MANILA, Philippines?Charo Santos-Concio sees a woman of extraordinary strength in the ailing former President Corazon Aquino. ?She?s someone I look up to and idolize,? said Concio. ?Having gone through a lot, she knows the true meaning of suffering.?
In a gathering on Tuesday, entertainment writers sought the reaction of Concio, ABS-CBN president and chief operating officer, on the news of Aquino?s deteriorating health. Mrs. Aquino was diagnosed with colon cancer in March 2008.
?I also admire her for being a highly spiritual person,? the network official added. ?She has great compassion. She?s such an inspiration.?
Concio said the lives of people who suffer but rise against the odds make up the stuff that have been featured in ?Maalaala Mo Kaya (MMK),? the TV show she has hosted for 18 years. ?These stories make us reflect and evaluate our own weaknesses. They give us the courage to face our fears, make us feel grateful for what we have,? she pointed out.
She recalled that ?MMK,? the longest-running drama anthology on local television today, started with an idea and a paperclip. ?My bosses challenged me to come up with a good TV show,? she recounted. ?In an impromptu story pitch, I grabbed a paperclip on one of the office desks and said, ?This paperclip may be ordinary to us but it could mean a whole lot to someone else. I suggest that we ask viewers to tell their stories about the most ordinary objects.??
The first episode, Concio recalled, was titled ?Rubber Shoes.? It starred Robert Arevalo as a street-sweeper who struggles to send his son, played by Romnick Sarmenta, to school. ?All the son wanted was to have a new pair of rubber shoes,? Concio said. ?My bosses liked the story and gave me my first break on prime time TV.?
Eighteen years later, she said, ?MMK? continues to touch the hearts of Filipino viewers worldwide. Next month, it celebrates its anniversary with five special episodes.
For the first installment (Aug. 1), Ai Ai delas Alas and Erich Gonzales play mother and daughter who both work as domestic helpers to raise a family of six. Nuel C. Naval directs.
The travails of our war veterans living in the United States will be told in the Aug. 8 episode. It features Noel Trinidad, Nanding Josef, as well as US-based Filipino actors Joji Isla, Prospero Luna, Louella Albornoz and Lucita Soriano. Dado Lomibao directs.
On Aug. 15, Ryan Eigennman and Giselle Toengi play a young migrant couple who experience hardships as they live a new life abroad. The episode is megged by John-D Lazatin.
Princess Punzalan returns on TV on Aug. 22 to portray a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage. The episode, again by Lazatin, also stars Michael de Mesa and Miguel Vera.
Gina Alajar plays Grace, a caregiver working in the United States who befriends Milly, an American. They learn about strength and the essence of family from each other. The episode, to air on Aug. 29, also features young actress Lauren Young as Gina?s daughter.
?MMK,? airs Saturdays at 8 p.m. and has tied up with The Filipino Channel (TFC), ABS-CBN?s international broadcasting arm, to generate more inspiring stories of Pinoys in the US, Dubai, Japan and Canada.
