GMA 7 and the Cebuanos: The ties that bind

The battle royale in Cebu the other weekend between GMA7 and ABS-CBN actually took place on May 1, Sunday.

While it’s true that there were already mall shows being staged by both networks the day before, the actual "fight" (am I making it look like a boxing match?) happened on Sunday when GMA 7 put up live editions of SOP and S-Files in Cebu and on the part of ABS-CBN, live episodes of ASAP and The Buzz.

The ABS-CBN crowd was actually split in two – one at the Ayala Center parking lot and the other at the Plaza Independencia. GMA 7 had only one venue, but it was huge – as in humongous – the biggest in town: The Cebu City Sports Complex, which is the Cebuanos’ ULTRA there.

It was here at the Cebu City Sports Complex where the GMA 7 crowd converged practically the whole of Sunday.

At around 12 noon, after a leisurely lunch at home (they didn’t put me in a hotel, remember?) with my sister Araceli, and her kids Micheline and Mikel Rama and Cebu Vice Mayor Michael Rama and his nephew Councilor Edu Rama, I called up my Startalk executive producer Reylie Manalo to tell her I was ready to proceed to the Cebu City Sports Complex and perform whatever duty was assigned to me. Wait – she told me. SOP was still ongoing and there was a decision from lower management to hold all the stars first at the SOP backstage because the heat was so unbearable – even the Cebuanos who had lived in Cebu all their lives were complaining about how it was so hot that day.

But at 2:30 p.m. – with the heat of the sun still scorching my skin – they let me proceed to the Cebu City Sports Complex and I understood why my executive producer didn’t want me to go there at noontime when the day was at its hottest. The place was open-air. (It was actually the track-and-field area.) Although the individual booths where we were supposed to stay were roofed, the heat could still penetrate in the front and even at the sides. Since it hadn’t rained in a long time (especially in Cebu where it is basically arid), dust was flying in all directions. For me to be able to bear the dust, in fact, I just imagined that I was in the French Open where they play tennis on a ground of clay.

The booth assigned to me was a bit far from the stage area. I was supposed to share it with the hosts of the GMA 7 showbiz talk shows, except that the cast members of S-Files had to get ready for their live episode that afternoon so they couldn’t be there. From Startalk, I was the only representative. (I don’t know why I was the only one sent there. Maybe because I’m the most obedient? He-he-he.)

From the new program Showbiz Stripped (which shot to the Number One position in the ratings game over the weekend), host Ricky Lo couldn’t be there because he had to be in Manila to close our pages for this paper – so who am I to complain?

But Showbiz Stripped co-host Melanie Marquez was there and she is my toughest rival for the most obedient award. (But I have to admit she is far more obedient than I can ever be.) In fact, when I got there, she was already busy giving away autographs to fans who had lined up – some as early as 7 a.m.

When it was my turn to stand in the booth, I started wondering in my head why anyone would want an autograph from me – plus a short dedication scribbled in my Grade One handwriting. (I swear I almost flunked my Writing class when I was in fourth grade.)

But seriously, I felt a pinch in my heart to see the happy faces of the very kind and hospitable Cebuano fans who warmly accepted us and I can never thank them enough for being so nice.

Melanie and I had so much fun interacting with the Cebuanos that we hardly noticed we had been cooped up in that steaming booth for nearly two hours. When our production manager Janine Piad-Nakar and associate producer Agnes Suriaga asked me if there was anything I needed – like food or water, all I asked them to bring me were wipes to scrub off what seemed like three layers of dust off my face and arms.

Although at the end of the day, I could almost swim in my own pool of sweat, the experience of being there with the very nice Cebuanos was worth treasuring.

When Melanie and I left the Cebu City Sports Complex, S-Files was still in full swing and the crowd was still thick. And then I remembered the blood compact between Ferdinand Magellan and Rajah Humabon 500 years ago. No, there was no more cutting of the wrist this time. But clearly there stood a pact between GMA 7 and the people of Cebu – as seen through the huge crowd turnout – signifying the Cebuanos’ continued support of the Kapuso network.