Channel surfing confessions of an "uzi"

CEBU, Philippines - I remember the first time I caught The Jerry Springer Show on TV. Two huge African-American woman were fighting and hurling invectives at each other. They were quarreling over a man even if none of them wanted him anymore. I suppose anywhere in the world that just how women roll. 

It was an ugly scene, and I remember thinking, “That’s never going to fly in the Philippines.” I mean, we may love gossip as a people, but I thought we were too much attached to our sense of “kahihihiyan.”

Well, it’s either I thought wrong or the times have really changed. Enter TV5 and host Amy Perez’s Face to Face.

Airing Monday to Friday at 11 am on TV5, Face to Face is patterned after tabloid talk shows in the United States. Think Springer, Phil Donahue, Maury Povich and Ricki Lake, whose shows have been aired here at some point. 

This morning, after eating a relaxed late breakfast, I almost got a heart attack as my cousin’s long-time nanny suddenly squealed and hurried to the sala to switch on the television. “Face to Face na!” she exclaimed, “Maganda ‘yung away ngayon.” The episode featured a husband and his children, who all claimed that their OFW mother had abandoned them for another man. 

Despite my misgivings, I found myself enthralled as the broken family served out portions of a familiar story. Husband said he was a good provider; the only thing that his wife didn’t like about him — which he felt wasn’t a big deal — was that he would drink. Wife said she didn’t abandon her family; in fact, when she was a young wife at 17, her husband left for the province to cavort with another woman, and when he came back, he had no money left and only had that woman’s ring to show for his trip.

It was like watching the neighbors fight, but without the wall or the curtains covering me.

What sets Face to Face apart, however, is that it attempts to create something good out of a whole lot of bad. And by bad, I mean high-pitched heartfelt cussing, punching, shoe-throwing, taunting and insulting. At the end of the day, Amy Perez and her cohorts try to resolve the featured situations.

Face to Face aims to be a televised Barangay Tanod Hall, wherein a complainant brings forward a complaint and a confrontation is held in front of peace-keeping “tanods.” The complainant, by default, is the “puti” side, while the defendant is the “pula” side. This cockfighting jargon is important because Amy will ask the “sawsaweros” and “sawsaweras” to take a vote: “Sa pula or sa puti?”

If the two parties fight, there are two big muscular bouncers to keep the violence at bay. They’re called B1 and B2, which, of course, reminds everyone who already had their senses in the 1990s of Bananas in Pajamas. But that’s not to say they can’t be taken seriously, with their muscles encased in stretch tees. 

Finally, there is the “Trio Tagapayo,” composed of three (four, actually) mainstays who dish who expert legal, pyschological and spiritual advice: Atty. Persida Acosta; Dr. Camille Garcia;  and the two priests who alternate on the panel, Fr. Sonny Merida and Fr. Gerry Tapiador.

This job, in my opinion, is perfect for Amy, who never comes off as patronizing or judgmental. Perhaps her work on the radio and the variety of callers she encountered has trained her to be a patient listener? And perhaps it has also contributed to her ability to hold her poise or, at the very least, stay put, even when a shoe is flying dangerously close to her? 

All that being said, I still have mixed feelings about Face to Face. I don’t know if the Trio Tagapayo is enough to help the complainants, et al., move forward and upward in their lives. I don’t know if Amy’s wrap-up words are enough for Face to Face to bring any edification to its mostly masa viewers.

In an interview, Amy said that the root of most problems brought forward in the show is poverty. One day, she said, Face to Face will be more proactive in helping solve this problem. I don’t know if that can happen, if you look at the trajectory this show is taking.

But maybe I’ll stay around for a while and watch.

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