My Hero? I did not vote for Efren Peñaflorida!

Charice is in here somewhere, with my special request. 
Published first in my personal blog, i to i, frankahilario
LOS ANGELES - Saturday, 21 November, towards the end of a gala event, “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute,” Cable News Network's anchor Anderson Cooper announces that Filipino Efren Peñaflorida is the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year. Their hero! It's a Filipino who has won over many other deserving CNN heroes in their own countries. No thanks to me.

Efren is the founder of the Dynamic Teen Company (DTC) based in Cavite City near Manila; DTC is a 12-year old doing-the-best-we-can-where-we-are project of a street-children classroom manned by volunteer teenagers pushing carts loaded with books, blackboards, school supplies (Edson C Tandoc Jr, 23 November 2009, newsinfo.inquirer.net), and chairs (ph.news.yahoo.com) - and hearts loaded with faith, hope and love. The greatest of these is love.

Efren won over 9 other 2009 CNN Heroes because he had the highest CNN online votes, that is to say, he was the CNN Hero whose heroism people around the globe were impressed the most. Having read much on the subject, more than 100 Web pages, I see that Efren deserved my vote, but I didn’t give it to him. I'm not apologizing. Listen to my story.

I'm a Filipino. I don't go out of my way to read the news offline or online but I knew about the online voting because I received an email on 4 October from Isa who received it from Fernan asking people to go online and vote for Efren: go visit CNN.com/heroes. Privately, I said No, I will not. On 22 October, I received an email from Yoly who received it from Rosden asking me to do the same (go vote online, not say No in private). Again, I said No, I will not. On 27 October, I received an email from Nitz who received it from Malou pleading, "Please vote Efren Peñaflorida of the Philippines - CNN Hero of the Year." Again, I said No to myself. On 19 November, last day of voting, I received an email from Jun who received it from Nora asking me the same thing. For the last time, I said No, I will not. I can be as stubborn as a mule. The spirit wasn't willing, the flesh was not.

Before the CNN poll deadline, in a conversation, somebody did mention about casting my vote and I said I did appreciate the heroism but not that you needed online votes in order to win an award. Heroism is not a popularity contest, I said. I never liked popularity contests - like I know opinion polls are popularity contests - otherwise, they don't make any business sense at all. I know a little too much about online polls, for instance, that you can vote as many times as you want, and it costs you almost nothing, unlike text votes. Compared to text votes, online votes will save you money and sore fingers from pressing the keys - just click the mouse button, left.

I said the problem with online votes (and text votes) is that somebody wins on personal popularity, not personal merit. I remember only too well that little girl from Cabuyao, Laguna, Charice: she missed winning the 1 million-peso Grand Prize for ABS-CBN’s Little Big Star singing contest because she had the highest voice but not the highest votes, quality vs quantity. They said Charice’s text votes were too small and made a big thing out of it. They made her the saddest little girl in the world, #3 instead of #1. But for Mom Raquel's big heart, they almost killed her little girl Charice's big dream. They saw Little; they didn't see Big; they didn't see Star. Their talent failed them. Folks, let me remind you that talent matters; numbers don’t count!

I was thinking they were trying to make the story of Efren like the story of Charice, talent vs tally. When will they ever learn? Looking at it a little differently, Phil Bolsta says that “Charice’s first big break came on Little Big Star” (charicepempengcoph.multiply.com). Phil, you must mean Charice’s first big heart-break. (See my “Pinoy Cinderella. 1: Sky falls on Little Big Star Charice,” pinoycinderella.blogspot.com). That contest, instead of selection, they made it an election. Counting votes instead of criteria.

So, I did not want anyone to do a Charice, so I didn't give my vote to Efren or didn't do anything closely resembling a click of the mouse. She doesn't know me, but I think Charice would have been pleased.

I'm glad to find out, after all I said and did, that the story of the choosing of Efren differs from that of the choosing of Charice in that, from 9,000 contenders from more than 100 countries (tvnatinto.blogspot.com), the top ten CNN heroes were selected by an eminent CNN Blue Ribbon Panel that included Colin Powell, Whoopi Goldberg, Ted Turner, Shakira, Rosanna Rosado, Mariane Pearl, Malaak Compton-Rock, and Sir Elton John (inboxrobot.com). For many are called, but only a few are chosen to choose.

I must congratulate CNN and its Blue Ribbon Panel. Still, I think that the winning formula for CNN Hero of the Year should have been this:

Total Score = 90% of the panel's vote (for heroism) + 10% of the text votes (for inspiration). A formula for a different kind of genius.

