The Kapamilya Culture

In my career as a writer/ media person, I have worked at two ABS-CBN subsidiaries: Star Cinema and ABS-CBN Publishing. Since I am a freelance writer, I have been tapped in the past to do short-term projects by the broadcast network's other departments/subsidiaries such as marketing, PR, radio, sports, and SKYcable. 

Through the years I have personally witnessed and experienced the Kapamilya culture. 

Because of my numerous interactions with the company and its people, I believe I can describe what it's like to be part of the Philippines' biggest media company. 

I started at ABS-CBN's Star Cinema right after college, a young graduate who was gung-ho on working in the movies. Back then, Star Cinema was a new film production outfit set to make a mark in the industry dominated by big studios. 

The entire ABS-CBN TV production department was located on one floor, which also housed the private offices of the TV executives. ABS-CBN Talent Center was tiny 16-square meter space that had one desk and a sofa. Star Cinema's own office, located beside the mess hall, was a small room that could fit only four desks. The network had reopened seven years earlier and the exuberant, raring-to-go spirit was very palpable among the people who were there. 

Perhaps one of the benefits of being in a small, growing organization was the accessibility to the company's bosses. A film production assistant  (P.A.) like me could run into Ms. Charo Santos-Concio, then head of TV Production and Star Cinema's Executive Producer, in the corridor and ask her pointblank, "Will you still get me for the next movie?" She eventually did. I stayed as production assistant for two more films and as promotions coordinator for 20 more films.

In my four-year tenure at Star Cinema, I developed my skills in copywriting and promotions work, which laid the foundation for the career I now enjoy as an independent publicist. ABS-CBN's sister company also helped put food on my family's table. Not just through the salary that I took home every two weeks, but through the rice subsidies (one sack of rice) that I received every month.

In 2003, I found myself back at ABS-CBN; this time at its Publishing division. I was lucky to be offered to edit API's (ABS-CBN Publishing Inc.'s) first and only soap opera digest called Teleserye Mag, and then be part of the editorial team of API's lifestyle celebrity glossy, StarStudio Magazine. 

The network had grown magnificently - as epitomized by the impressive 15-story Eugenio Lopez, Jr. (ELJ) Building. Still, access to our bosses, particularly Ma'am Charo (who was then head of ABS-CBN Entertainment) and Ms. Cory Vidanes (who was then head of TV Production), was simply a phone call away. CSC (Ma'am Charo's initials) and CVV (Tita Cory's initials) always had time for our team; they never turned down our interview requests. 

One of my favorite anecdotes about Tita Cory I like telling is how she continued to eat in ABS-CBN's main building cafeteria even when she was already a network executive. To me, Tita Cory's action signified that she, a former production assistant, was one with the rank-and-file. 

The cafeteria in the main building was the venue for monthly forums with then ABS-CBN President and Chairman Mr. Eugenio Lopez III a.k.a. EL III a.k.a. Sir Gabby. Called the "Kapihan with the Chairman," employees and talents were welcome to attend the gathering and air their concerns. Those who had to stay in their respective offices due to work could watch the forum on their computers and send messages since it was aired through the office intranet. 

I have vague recollections of what transpired during these Kapihans. We were always busy at the magazine. But I do remember sending a comment questioning why there were separate lanes at the cafeteria for on-retainer talents and regular employees. Talents like myself, I said, should not be "second-class citizens" in the same company. 

I did not think what I said would make much of a difference. A few days later, our editorial assistant, Manila, reported that the cafeteria lanes had been abolished and talents could line up anywhere we wished. "It's because of the comment you made," she told me. 

I cannot categorically claim credit for that. But what I can say with absolute certainty is that ABS-CBN's leaders -- the executives--do listen to the people under them. 

Around 2008, I resigned from the magazine because there was going to be a reorganization. The new editor-in-chief was bringing his own team. In the process, I was going to be demoted from associate editor to staff writer. My pride was hurt and I emailed my sentiments to one of my bosses. 

