Basking in the glow of President GMA

While the battle over missing and tampered Certificates of Canvas (COC’s) is raging at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City, as far as Reneboy Facunla (aka Ate Glow) is concerned, the question on who the best candidate is has already been settled.

Ate Glow campaigned and voted for GMA because she is convinced that of all the candidates, GMA has what the country needs right now. But Ate Glow – who has just released her debut album entitled Ate Glow, ‘Noh under Vicor Music – wants to make one thing clear. "I voted for her not because I want to prolong my career, but because I believe in her. Magagaling din naman ang mga kalaban niya, but what the country needs now is continuity."

Her album, Ate Glow, ‘Noh is available in AVCD (audio-video CD) format. The full-length AVCD features six songs from Ate Glow and will show her funny antics in a tete-a-tete similar to a celebrity talk show with guests like Quizzy, Kikiam Defensor and Jolum/Smijjle from Lord of the Charings.

The album has two videos (Track 1 is a video of the album’s launch at the Quizzy Show, while Track 2 is the MTV of the carrier single Step, 1, 2, 3). The six other cuts are all audio tracks: Tatakbo Ako (Bobby Tomas), Step, 1, 2, 3, (Sunny Ilacad), Bubble Gum Dance (Bobby Tomas), Go, Go Glow (Raul Solomon), Tango, Boogie, Cha Cha (Lito Camo) and a revival of Sumayaw, Sumunod, originally popularized by VST & Company and composed by Norman Caraan.

Impersonating the President may seem like second nature to Ate Glow, but the truth is, it’s no laughing matter. "Sobrang hirap at sobrang gastos din," says Ate Glow. "I have to be aware of all her activities, her nuances and her gestures." Ate Glow reads the papers and surfs the Internet regularly for updates on GMA. The rest comes from Ate Glow’s imagination. "Not all my scripts (on GMA) are political. I have one script that talks about Gloria as a cook, another one is about Gloria as a beauty queen. Nanggagaling ’yon sa aking imagination at sa inputs ng aking mga kaibigan," explains Ate Glow.

But Ate Glow makes sure she never crosses that line between entertaining and insulting, especially the person she impersonates, who, in this case, is GMA. She considers this an art and does not take it lightly. In one of her interviews, Ate Glow said, "I don’t intend to make fun of people, I want to entertain my audience, but I don’t make this an excuse to disrespect the characters I play, just to be funny."

That’s why GMA has become such a fan. One time, they met at Malacañang for the Kabataan Laban sa Droga launch. Ate Glow was seated next to GMA, who said: "Oh, you’re here. I always watch you. Pero mas magaganda ang damit at alahas mo sa akin. Baka ma-lifestyle check ka!"

Of course, Ate Glow knows GMA won’t be President forever. This early, Ate Glow is preparing to give her GMA character three more years, after which she plans to go abroad and study. "I’m giving myself three more years, but at the same time, ayokong magsalita ng tapos. Puwede pang magbago ’yon. Basta, whatever happens, nandito pa din ako sa showbiz. There’s always life after impersonation."