Private moments with Boy Abunda

Three episodes into E.P.-ing (that is, being executive producer) Private Conversations with Boy Abunda, I thought, "My career is over!"

We were taping a summer special episode with Joyce Jimenez at a hotel in downtown Manila. And you know how it is: when crap hits the fan... it really sprays itself all over the place and, as E.P., you’d better think of the best way to mop up the mess quickly. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong.

One, there were 20 more crew members at the taping than the 25 on our list, probably all eager to see Joyce in swimwear and lingerie. Come lunch time, the food was nowhere within an hour from the hotel. And when it finally arrived, there was not enough food to go around and no budget allocated for extra meals. Any E.P. knows: you never let the crew starve. Jolly meals to the rescue.

Some of the models didn’t arrive on time (there was a short "fashion show" woven into the episode). Oh, and we were told "kaliwaan lang." Nice words to hear when you only have P500 left in your wallet.

We were two hours behind schedule and our director, Arnel Natividad, was concerned about losing light. We were also told that the hotel had a scheduled fire drill that afternoon so we had to hurry if we didn’t want the taping interrupted.

Our set-up was at the poolside. Just as we were about to roll, without warning, tons of water shot up from the street. Millions of pesos worth of equipment were drenched in fireman’s water. I thought: we’re doomed.

But the equipment, miraculously, still worked. The hotel staff was wonderfully helpful. And Joyce Jimenez was stunning. We lost the light but won in the ratings the night we aired the episode.

It’s been more than a year since that shoot. We’ve had guests who threatened to walk out if the other guest she’s to share the couch with didn’t come in 15 minutes. (Another oh-no-we’re-doomed moment.) We’ve had guests so gracious they define the word "lady" like Manay Ichu Maceda. I want to be like her when I grow up.

I’ve seen mismatched couples profess love for each other on the show. I’ve seen some profess deep emotions for show.

I’ve struggled with emotion during taping. (You should’ve been there when Carol Banawa sang The Warrior is A Child for the Rico Yan tribute. She sang so beautifully I was swallowing fast so I wouldn’t cry. Baka isipin ni Direk nasiraan na ng ulo yung E.P. na katabi niya sa control room.)

I’ve seen guests like Celia Rodriguez suppress emotion while recounting the story of her daughter. And some, like John Lapuz, let the tears flow with the words.

I’ve grabbed hold of the console in the control room to keep myself from rolling on the floor with laughter over witty, sometimes, ridiculous "Fast Talk" quips.

Sometimes, you fall in love with a guest for an hour. Imagine, Martin Nievera singing to you, just to you every night, the way he did on Private Conversations last February. Jesus! I had to be satisfied with asking my friends to go on karaoke with me and sing Martin songs.

My personal favorites are the women episodes. The raunchy exchange between Margie Holmes and Vicki Belo, the revelations of Cherie Gil, the lessons of Mitch Valdes. They are women who’ve lived and learned. I listened and took notes. Thanks for the heads-up. Mahirap tumanda ng walang kinatandaan.

And then, of course, there’s Mang Dolphy. Mang Dolphy and Christmas... they naturally go together. He may not look like Santa but his gift of laughter has touched innumerable lives.

Private Conversations is a collaboration of a group of dedicated, but crazy and billiard-loving bunch of people from our Director Arnel Natividad, Gasper Gozo, Dondi Ocampo, Rhobee Pilares, Bel Acosta, Gigi Javier, Russell Santos, Josie Catindig to our technical staff Roy Tullo, Aice Decin and Jonjon Banaag.

But the show will not be what it is if not for Boy Abunda. I have worked with various hosts in my 10 years in television. Boy is a working host. He makes his phone calls. He does his homework. When we had to interview Sec. Mike Defensor, Boy himself called the National Housing Authority union to find out what they had to say about Sec. Defensor. When we scheduled an interview with Secretary Angelo Reyes, he pored over volumes of readings and insisted on still getting briefed minutes before he had to walk into the studio. (The interview, however, had to be re-scheduled at the last minute.)

Private Conversations with Boy Abunda celebrated its third anniversary last March 27. Three years into the show and a year into the job, all my nay-saying have gathered dust.