To my surprise, she called me on my cellphone and said that the division's head was going to hear me out. I got my audience with the division's head who listened sympathetically to me. I said I didn't want my old job back. I just wanted someone to know what I went through. 

That unfortunate incident is now water under the bridge. Show me a company or organization that does not have politics, intrigue and deficiencies, and I will show you a company that does not exist. Like my late mom had told me — every family has its own dysfunction. Businesses are no different.

But every family has its blessing or grace.

At ABS-CBN, this grace comes in the form of the Lopez Achievement Awards (LAA), an annual competition among the Lopez Group of Companies to which the media company belongs to. LAA is like the holy grail that Lopez companies aspire for. More than the trophies and the jackets that team members of the winning companies get as prizes, it's the honor that brings greater pride. 

For some years, I have helped co-write LAA nomination write-ups for SKYcable, which is a company under ABS-CBN. 

Separate teams would tell me their success stories and best projects and how hard they worked to meet their objectives to bring awe and delight to their customers. Listening to their stories always got me inspired. Anyone who's ever felt disillusioned by big business or lacked a sense of purpose at work will find renewed hope and direction. To the employees of SKY, it is hardly about the bottom line. Instead, it is about being of service. My SKY-subscriber friends who've been assisted by my contacts at SKY can attest that service is a commitment that the cable/internet company takes very seriously.

Without a doubt, ABS-CBN has made a big impact on my professional life and personal life. 

Humility. Openness. Service. These are the legacies of my days as a Kapamilya. 

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Tatak ‘Inang’

Four of my favorite Olivia Lamasan movie scenes

I met writer-director Olivia Lamasan when I was a production assistant at Star Cinema. She was going to make her first film, “Maalaala Mo Kaya (The Movie)” and I was going to be on the production team as one of the PAs (production assistants). The project was given to me on my second year out of college and it was my third full-length movie assignment at Star Cinema. “MMK The Movie” went on to win a Best Actress award for Aiko Melendez at the Manila Film Festival and a Best Supporting award for Chin-Chin Gutierrez at the Gawad Urian. The film about a mother who left her child to a cousin’s care reinforced the brand of MMK, the  longest-running drama anthology in Asia today.

“MMK The Movie” gave me a chance to know Direk Olive who is fondly called Inang in ABS-CBN. The nickname is so apt because she exudes that motherly instinct. She does not have children but she dotes on her nephews and nieces. She is very “maalaga” to the people she works with. When I was PA, she liked treating the staff to chicken barbecue and java rice from Alex III. She is honest and down-to-earth— a natural storyteller. I have a great respect for her because she rose from the ranks. Direk Olive started as a production assistant. In fact, one of her personal stories that remains with me was of how she had to start smoking when she was a PA in order to ward off crew members who would intimidate or bully her. Clearly, this is one woman who means business.

Direk Olive is meticulous. She has a penchant for detail. As head of Star Cinema’s creative department, she likes engaging writers and collaborators in introspective discussions about the plot, storyline, sequence treatment, and especially, the script. She uses the Tagalog verb “hinihimay” to describe this task. The closest English translation of “himay” is “dissect.” But for Filipinos, “himay” usually refers to what we do when we remove the shell of a shrimp or prawn, or when we remove the bones of the fish before eating it.

Maybe the word “himay” captures the kind of attention that Direk Olive gives to her projects. Careful. Bit by bit. Layer by layer. Piece by piece.

Her process is very instinctive, too. Because she is a fan herself, Direk Olive has a sixth sense of what would work in a scene, what would move viewers to anger, kilig and tears. She also has that magical ability to draw out the best from her cast. Aiko and Chin-Chin aren’t the only ones that Direk Olive has helped win awards. Aga Muhlach won an Urian Best Actor trophy for “Sana Maulit Muli.” Sharonians would forever be grateful to Inang for guiding Sharon Cuneta to a grand slam Best Actress win for the film “Madrasta.” 