And I'm sure Efren would have been pleased.

On its 3rd year, the media event CNN Hero of the Year this year registered a record number of 2.75 million online votes. Efren won $100,000 as a gift for the work his DTC volunteers love to do (spot.ph). It pays to love your work. That was on top of the $25,000 each of the 10 CNN Heroes got (ph.news.yahoo.com). It pays to be a hero.

I just didn't relish the idea that a candidate for an award for heroism would campaign for online votes. In any case, that a Filipino won is a tribute to Efren “Kuya Ef” Peñaflorida Jr's genius - to me, he who has the heart to help despite the hurt is a genius.

I love what Efren told his audience of about 3,000 at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood in Los Angeles, his brief acceptance speech delivered in a strong, clear voice if choked with emotion, with a happy face, and with Mariah Carey singing in the background "A Hero Lies In You" (I chanced on the YouTube embed by reynaelena.com) (my transcription):

Our planet is filled with heroes, young and old, rich and poor, men, women of different colors, shapes and sizes. We are one great tapestry.

Each person has a hidden hero within. You just have to look inside you, and search it in your heart, and be the hero to the next one in need.

So, to each and every person inside this theatre, and (to) those who are watching at home, the hero in you is waiting to be unleashed.

Serve. Serve well. Serve others above yourself. And be happy to serve.

As I always tell my co-volunteers, the Dynamic Teen Company and Club 8586 Incorporated, you are the change that you dream, as I am the change that I dream, and collectively we are the change that this world needs to be. Mabuhay!

Club 8586 had nominated Efren for the CNN Heroes award. Thank you CNN, and thank you Club 8586.

Did you notice Efren said planet? We are not alone. We are never alone. We need to change the whole planet. We need to change all of us. A climate change of behavior is what we need to move this country forward, to move the world forward.

Efren is talking from experience. A paradigm shift was what he had when he was a young boy. Bullied and beaten enough by kid-gangers, he wanted revenge. "I wanted to settle scores with the bullies," he says (Jose, caviteforum.com). "But I realized I could turn a bad experience into something positive." That's using your head. In contrast, in the Philippine mass media and in the streets, for a thousand days, because some boys can't be Boy Scouts and simply be preparing instead of be despairing, those boys have been vociferously calling for burning the house to get rid of a mouse. That's using your mouth.

They talk their talk, they walk their walk. Those boys never heard of charity? Efren grew up in Caridad, Cavite City (filipino.biz.ph). Caridad, Spanish for charity. In those years, he lived a life of one deserving charity, in the slums, selling corn on the streets, exposed to “drugs, violence and hopelessness.” But he had pluck, so he survived intact.

Efren became a member of Club 8586, a youth club in Cavite. His pastor mentor saw the good inside him and encouraged him to do something good for others and help stop the gang wars and frat feuds in their midst - and to save his own soul. His mentor inspired him to change his perspective (asianjournal.com). DTC joined the Club in volunteer work and outreach programs for prisoners. "For I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink. I was hungry, and you gave me to eat. I was a prisoner and you visited me." As a result, he says, “Our eyes were opened to reality, how kids who aren’t properly guided grow up to be criminals rotting in jail cells or ending up at the cemetery.”

Then at 16, in 1997, with his mentor's advice he started the DTC as a friendship club at the Cavite National High School, to lure students away from grim gangs and frazzled frats. “Gang members are groomed in the slums as early as 9 years old,” he says (edition.cnn.com). From firsthand, he knew that trouble is the hobgoblin of idle minds.

Starting with only 20 volunteers, the DTC now has 2,000 members (ph.news.yahoo.com). The volunteers teach English, Math and Science (thepoc.net). The DTC now do Balik Eskwela (Back to School), an annual event when they distribute free school supplies to poor children; they also hold medical missions in Cavite. They raise funds for their own work by making and selling crafts, and collecting and selling old newspapers and bottles (spot.ph) to recycle (edition.cnn.com).

With their carts as classrooms, they recreate for children 2 to 14 years old a school setting in odd locations such as a cemetery and garbage dump (edition.cnn.com). Ah, that's metaphor come alive: as a teacher, I love it! Art imitating life.

