i was watching this noontime show just today, and this old lady was crying while playing "hep-hep hooray!" with two other players - a 16 year old pinoy aussie, and another old lady. apparently, a family member was on a hospital bed somewhere, suffering from leukemia. eventually, this lady didn't win, and the aussie girl gave in - leaving the other old lady who, after telling everyone that she spent over a month sleeping outside the gates of the TV network, just to get in line every freakin' morning to become one of the studio audiences, won P7500.

***

i have nothing against the show. heck, they could play with the audiences' emotions all they want; but what strikes me is the number of people who actually line up everyday, trying their luck at a shot at windfall gains - bearing the heat and sweat (among other elements) - hoping that the chance to be chosen as a studio contestant would come, and that they'd finally smell the aroma of crisp paperbills on their palms.

that show, as well as others that feature similar scenarios (may they be talent searches, beauty pagents, or what have you), is the picture of the philippine economy, society, and valuation that we have right now. fun for most of the audiences (especially for those who could afford to dance around, waving placards and pieces of paper with every imaginable name of city, state or country in northen america and europe, grinning to their ears, enjoying the tears and the anecdotes of the poor contestant), since they're there just because the "tour" said so (an uncle of mine who went home to the philippines in 2005 saying that the show was a part of the packaged tour their group had).

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shows like this tell us about the state of implementation of government policies, in terms of basic social services, as hospitalization, food, government subsidy to agriculture, and the like. if the government was really putting its best foot forward, the supposed 7.5% increase in GNP wouldn't even be questioned (although it IS questionable, since the computation for the GNP includes exports and imports, and the income of multi-national companies which does not contribute much to local economies, and add the political problems in the US which affects its stock market, eventually strengthening the peso, and so on).

the government has to know what it should prioritize, and not create chaos where it shouldn't (as in the case of the supposed non-existence of a rice shortage which has recently translated into sky-rocketing prices of rice).

i just had to run to the computer shop, and blog.
hey.