As far as directing goes, Direk Olive’s method is sometimes unconventional. There's this story that when Direk was working on “Got 2 Believe” with Claudine Barretto and the late Rico Yan, she would ask if Claudine had or was about to have her menstrual period. Direk Olive would try to schedule the filming of highly dramatic scenes during those special days because she knew that Claudine would be very emotional then.

Direk Olive comes to my mind now because some of her films have been digitally restored by ABS-CBN. Two of which, “Got 2 Believe” and “Madrasta,” are among my favorite Inang movies. For me, “Got 2 Believe” and “Madrasta” along with “Minsan Minahal Kita” and the more recent “Starting Over Again” epitomize Direk Olive’s touch: meticulous, moving, and very memorable. Here are my favourite scenes from the four mentioned movies.

ZsaZsa Padilla and Sharon Cuneta’s dinner scene in “Madrasta”

Two years before Hollywood came out with “Stepmom” starring Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts, there was “Madrasta,” a story of a stepmother named Mariel played by Sharon Cuneta. Mariel marries Edward (Christopher de Leon), a man with three children from a previous marriage with Sandra (ZsaZsa). Only the youngest child is warm towards their stepmom. The two older kids (already teenagers) are, to say the least, aloof towards Mariel who tries her darnest to win them and be a good mother to all three. The film is a story of an outsider who is aware of her worth but is also trying to fit in.

When Mariel finds out that the sophisticated Sandra—her husband’s ex—wants to meet her, she tries to win and impress her as well. In the end, Mariel receives a sincere tribute from the person she least expected to appreciate her.

Toni Gonzaga’s wild chase in “Starting Over Again”

Many of the characters in Direk Olive’s films seem to be foolish people. There’s Lino (Piolo Pascual) who risks everything to look for his missing wife in “Milan” and Gerry (Aga Muhlach) of “Sana Maulit Muli” who leaves a thriving career to follow his girlfriend Agnes (Lea Salonga) to the US. There’s also Shirley (Vilma Santos), a green-card holder who willingly goes through an arranged marriage to save an illegal alien in “In My Life.”

Perhaps the most foolish of them all is Jinny (Toni Gonzaga) of “Starting Over Again.” When Jinny realizes that she truly loves her ex-boyfriend Marco (Piolo) who is now with someone else, she does everything to win him back. Jinny’s effort is eloquently and poignantly shown in the part where she, in a short and stylish dress and gladiator heels, repeatedly calls Marco on the cellphone and insists on meeting him on the pretense of submitting a file. Jinny follows the car-driving Marco all over the city via public transportation (bus and MRT) to no avail. Marco is clearly avoiding Jinny whose love for him is obviously greater than her pride and dignity. (How many of us can say that our love is like Jinny's?)

Richard Gomez and Sharon Cuneta’s rendezvous on the Morayta overpass in “Minsan Minahal Kita”

Sharon played a mistress for the first time in her career in “Minsan Minahal Kita.” As Diane, Sharon falls in love with Albert (played by Richard Gomez) who, like her, happens to be in a sad marriage. The conservative Diane resists being a mistress until finally she gives in. One of the best scenes happens when Diane patiently waits for Albert on the Morayta overpass, holding a plastic bag containing a soda drink with a straw on one hand and a paper bag containing food on the other, anxious about whether he would arrive or not. When Diane finally sees Albert, she stammers and offers the food and drink. Albert is overcome with emotion. He doesn’t know whether to ask how she is, take what she offers, or just hug her. In the end, Albert kisses Diane to express how he truly feels.

Claudine Barretto’s confrontation scene with Rico Yan in “Got 2 Believe”

I mention this as the last one because it is my all-time favorite among Inang’s films.

Direk Olive is great at subtlety and creating tension. And this part in “Got 2 Believe” showcases that.