Now 28, Efren has been through Purgatory. In high school, gang acts were rampant; the gangs terrorized the students, vandalized the school and inducted members by forcing them to rape young girls, he says (edition.cnn.com). When he was in fourth year high school, the bullies started throwing rocks at those who refused to join their gangs (asianjournal.com). He refused to be corrupted. He remembers a confrontation with a gang leader who wanted him to become one of them. He did not. He was 16; after that, he had the insight to “divert teenagers like us to be productive” instead of destructive. Through the DTC, Efren has since been mentoring former gang members, addicts and dropouts, “seeing potential where others see problems.”

Personally, I know doing good is hard; doing bad is easy. It happens to the best! From hopelessness to hope back to hopelessness, the DTC volunteers themselves had their own epiphanies. In fact, there was a time when “We came to a point where we almost gave up,” Efren says of the DTC (asianjournal.com). It was his Club 8586 mentor who kept encouraging him: “Why would you be ashamed of doing something you know is right?”

We all need some mentoring and some sponsoring. With the help of Club 8586, Efren had finished high school; with the help of World Vision, he had gone on and finished college (caviteforum.com). He has an Associate Diploma in Computer Technology from San Sebastian College and a Bachelor’s degree in Education from the Cavite State University (spot.ph). Like me, a teacher.

My hero!

"What I'm doing is paying it forward," Efren Peñaflorida tells Anderson Cooper (ac360.blogs.cnn.com) on 6 October BC (Before CNN). Without friends, without sponsors, and without mentors:

Without them, I probably wouldn't be the person I am today. They supported my educational needs. They also gave me more than an education. They helped me start DTC and give other kids just like me an education too.

He had the idea of documenting his group "at work" one Saturday and uploaded that video on YouTube (asianjournal.com). That’s when things started to change for much better. The video caught the world’s attention, and Oprah’s Angel Network featured it in its website. In December 2008, CNN got wind of Efren and his group and got in touch with them, even suggesting that they submit their story for the CNN Hero of the Year award. As they say, the rest is history.

That proves that history repeats itself - it celebrates heroes when it discovers them. And it repeats the discovery of 2 other Pinoys, Charice and Arnel Pineda via YouTube. I'm glad that even if many Pinoys don't discover other Pinoys in their hearts, they are being discovered on YouTube.

It’s not original, Efren says of their approach. But he is the one who has given it the prestige that it deserves. Looking at it all with the eyes of a teacher (and a Civil Service eligibility, Professional Level), with Efren's Hero of the Year award, I see a revolution in education: No more classrooms! It is a sad reality that we have turned those 4 walls into a deified place. 4 walls do a prison make. Mr Secretary of Education Jesli Lapus, get me out of here!

We don't need the classroom to teach well. We just need teachers who teach well no matter where they are who they are. We have to teach the learner, but first of all the teacher.

Think of the implications to Philippine education - no more 4-walled classrooms, hard seats and stiff-necked teachers! No walls to build. No more boring classes in the ordinary sense. “If there’s one thing Efren has taught us, it’s that sometimes we need to think out of the box (or out of the classroom) to make great things possible” (Bangon Pinoy, circles.globe.com.ph). I think so too.

Perhaps all education should be out in the country. And all lessons out of the box. Here's one of those learning situations:

Efren is the first Filipino to be nominated to the award, and the first Filipino to win the top prize, breaking the record twice. That was incredible! Did you watch the replay of the announcement and speech at the Kodak Theatre? I did. When his name was announced as the CNN Hero of the Year, cheers erupted from the audience. Applause. As he rose to receive the honor, the audience stood up in ovation. A bear hug from his seatmate, a firm handshake from somebody else.

Prolonged applause. Next scene, near the stage, he stooped to pick up something that had fallen off. It was a tiny Philippine flag. He then proceeded to the stage as he stuck back the flag into his CNN trophy as one of the 10 CNN Heroes. (Now read his short acceptance speech again.) What did the falling of the Philippine flag mean? To me, it signified only one thing:

We need more heroes to put this country back together again!

So, here’s a Special Request from this Chaster: Somebody please ask little girl Charice to make a big recording of "A Hero Lies In You" in honor of Efren Peñaflorida and his volunteers. In honor of us all.

Notice how Efren delivers his little speech? Remember, he’s a teacher. He has memorized the text. Nevertheless, it’s a well-crafted acceptance speech, and he delivers well. He’s not only a good teacher; he’s a good writer too. You can’t be a good speaker if you’re not a good writer first of all.

