here and there. And, of course, I bet that Lolit Solis’ showbiz-oriented show and even her column from the tabloid where the issue was first printed were getting the viewers’ attention and readership that was the sole purpose why she has written about it in the first place.

This issue is really a network war more than anything else. I believe that what made this showbiz gossip “big” is to whom it originated from and not really what the issue is about.