Claudine plays Toni, an unmarried wedding planner who has developed a closeness with Lorenz, a bachelor photographer who seems to prefer being fancy-free. Toni realizes her love for Lorenz and ditches the very eligible aspiring politico that the photographer had set her up with. Unfortunately, Lorenz is in denial about caring for Toni.

One rainy day, she suddenly shows up in his home looking more gorgeous than usual. This is a woman on a mission. Because… 1) Toni braves the rain to seek Lorenz. 2) Unmindful of the weather, she wears a backless top, assymetrical skirt and high heels. 3) Toni makes up a stupid excuse that she wants to return Lorenz’s Pyrex that was the container of the baked mac that he had gifted her. And, 4) She finally asks why he kissed her during a visit to her office a few days before.

Lorenz’s answer might be typical of a macho who tries to keep face but is secretly afraid, while Toni’s poised comeback after the initial shock is the embodiment of grace. Although this is a confrontation scene, no hurtful words are said. Toni could have very well slapped Lorenz but that doesn’t happen either. Still, the pain and confusion are evident in the characters’ facial expressions. 

As I wrap up this piece, I realize that Inang may be more known as a writer but she is even more effective as a director. My fondest wish for Inang is that she gets her due recognition as a director very soon. But knowing Inang, I feel she’s already happy doing what she loves and helping others fulfill their dreams.  

Catch “Got 2 Believe” and other films restored by ABS-CBN at the Reelive Film Festival at Powerplant Cinema from August 26 to September 1, 2015. For the schedule of screenings, check out www.facebook.com/filmrestorationabscbn.

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The Magic of Happy-Ever-After

Note: From 1997 to around 2002, I was reviewing films for The Philippine Star. This was my review of the Star Cinema romantic comedy Got 2 Believe directed by Olivia M. Lamasan that appeared in The Philippine Star (coincidentally!) on March 16, 2002. Here’s the link to that review: http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/154050/magic-happy-ever-after. This is my simple tribute to the late Rico Yan who passed away 12 years ago; he would have been 39 years old last March 14. 

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Don’t look now but Philippine cinema has found a new heroine.

She’s the would-be spinster. Four recent movies had for a female lead a single woman faced with the possibility of spending the rest of her life without a partner.

Sharon Cuneta’s character in Pagdating ng Panahon belonged to a family of spinsters. Jolina Magdangal’s perky persona in Kung Ikaw ay Isang Panaginip was a boyfriend-less gal who fell in love with a handsome face on a billboard. In Ikaw Lamang Hanggang Ngayon, Regine Velasquez played a lonely mail sorter who vented her frustration by carving a message on a park bench. And in Got 2 Believe, Claudine Barretto is an eccentric wedding coordinator who dreams of walking down the aisle very soon.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems we haven’t met this much lonely women in such a short time. If attractive, personable women in movies like Sharon Cuneta, Jolina Magdangal, Regine Velasquez, and Claudine Barretto have difficulty finding Mr. Right, what more the regular-looking women in real life?


But back to Got 2 Believe... The story starts with the tempestuous relationship between Toni (played by Claudine), owner of Ever After Wedding Store, and Lorenz (Rico), wedding photographer. Commitment-phobic Lorenz unwittingly photographs Toni during her awkward wedding moments and has her pictures published in a bridal magazine. A crucial assignment prompts Lorenz to seek Toni’s help.

To appease her, Lorenz offers to find Toni a boyfriend. Toni adamantly turns him down. Even if Toni fears ending up an old maid like her aunts, she isn’t about to overlook the humiliation that Lorenz has caused.

But love conquers all and opposites do attract. The girl who believes in "happily ever after" and the guy who doesn’t believe in "forever" are about to find out they’re perfect for each other.

Got 2 Believe is an entertaining love story. It also tastes as sweet as candy. Cinematography has a kind of glistening quality and in almost all of the scenes, the characters are dressed in pastels like fuchsia, aqua, yellow, mint green and purple, lending a hint of fantasy. The only time the picture turns dark is when Lorenz has dreams that reveal his fears, and later, his realizations.