And he has the heart. Is he the spirit of volunteerism? Yes. Volunteerism for education. Education is key, he believes. He started his Pushcart Revolution (my term) and brought them to poor children “to bring education … as an alternative to gang membership” (ph.news.yahoo.com). An alternative to ignorance.

The DTC started with him as the first volunteer. Since 1997, some 10,000 volunteers have taught more than 1,500 street children. The program is K4: Kariton Klasrum, Klinik at Kantin (thenewstoday.info). I translate that as C4: Classroom in a Cart, Clinic and Canteen. An easy story to tell, even a delight.

But first, he had to become fruitful before he could multiply. That wasn’t easy. He had to conquer his hopelessness himself, believe in God, first of all believe in himself. You see hope neither in the corn ears you sell, nor in a cart you push, nor in the books you share - rather, you see it in yourself. But you can be blind.

“We should all start the change from within,” Efren says (asianjournal.com). “All of us, we should open our minds and hearts to accommodate the needs of the less fortunate and release the hero within. We are all capable of contributing to our community and to our country.” Are you having fun yet?

In 2007, his group launched the “We Are The Change” campaign “to inspire people to be the catalyst for change - in what they want to see in their home, community and the world we live in. For they believe that real change happens when we begin to touch one soul and change one heart at a time” (dynamicteencompany.org). The first heart you have to touch? Yours.

His name is from the Spanish Efren (Efrain), meaning fruitful; Peñaflorida from peña rock, florida flowery. So I say, “He is the rock that flowered and became fruitful,” transformed from a rock to a handsome place. This is the slum boy who saw no hope in the slums, but was otherwise inspired and took the journey out, and has been convincing others to take the first step out in a thousand-mile journey. It wasn’t easy for him; it isn’t easy now - but where’s the challenge if it were?

Efren says he will continue those weekly (Saturday) lessons and “hopes that it will encourage other people to lend time to help others in need” (goodnewspilipinas.com). To help others before, during and after need.

And lest we forget, or ignore, or fail to recognize, Efren "Kuya Ef" Peñaflorida Jr reminded us all on 24 October, a month before the CNN Heroes award (tvnatinto.blogspot.com):

This is not about me. If the people vote for me, they are actually voting for the poor kids DTC is teaching and the dedicated volunteers behind this work.

In fact, it's not about them either. It's about us.

Internet Charice. Can't beat her? Join her!

Manny Pacquiao does the Internet. If you don't do the Internet and you're Filipino, young or old, green or gray, you're missing out on the 2nd national treasure of the Philippines. She's probably on the Internet right now.

When The Oprah Winfrey Show first guested her on 12 May 2008, after Charice wowed the audience, including the host herself, Oprah asked where her big voice was coming from, and she said her Mom Raquel taught her some techniques in singing. Mom had been a vocalist for a band. It came naturally that she would fine-tune her daughter's musical ability. So the voice is either coming from the diaphragm, chest, or head. With practice, it would come out clear as a bell.

'Head voice' was the term Charice used. Now, I didn't know that. What else don't I know about music? I don't know how to read notes. I play it by ear, so I can sing, but I don't know how to keep in tune, or in time. Well, having been listening to her and reading more and more about her in the Internet, I'm just happy to know Charice has music coming out of her ears. And all that jazz.

She doesn't do false voice? Well, somebody else does, if only in name: FalseVoice. And Charice owes the national and international entertainment worlds to him, who is Dave Dueñas in real life. The Latin for false voice is falsetto. Webster's Online Dictionary says falsetto is synonymous with, among other things, dummy. I like dummy. Reminds me of some people who have had nothing nice to say about Charice.

I'd be a dummy if I didn't tell you FalseVoice was no dummy when he uploaded to YouTube Charice singing 'I Will Always Love You' in that late, lamented local contest called Little Big Star with a big prize: 1 million pesos - well, 1 million is 1 million. He is a music lover, and he probably watches YouTube like I'm at my desktop PC the whole day and sometimes the whole night. In his interview - where I got many a piece of information about FalseVoice in relation to Charice - with Phil Bolsta ('Charice - My Interview With FalseVoice,' bolstablog.wordpress.com), he said when he was relatively new at YouTube, he noticed that YouTube's 'Most Viewed' section was the 28 June 2006 audition for America's Got Talent by Bianca Ryan who sang 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going' by Jennifer Holliday (YouTube.com). In that video, David Hasselhoff was one of the judges, and he told Bianca after her singing, 'You've got class.' She did. In fact, Bianca eventually was declared winner of the contest on 17 August 2006.

