Category Archive for: TV

komentaryo

#WandaTeo, the Tulfos, conflict-of-interest: What innocence?

On May 7, the Tulfos and Department of Tourism Secretary Wanda Tulfo Teo announced through Teo’s lawyer Ferdinand Topacio that the Tulfo brothers’ Bitag Media is returning the P60 million pesos they received as payment for DOT ad placements on the show Kilos Pronto — a Tulfo show that is blocktimer on PTV4.

This, after Teo insisted that there was no conflict-of-interest since the DOT’s deal was with PTV4, not Bitag Media. This, after the Tulfo brothers went ballistic online, calling out other media personalities who put into question their sister, and the brothers themselves — because this is basic: if YOU are blocktiming with a network, that network is NOT supposed to give you ads. In fact Bitag Media has to find its own ads in order to pay for whatever blocktiming amount they are paying the network. This set-up, no matter how they spin it? Is highly irregular.

Topacio yesterday “insisted that Teo and her brothers are innocent,” and here I’m going to tell you how that is impossible.  (more…)

komentaryo

Terrible tourism

The Department of Tourism (DoT), under Wanda Tulfo Teo, is a gift that keeps on giving.

We all of course know how Teo tried to deny what she said in an interview on CNN Philippines, where she not only confirmed that the Nickolodeon project would push through in Coron Palawan, she also revealed that she was all for it because she was promised that the corals would not be affected.

Never mind that common sense tells us that any kind of development that will put a floating structure over the waters, or any development on land in fact, would affect the ecology of places like Coron. Never mind that we have seen how developments on land have adversely affected the waters in places like Boracay. Never mind that it only takes a Google search to realize that these planned developments are absolutely nothing to be excited about.

Ah, but Mrs. Teo was excited. Asked about the Nickolodeon project, she said: “They showed us the map.  It’s very big, it’s very big, and they’re also developing that area, in the land area, condos and hotels. It’s very lucky, very nice, it will be a theme park, so many developments.” (CNN Philippines, 1 June)

This was strike one. (more…)

kultura

‘Madam Secretary,’ politics, gender

Once again, Malacañang’s spokespersons had it wrong, commenting on the Madam Secretary episode before they even saw it, putting it into question for whatever it was that they were told it contained: a fictional Philippine President who’s punched in the face by the fictional US Secretary of State, for having made a sexual advance at her.

That image, of a Philippine President, nose bleeding from the punch made the rounds, and of course the President’s propagandists and his spokespersons went on overdrive defending him. But that’s the thing with fiction: you can’t even prove it was President Duterte they were talking about.

In fact, to an extent, it wasn’t at all about him or this fictional President. It’s about how America deals and engages with the Philippines. And that’s always an important conversation to have. (more…)

kultura

Stand against a Dept of Culture

It could be the lack of a real functional communications team, or maybe just the general disinterest in what happens to the cultural sector, but none of President Duterte’s moves so far has been about doing right by culture.

While we might think the downward spiral started with the self-proclamation of Freddie Aguilar as head of the non-existent department of culture, which according to him meant being offered the position of National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) head instead, I tend to see the downward spiral to have begun with the appointment of Liza Diño into the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).

All that I have said about that appointment stands: the mandate and functions of that office are clear, the requirements for an appointee, too. Diño has none of those credentials, and by agreeing to this appointment pretty much pisses on the law that created this office to begin with. (more…)

kultura

Marian’s freedoms*

If there’s anything that’s true about Marian Rivera, it’s that she doesn’t care what we all think: she presents to us what she is, which is probably the closest to a private self we’ve been treated to within the public space that is local popular TV and movie culture. 

And when I speak of Marian’s private self, I mean the one that we don’t usually see of our celebrities, I mean that which is usually deemed unworthy of being made public. But Marian doesn’t seem to care that she doesn’t sound as classy or doesn’t move with as much finesse as the usual female star. 
(more…)