MANILA, Philippines - Kim Atienza?s new show on Channel 2, ?Matanglawin,? showcases his strengths as an adventurer, explorer, non-academic science teacher and defender of the environment.

On a recent Monday-night telecast we watched, Kim took viewers to Mindoro, to introduce them to the wildlife there. Since the province is only a few hours? travel from Manila, this viewer was impressed by the great range of exotic creatures available practically at the urban jungle?s threshold.

Since ?Matanglawin? is telecast very late at night, after ?Bandila,? the people behind the show have their work cut out for them to keep sleepy viewers interested.

To do this, they occasionally throw in ?scary? stuff like poisonous snakes and stuff.

That?s OK, but we like the show more when it doesn?t stress the ?extreme? factor, and dispenses information that?s interesting and valuable in its own right.

Kim?s ?accessible? hosting style also helps a lot to keep viewers interested in the show?s features. It?s similarly clear that he?s deeply committed to making people more appreciative and protective of species whose survival has been endangered by modern man?s wasteful and unenlightened ways.

He?s of particular value in these parts, because quite a large number of the metro?s residents are clueless about how their exploitative practices have been causing irreparable damage to our indigenous flora and fauna.

So, we congratulate ABS-CBN for telecasting ?Matanglawin??and we can only hope and pray that, to enable the show to reach more viewers with its important inputs and attitudinal and behavioral changes, it can be telecast at a more reasonably earlier hour.

In addition, we hope that ?Matanglawin? can concern itself, not just with the welfare of wildlife, but of our urban animals, as well. All you have to do is to walk around the metropolis? highways and byways to see how badly we treat thousands of our pet dogs and cats.

Many of them have been abandoned by their owners to roam the dangerous streets, scavenging for food, in constant danger of being run over, and always exposed to the elements.

Obligation

Clearly, many of us need to be reminded of our obligation to treat our pets humanely?and ?Matanglawin? can do a lot in this regard.

Yes, the problem of abandoned pets isn?t as ?telegenic? as exotic wildlife, but it?s an indictment of our low level of concern and sympathy.

Also much to be deplored are pet owners who don?t abandon their animals, but treat them cruelly by chaining them up the whole day, sometimes in the heat of the Monday sun or the driving rain.

Kim and ?Matanglawin? could come up with a full feature chronicling these cruel attitudes and actuations, to make offenders realize the cruelty or blithe disdain of their ways.

The show could tie up with animal welfare groups, which would only be too happy to help many more people realize the error of their ways. Our urban animal population would be truly grateful!

Feedback

From Betsy Ramos, Television Advocacy Group, Makati Chapter, to QTV 11: ?One Sunday, my kids and I had the opportunity to watch your cartoon lineup from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The cartoons we saw were ?The Power Puff Girls,? ?Captain Flamingo? and ?Heidi.?

?Generally, the kids were quite satisfied with the animation, however, they found some characters not to their liking. My eldest son didn?t like the idea of a pink male hero. My youngest found it confusing, they all agreed that a drama type of cartoon is no fun. And there were other characters that were just plain mean and weird.

?I, on the other hand, found ?Power Puff? too violent. ?Heidi? would occasionally inject values, but it dragged.

?I would also like to point out the inappropriateness of some of the fillers during commercial breaks. Also ill-fitted are the trailers of your telenovelas depicting hiwalay na mag-asawa, romance, and the dating scene.

?Also, (?American Idol? judge) Simon Cowell appears to be giving lessons to our kids in the ?art? of being mean, as he is consistently being shown while giving negative criticism.

?My kids and I may differ in some of our opinions but in this case, I think we had a consensus.?