Mike local TV's Dirty Harry

Months before martial law was declared on Sept. 21, 1972, there were already ads on television appealing to the public to treat our tourists well. This was some three decades before now Sen. Richard Gordon launched his Wow Philippines campaign as part of his job as Secretary of Tourism, a position now held by Secretary Ace Durano. That early ‘70s commercial frequently played on primetime even had a jingle and its sales pitch went like this: “Makisama sa bisita... tayo din ang makikinabang.”

While we are generally known to be a hospitable people — and we truly are — there are also some locals who rob and cheat foreigners and the cab drivers at the airports are the most notorious. (The taxi drivers in Japan and Vietnam are so honest — they give you the exact change and don’t even expect to be given tips!)

Today, that is still the scenario — but with a twist: The airport taxi drivers try to fool even their fellow Filipinos.

That was the main story in last Saturday’s edition of GMA 7’s Imbestigador with respected broadcast journalist Mike Enriquez. The show acted on complaints from those victimized by these unscrupulous cabbies who position themselves outside the airport (although it was made clear that they are not endorsed by NAIA management) and refuse to use their meters and ask for a fixed rate (kontrata in the local parlance) instead.

Imbestigador being imbestigador, the show acted on this problem, coordinated with the authorities and caught some of the erring taxi drivers. When apprehended, they reasoned out that they spend on car wash and that gasoline is so expensive, etc. Oh, don’t give me that!

I hope that episode serves as warning to cab drivers not only those stationed at the airports, but all over the metropolis because the kontrata practice had long been rampant in this country and there seems to be no solution to this. Government authorities cannot always be relying on public service programs like Imbestigador because that show also has other cases to solve.

Case No. 2 last Saturday involved a quack doctor who practices medicine when he is not a licensed physician. Scary! Involved here are lives of people and heaven knows how many health conditions further deteriorated under his diagnosis. Thankfully, Imbestigador put a stop to that.

Heart-wrenching was Case No. 3: About a woman who was separated from her daughter and had to ask for Imbestigador’s help to get the child back. It all started when the woman’s former live-in partner borrowed their daughter and after that refused to return the child. It took quite a while before the mother was able to trace the location of her daughter, who had since been passed on to a female relative of the former live-in partner.

The female relative had apparently grown attached to the child (now about three years old), but then the girl rightfully belongs to her biological mother. Again, with Imbestigador’s help, mother and daughter were reunited, but it wasn’t easy. Since the child no longer recognized her mother, it was difficult bringing them together. The girl hit her mother and even pulled her hair. You can just imagine how painful that must have been to the mother. But then, that must have also been traumatic for the child, who was confused given the fact that she is so young.

The road to emotional recovery may be rough for mother and daughter, but Imbestigador had already done its part by getting them back together physically.   

The mother for sure can’t thank the show enough for all the help it extended to her.

Imbestigador’s final segment had something to do with dentures, but I’d spare you from such unappetizing topic (the show still had to report on it because it concerned another one of society’s ills). But it’s enough to say at this point that the show has teeth and the power to correct the wrongdoings of some of the bad elements in this world.

Ariel Rivera’s moment

Ariel Rivera is good as a singer, but I’ve always thought that he is even better as an actor. I first noticed this early in his showbiz career — when he did his first film, Bakit Labis Kitang Mahal with Aga Muhlach and Lea Salonga. It was an entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival and he was the unrivaled winner for Best Supporting Actor. He gives another inspired performance in his latest film, Padre de Pamilya, which is directed by Cesar Buendia.

Set in a small town, Padre de Pamilya casts Ariel as a municipal employee in-charge of giving health and sanitary permits. As father to three children — with one (Isabella de Leon) getting pregnant at a very young age — he is forced by financial circumstances to get corrupted by the system.

Aside from Ariel, Jaclyn Jose, of course, gives another one of her outstanding performances as the wife and mother to their kids. Newcomer Cedric Jose (a Jeffrey Santos look-alike) as their teenage son shows a lot of promise as an actor.

Tessie Tomas is also in the film as the corrupt town mayor. In the beginning, you still wonder why she had to do the role in her Meldita mode, but in time you realize it is a statement and in the end it works because Tessie always delivers good work.

In terms of technical elements, the film is a nightmare, but that is forgivable because of its obvious low budget. But the story more than makes up for the film’s technical deficiencies. The situations are real and current and most impressive is how everything is tied up in the end. It may not be the most ideal ending, but it shows a lot of guts. Very few local films would dare do that and I applaud Padre de Pamilya for it.