Guarding the Guardians

Usapang PBB Teen Edition Plus pa rin. One of the big Plus for this season are the inclusion of the Guardians. Each teen will have one parent or guardian. The teens initially have no idea that the guardians are their “kapitbahay”. I was not initially thrilled of this idea. Isip ko lang – how can the teens be independent (well… independent in Kuya’s dictionary). Isa pa – ano naman ang gagawin nitong mga gurang na to. Pang-gulo lang itong mga to.

Surprisingly – having the guardians inside worked real well. It sort of allowed us to have a glimpse of who our parents are. Madaling maka-relate dahil most of the guardians belong to the same class that we and our parents belong to. Seeing them is like learning what your parents have gone through/have been going through without you knowing about it. Siguro nga – as a parent marami ka talagang dapat ilihim sa mga anak mo to protect them.

Well – aside from this learning and knowing crap —- nakaka-aliw din kasi madalas silang mag-away-away. Yup – the fangs are not on the teens but on the guardians. Hindi pa nakuntento sa fangs — may dagdag pa na claws. Parang nalipat ditto ang mga Black Lobo. Boring naman kung lahat sila ay mabait at nagkakasundo. Kung sa Sesame Street nga may issues – sa PBB house pa kaya.

Dahil sa matatanda na sila – fine—may edad na sila — fixed na ang kanilang mga beliefs. Medyo hirap na rin siguro silang makisama. Syempre nandyan din yung pagkainip at stress. With all these factors – what can you expect. Syempre fireworks. Kevin’s dad – John is such a strong character. Nung una nakakatuwa — pero ngayon – nakakasuya na. He’s loud. He’s arrogant. He has no respect. Josef’s aunt – Anna is another character everyone loves to hate. And I don’t blame them – I hate her as well. She’s controlling, authoritative and all-knowing. Si John laging pumaprimetime! Si Anna mahilig magmaganda! Kaya ayun – lagi sila nag-aaway.

Wala namang issue kung mag-away sila. Maganda nga yun – para may papanoorin tayo. However – the last banggaan between Anna and John is rather disturbing. Josef was with the guardians. Wake up call na si Kuya pero hindi pa rin tumayo si Josef. Ginising sya ni John pero wa-epek…. second wake-up call specifically for Josef…ginising ulit ni John… wa-epek pa rin. Third wake-up call — ayan na – nagsimula na si motor mouth John. Ginising nya ulit si Josef — sabay bigay ng mga panglinis ng glass. Meron pa siyang speech na hindi senyorito si Josef or something to that effect. Pero hindi pa sya dun natapos — he kept on picking on Josef para maligo… pagkatapos maligo.. utos na maglinis ng salamin… utos na mag-hugas ng pinggan. All this with matching dakdak na hindi senyorito si Josef.. mahiya naman dahil yung iba naglilinis etc..etc. Medyo irritable ang Josef pero sumusunod naman. Siguro nung hindi na nakatiis – medyo nangatwiran ang bata. Ayun na – nagsimula na magsisigaw si Tabatsing. With matching “fucking” sa mga sentences. Aiyah. Sumagot na rin ang bata – na don’t fucking raise your voice .. you are not my father. Etc..etc.. Lalong nagalit ang Tabatsoy. Narinig na siguro ni Anna ang commotion kaya lumabas na rin sya.. at pinigil si Josef. Yung ibang guardians ay nakipigil na rin. Pero ayaw paawat si Tabatsing. Walang tigil kasisigaw. Inilabas na nga nung mga male guardians papunta sa Pool … pero bumalik pa rin. And he continued to shout. Dinala na lang ni Anna si Josef papunta sa confession room… pero bago makapasok… may suntok sa pader moment pa muna ang Josef. Si Anna naman –patuloy sa pagpapakalma kay Josef – telling the boy that he needs to calm down.. not say anything.. kasi yun ang gusto ni Tabatsing. Para ma-force evict si Josef at ma-save si Kevin. Whew — good TV right? To rival the Maricris/Bea sagutan! It was riveting. The shouting… the intensity of the anger… I was at the edge of my seat. In this spectacle – one might ask - who won and who lost?

Well – John definitely lost. He was not able to control his anger. He was provoking the kid whose only sin was to oversleep — like most teenagers. He raised his voice with matching “curse words” to someone who is not his son. Actually – kahit ano mang kamalian ni Josef — John has no right to do what he did. He is not Josef’s father. If he had issues with the boy – tell it to Anna… or to Kuya. He has no right to loose his temper as – like Josef – he is also a guest in Kuya’s house. Actually – he’s just the baggage that comes with Kevin ika nga. Josef has more right to be there than him – kasi si Josef ay isang official housemate. He’s just a “plus”. What if someone did the same thing to Kevin? Matutuwa ba siya? Kung nandun ako – when he said “It’s not the Anna Show” – I would have said “It’s not the fucking John show either!”. Buti na lang at wala ako dun!

Anna earned brownie points in this kaguluhan. Kahit hate ko siya – she handled the situation well. She protected Josef. She kept her cool…. well to an extent. Galing din na mabilis siya mag-isip on how to handle Josef. For a few minutes – she reminded us that she may be a bitch — but first and foremost – she’s a mother.

Josef earned points as well. Kung hindi lang itinigil ang botohan — he would have surely won by a mile. Who wouldn’t vote for him – here’s this boy – with this image na pasaway – able to hold his temper for as long as he can. It has sympathy votes written all over it – not that he needs it based on the result of the first eviction votes. Sinagot man nya si John – it does not matter. He was provoked by the big tub of lard. For sure – marami ang nakarelate sa panggigising de gulat ni John kay Josef. At one point in our life – naranasan na nating gisingin sa pamamagitan ng non-stop sermon. And I know you will all agree – it ain’t a nice feeling. Kaya nga siguro nagkaroon ng kasabihan na “Magbiro ka na sa lasing, wag sa bagong gising”. Biro pa yan ha – paano kung instead na Biro — maging si Padre Damaso ito na nagdada-dakdak at nagmumumura. Aiyah. If I was in Josef’s position – kinuha ko yung frying pan na pinapalinis sa akin — at ipinukpok ko sa bunganga ni Damaso! With matching – will you fucking shut your fucking mouth! Again – buti na lang at wala ako dun.

Pero for me – the one who emereged as the winner – is Mang Erning. Gulat kayo no? Unexpected. Bakit? Meron kasi siyang sinabi na para sa akin summarizes all that happened. “Wala ako pakelam kahit magpatayan silang dalawa, ang sa akin lang wag idamay yung bata. Kung ikaw ang magulang tapos makikita mo ginaganun ng ibang tao anak mo, ano mararamdaman mo?”. Di ba? Punong-puno ng wisdom! Simple pero may dating. Just like Mang Erning. Simple lang – pero rock.

I know that this won’t be the last gulo ng mga guardians. Siguro – hangga’t nasa loob sina John at Anna – things will always be interesting. If one of them leaves – malamang magkaroon ng kaunting katahimikan. Yung ibang guardians kasi ay matiisin. They try their best na makisama sa iba at maiwasan ang anumang kaguluhan. The other day – Kuya informed the housemates of the problem between the guardians. And he asked them to find a way to solve this problem. Hmm.. Parang isa itong irony. The guardians are there to guide the teen housemates. But with the way things are happening – parang it’s the other way around. Ano ito – a case of guarding the guardians?

P.S.

My Big Four sa Guardians… Mang Erning for the big win… then Jolas’ father Mang Ike, Alex’s mother… and Nan’s mother My Love. Bakit? Kasi – they have shown that they are guardians through and through… ano man ang mangyari…