Vhong Navarro, as Lorenz’s assistant, Rudolf, lights up every scene he’s in with his perfect delivery of dialogue and rib-tickling antics. Carlo Muñoz and Nikki Valdez, who play friends and business partners of Toni, have their memorable comic moments as well. Dominic Ochoa may have played the "na-basted" suitor a hundred times before but his take in Got 2 Believe is his most endearing to date. As Perry, a lawyer, Dominic gives new dimension to the phrase "losing with dignity and grace."




Claudine is admirable for letting down her guard and being very "game." In keeping true to the Toni character, Claudine allowed herself to trip, fall on her knees, be dragged across a bowling alley and cry unabashedly. Rico deserves equal praise for playing the wacky situations very well. But in the dramatic scene where Toni confronts Lorenz at his studio and his expression shifts from vulnerable to detached, that moment was among Rico’s finest.




What do I like best about Got 2 Believe? It’s the key. "Huh? What key?" 


In the film, Toni became close to three men. The first was locked out of the wedding store, Toni’s private sanctum, because he left his key. The second gently handed Toni her key just as he was dropping her off from a date. This guy never got a chance to come in. The third was the only one who easily entered the store and the only one who stubbornly clutched the key, refusing to surrender it to Toni. Symbolically, it was guy no. 3 who held the key to Toni’s heart. Pretty special and clever touch, I should say.

As you leave the theater after watching Got 2 Believe, you’ll feel light and giddy and maybe even hopeful. Worried about spending the rest of your life alone? Well, fear not. As the movie shows, whoever you are, even if you’re getting older and nearing the so-called finish line, thin as a reed or plump with illusions of fitting into a sleeveless gown with a high-slit, o kahit makapal ka pa mag-make up... don’t fret, you’ll find true love. Just believe.

To Hell and Back: The PA Survival Kit

Note: I wrote this article for Agenda Magazine when I was a production assistant at Star Cinema. Thanks to writer Mouse Muñoz for helping me make this article better. While it's been years since I was a production assistant, I can only hope and pray that conditions are better for PAs now. 

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Mike de Leon, director of Kisapmata, Kakabakaba Ka Ba? and Batch ’81, was once asked by a production executive how many PAs he needed for a film project. De Leon answered, “I don’t know how many. I don’t know what they are or what they do.”

Production Assistants or PAs, as they are lovingly called, are those hapless young new graduates who do anything (perhaps virtually everything) on a movie set or television taping set. Their tasks may include finding a seat for the star, coercing bystanders to become spot extras, blocking anybody who might disturb the shoot (a.k.a. “trafficking”), running to wherever to purchase or find last-minute requirements, like for example, trained ants. There isn’t a particular job description. As long as there is something to be done, and it isn’t the problem of the director, production designer, or cameraman, who are you going to call? “Hoy, PA, halika dito!”

There are male and female PAs. However, experience has shown that more females tend to stay on the job. That is not a gender-biased opinion, but merely a statement of a fact. Or one of the greatest mysteries in TV and cinema.

PA-ing is such a difficult job. For anybody who would want to go up the entertainment field’s corporate ladder, he or she would most likely start as a production assistant. Unless you’re such an extremely talented person, then you might be fortunate enough to be given a directorial debut in your 20s, like Steven Spielberg. Mere mortals would need to sweat it out at the bottom rung.

As I’ve said, it’s a very difficult job because of its ambiguous nature. Any bit of unsolicited advice might come in handy to anyone contemplating on venturing into the unknown battlefield. Take it from a three-time movie PA veteran who didn’t know better.

With my fellow PAs Annette, Rizza, Jenny, Monette, JD and artist Gilda at the pictorial of
Christopher de Leon for the movie Madrasta.

Right from the start, inquire about your salary—if you are entitled to one.

