Bringing memories of home to Pinoys in the Middle East

During Tropa Mo Ko Unli’s show in Abu Dhabi, a woman in the audience cried unabashedly when Ogie Alcasid went down the stage of the Armed Forces Officers Club, sought and hugged her tightly. She did not let go until he finished his song. Later, I asked Ogie who the woman was. â€œHer name is Sally,” he said. â€œShe was a fan way back the Ogie-Manilyn days. In fact, she was one of the officers of our fans club and I was close to her. Then I lost touch with her until I saw her at the show.” It was an emotionally-touching reunion for both the fan and the idol. And the audience felt it that night. 

Pilipinas Global Network Limited (PGNL) — which is a 60-40 joint venture of PLDT and TV5 — took to the road last April 10 to 13 with the wacky cast of the TV5’s weekly gag show Tropa Mo Ko Unli, bringing a storm of laughter and mirth to Kapatids in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in shows that were attended by jam-packed crowds of excited overseas Filipinos, including the Philippine Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Grace Relucio-Princesa.

Bringing the cast and crew of the show to the sands of Arabia is a monumental effort that was all worth it as a grand celebration of TV5’s renewal of its contract with OSN,- the biggest PAY TV platform in the Middle East. With the renewed partnership, TV5 International has significantly moved from a No. 3 position to a very strong No. 2 player in the Middle East region, which is home to over two million overseas Filipinos.

Pilipinas Global Network Limited president and CEO Claro Carmelo Ramirez shared, “In just a matter of three years, TV5 International has now become the strong No. 2 player in the Middle Eastern region, and so we really wanted to celebrate this important milestone with our viewers based there…  Tropa Mo Ko Unli has always been one of our consistent highest-rated programs, we knew that bringing the main cast to Dubai and Abu Dhabi would really make their viewing experience more enjoyable and memorable.”

The Tropa Mo Ko Unli entourage in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi outings really got the crowds howling and cheering in their seats given the signature comedic antics and riotous humor of the “unli-fun” cast led by Ogie Alcasid, Gelli de Belen, Alwyn Uytingco, Tuesday Vargas, Wendell Ramos, Empoy, Ritz Azul, Edgar Allan Guzman, Valeen Montenegro, with special guest Iwa Moto.

Both live shows had the whole audience in a celebratory mood, especially when some of the cast members went off the stage for a number of surprise performances. The female audience could not get their hands off both Wendell Ramos and Edgar Allan, as both hunks serenaded them. Meanwhile, Tuesday Vargas’ infectious personality kept everyone in high spirits as she threw impromptu spiels and jokes with some male audience members. To cap it all off, Ogie treated everyone to a mini-concert by belting out some of his classic and all-time favorite hits.

Friends and relatives of our OFWs, as well as our general public, would have the opportunity to relive those fun-filled moments as the special Arabian Sands summer invasion of Tropa Mo Ko Unli will be aired on TV5 on April 26 at 7:15 p.m. and will continue on May 3 at the same time. 

As for the future of TV5 International, the entire global community beckons. According to Ramirez, “This month, Pilipinas Global Network Limited, or better known as TV5 International, turns three years young. We are now present in Canada and carried by three major cable systems Rogers, Bell and Shaw. Filipinos in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec can now subscribe to our two channels, Kapatid TV5 and Aksyon TV International. PGN International also continues to achieve steady growth in the US with our DTH Satellite and IPTV partnership with Dish Network. The same expansion is also happening in Australia with Fetch TV, Hong Kong with CSL, Guam with NTT Docomo/MCV and across Asia with numerous OTT and Mobile TV partners.”

“We are present in all platforms: Satellite, cable, mobile, IPTV and OTT in all parts of the world,” Ramirez further declared.

And in the Middle Eastern front, the future could not be much more brighter and challenging as TV5 International envisions doing more localized shows for our Kapatids out there. According to Jeffrey Remigio, PGNL first VP-head of operations and content, â€œWe want to really start doing local productions. We really want to localize content. So we’ll start with the region that we’re very strong in like the Middle East where our Pinoy viewers want more sports content, so we’re creating our own.” This was seconded by Pie Basiao, PGNL first VP-head of marketing, who added that the planned sports program “would be a sort of basketball league where we have Pinoy teams per country, so there will be four countries involved eventually — Saudi, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait.” Basiao added that they want to do a team in each country to represent a selection like Gilas of Kuwait, Gilas team of Saudi, etc. “Then we will invite coach Chot (Reyes) and also the PBA stars,” she said.

Indeed, the sky is the limit as far as the Pinoy wanderlust goes; and TV5 will be there alongside, always keeping in step with our kith and brethren abroad as they venture forth into the wide blue yonder.