Kapamilyang may Kapuso

Nung nasa Pinas pa ako nagtratrabaho - madalang pa sa pagsasabi ng tutuo ng mga congressman natin ang manood ako sa local channel. I usually channel surf sa mga palabas sa cable channels pag trip ko manood ng tv. Bakit? Wala lang — minsan kasi feeling ko puro crap lang naman angmga local shows. Yung mga sitcom — walang kwenta ang script. Dinadaan na lang sa physical comedy which I hate. Pare-pareho lang ang kwento ng mga soap and teleserye - for sure may inapi, ampon, naaksidente, nagka-amnesia at sa dulo — makikidnap. Yung mga variety showsnaman kulang sa variety. It’s the same thing over and over again — and they have the nerve to call their show a variety show. Hello!!! Variety - iba-iba. Just call your show - a show - kasi walanaming variety. Rather than mamatay ako sa highblood — mag HBO na lang.. or Star World or even yung Wins channel. Di nyo alam yung Wins channel? It’s a Japanese cable channel. There’s this show sa channel na ito na Pinay yung host and umiikot sya sa mga places sa Japan. It wasa bad show — pero ika nga ni Jessica Zafra — it was sooo bad it was good! Katawa talaga. My favorite is her little backpack na dala nya palagi - a true Pinoy trademark! Di kayo nanonood nito? Well - I am not sure kung palabas pa rin ito ngayon but do check it out.

Opps… naligaw na naman ako. Ok.. focus. Nung bagong dating ako dito sa Land of 70 Kph in KPE - bigla kong namiss ang mga Pinas craps.. este TV shows. Not sure why — siguro kasi wala dito nun that time. Di ba mamimiss mo lang naman pag wala. Anyway — di lang naman ako ang may ganitong feeling — almost everyone share the same sentiment. At dahil tagtuyot kami with anything Pinas related parang red letter day pag may nahihiram kaming vcds ng mga Pelikulang Pinoy. Wala nang pili-pili pa - nood lang ng nood. The internet is also a God-send. Updated din tuloy kami sa kung ano man ang nangyayari dyan sa Pinas.

Then a few years ago — another Good news! TFC in Singapore! Naku, nagbunyi ang mga Pinoy. Parang may dumating na Kapamilya (hehehe.. baduy ng wordplay!) Most pinoys wasted no time in subscribing to the TFC channel. Pagkaraan ng ilang taon - muli na naman naming nakasama saaming bahay ang mga Kapamilya shows. Malilimutan mo na nasa ibang bansa ka pag nanonood ng TFC. Even the shows that I don’t particulary like —- pinapanood ko na rin. Naku — the teleseryes are a big hit. We do try to go home early para malaman kung mawawala na ba ang amnesia ni Jackie? Magkakatulyan ba sina Celine at J.B.? Kailan bubuhusan ng wine ni Lavinia si Dorina? Ano mangyayari kina Bokbok at Poknat? Sino ang pipiliin ni Imang? Naalala ko nga — I was on medical leave the day the Dorina/Lavinia grand concert was shown — and friends are jesting that I was not really sick - baka daw nanonood lang ako nung concert sa Araneta! Hehehe…. Let’s not forget to mention ang Bahay ni Kuya! Di ko pwedeng ipagkaila - sinubaybayan ko ito. I may even have a blog entry.. or two.. or more tungkol sa Bahay ni Kuya. TFC did really make a difference in the Filipino way of life in Singapore. Everyone was happy.

Then another news — parating na rin daw ang Kapuso this Dec 15! Was  the reception as warm as the arrival of the TFC Kapamilya? Hmm.. so far…not really. Networks war in Singapore? Di naman. Sabihin na lang natin dahil sa mga circumstances. TFC arrived first — so may edge nasila agad. Almost all Pinoys are already subscribed to Starhub Cable TV and they only need to pay an additional SGD15 per month for TFC. GMA Pinoy TV also costs around SGD15. Since money do not grow on trees dito sa Singapore (or anywhere else) - halos lahat ay on a budget. CableTV subscription is a luxury — another SGD15+ a month may hurt the pocket. Not to mention that GMA Pinoy TV is being offered by another Telco Provider- Singtel. If you need the recording function ala Tivo That’s another SGD10+ All in all — kailangan gumastos ng around SGD 30 (estimate ko lang naman po ito) monthly just for 1 channel. That’s SGD 360 annually… again just for 1 channel. Di pa dyan kasali ang one time installation fee na SGD 50+ at ang required Singtellandline na may minimum fee of SGD25+ per quarter. To most hardworking OFWs who needs to provide for the entire barangay in the Philippines - medyo mabigat po ito. But hey.. I am not saying walang magsubscribe dito. Even I am thinking of subscribing — pwede rin kasingi-give-up ang ibang bisyo (e.g. malling, emotional purchases, junk foods etc) bilang kapalit ng subscription. Malay natin – mas matipid pa dahil palaging bahay lang enjoying (?) the well crafted (????) GMA shows.

Anyway — it’s still too early to tell if the GMA Pinoy TV will be as successful as the Filipino Channel. However…. one thing’s sure GMA needs to really step-up to capture the Filipino Market here in Singapore who have been full pledged Kapamilyas for years.