Don’t be shy to ask how much you will be getting for a project. Some bosses or producers would state the amount of compensation before a PA starts working. Other would keep mum about money matters. Speak up or forever hold your peace, at least until the end of the project. Some producers are sensitive enough and concede you deserve something for your efforts, even a measly allowance for transportation and food. Face it, PAs are fed scraps. If you want a high-paying job, then don’t plan on being a PA.

Forget your school or where you came from.

Don’t be boastful about being a college graduate, even if you came from a very prestigious university. You don’t need to know Descartes, Calculus, or the five axioms of communication to perform well as a PA. Common sense is the key and not theory. Giving meal stubs to the crew, buying makeup and technical requirements and bringing the footage to the editing studio may seem like menial jobs. But what must be done must be done. And oh, you need enough endurance to ride rickety and rusty service vehicles. So don’t forget your tetanus shots.

Color bars cannot be bought from the grocery.

When I was a PA, I heard of this long-standing joke. TV PAs on their first day will most likely be asked by the technical staff to buy one kilo of color bars. The naïve, innocent person would search markets and grocery stores, search throughout the network to no avail— only to find that the color bars were in front of him all along! Right there on the television screen!

Color bars are those multicolored vertical lines you see before a TV station’s sign-on. You can’t find them in the grocery and you can’t buy them at all. You’ll learn. And the next time they tell you to get some canned laughter, don’t run off to the nearest 7-Eleven. The T.O.C. (Technical Operations Center) is your one-stop shop!

Learn to smoke. If you already know how, develop the astig stance.

Members of the technical crew have a nasty tendency to intimidate newcomers, specifically new PAs. They tease or provoke anyone who might seem a bit weak or defenseless. One determined PA started smoking to look astig and gained the respect of the crew. So help me. Why? I don’t know but a cigarette seems to be a more effective weapon than a Magnum .357. I’m not saying that you should develop a vice, but don’t hide in a corner either. Learn the art of deadma… or take kickboxing lessons!

Forget holidays and weekends. Forget romance.

If you love going out, then you can’t be in movie or TV production. While all your friends are partying, you have to be at some god-forsaken shanty in Payatas, taking note of camera grind and sequences taken. You can’t rest on holidays, either. Some production outfits have been known to schedule shooting on Election Day, Labor Day and Christmas Eve. Thankfully, no one shoots on Good Friday (unless it’s a documentary shoot about the Lenten Season). At least that’s one guaranteed holiday.

Don’t expect to have a love life, too. You’ll be too busy to have time to date, much less meet eligible mates. Settle for someone nice and cute on the set like uh, the tanod in charge of crowd control.

Stars are people, too.

They have moods. They have needs. They have lives, just like you do. And they love shopping. One PA was tasked to call an actress in time for a take. There were no cellphones then so he didn’t know where to find her. He had to look for her inside SM Megamall and he didn’t have a clue where to start. Did he find her? Let’s just say that the shooting had to pack-up. And guess who was blamed and crucified for not being efficient enough?

Other stars need to be pampered. Sometimes they need someone to listen to them ramble on and on, and you the PA, have to say and shall we say, make chika, to keep the artist entertained. Always look interested—even if you heard the star’s story on the news weeks ago.

Never get the director angry.

Directors have artistic temperaments and terrible tempers. Once enraged, get ready to duck! They throw the first thing they get their hands on— a script, a chair, or even the wardrobe mistress. Directors can be clever writers. They drop memorable lines like, “Huwag mauulit ang kapalpakan mo, kung hindi lalabas ka sa set ng walang ulo!”  When that happens, don’t fret. Think of it as part of the job. Remember, you’re supposed to be a master of the art of deadma. (Refer to previous item.)

If the job’s so tough, why would anybody want to be a PA? Life was never easy, especially in show business. I can only surmise that it’s prestige. When the film or TV show is in the can, you have that 15 seconds of fame (not 15 minutes, Andy Warhol never knew what PAs were or what they did, either) when you see your name in the end credits… right beside the guy who managed to find the trained ants.

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