Given that, Pinoy FalseVoice just felt in his guts that a young Filipina singer was not only class; she was first class: Charmaine Clarice 'Charice' Relucio Pempengco of Cabuyao, Laguna. He would upload her video singing 'I Will Always Love You,' that which she performed in Little Big Star, the ABS-CBN TV singing talent search. With that video post, Charice didn't rise to Internet stardom, as FalseVoice would have wanted. This Pinay's got talent, but that's not a guarantee for being noticed, being successful, especially being internationally successful, and especially being an international singing sensation. Even with talent, you have to try harder. Sometimes you even have to blow your own horn.

A minor disappointment. If you don't mind the mixed metaphor, FalseVoice had to cultivate his Charice video with his time, money and effort. Eventually, that video got noticed. Just a little bit. Not yet a Wow. Then he posted 'Face Off: Bianca vs Charice,' with Bianca singing 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going' and Charice singing 'I Will Always Love You.' Amgirl versus Pinay, city mouse vs town mouse. That was an instant winner; it generated more than 1 million hits. Then his YouTube channel was deleted 4 January 2008. Mama mia! Then he set up a second YouTube channel, featuring Charice again. That generated 2 million hits. Wow! And then that channel too was deleted. Mama mia! Then he set up a third YouTube channel, featuring Charice, who else? That has so far generated 2.5 million hits. That's a Wow! 'Because of FalseVoice,' Charice says, 'I gained back my confidence in singing.' I'm glad some people don't know when to stop even when they're losing. If you cannot undelete, you start all over again. I'm glad FalseVoice didn't lose his confidence in himself. I'm glad he was marching to the beat of his own drum.

In that interview, FalseVoice tells Phil Bolsta:

I believed in her talent. After her stint in Little Big Star, she was suddenly left out and gone. That kind of talent is rare and should not be forgotten. Also, I wanted people all over the world to know that we exist and that we have great talents in our country.

Coming from a Filipino, that's a Wow! In Little Big Star, she came in only 2nd runner-up. That's worth another Wow: The biggest television network in the Philippines, ABS-CBN didn't see the biggest fish in its biggest pond! This is the biggest one that got away. I can assure you this fish was no dummy!

Then, Ten Songs Productions, a music publishing company in Sweden, happened to watch FalseVoice's Face Off, were thunderstruck, and they contacted Charice, flew her to Stockholm to record 7 songs for demos. Demos. They would be looking for a record label to launch Charice into international stardom? Sorry, but they were caught sleeping for 4 months. They didn't call the tunes.

Nobody but they knew that. While waiting for Ten Songs, Charice and Mom Raquel went to Quiapo Church to pray their heart out. Meanwhile, FalseVoice uploaded Charice wearing what looked like pajamas singing 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going.' 4 months after Quiapo, while the Ten Songs people were counting sheep instead of songs, Charice's pajama song became a smash hit at the popular UCC, Korea's YouTube, and the Koreans invited Charice to perform on Star King, a big talent show, 13 October 2007. She sang again 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going' and went to performing heaven while the young ones at Star King went wild.

The wild, wild youth in that Star King episode caught the eye of Ellen DeGeneres, and she personally called and invited Charice to her show, a million miles away, and she went, sang, and made Ellen cry; and she touched the audience so much they gave her a standing ovation. She was touched; she cried. That was her first standing ovation ever in her young career. This was New York, baby.

Then Oprah guested her on her own show, and Charice made Oprah cry out loud, 'That was fantastic! Wow, wow, wow!' and so on and so forth. The most talented girl in the world with a show was congratulating the most talented girl in the world with a voice. It was a match made in heaven.

From Chicago, Charice flew directly to London as guest in The Paul O'Grady Show, and she received the first standing ovation in that show's history. Paul said, 'That was brilliant.' In fact, that was fantastic.

She guested in Oprah's show again later on 09 September 2008 and Oprah made one of her dreams come true: Celine Dion, one of her idols, called from Washington via satellite and video and personally invited Charice to sing a duet with her at Madison Square Garden. Again, the Big Apple, baby. Oprah had earlier made a dream come true for her: a duet with Andrea Bocelli in his hometown of Tuscany, Italy. Dreams come true if you've got talent, if you wish hard enough, if you don't give up, if you keep yourself fit as a fiddle.

The Philippines' got talent, even if many Filipinos don't know it, or refuse to acknowledge it. Judge for yourself. If you want the face-off, click here: 'Bianca Ryan vs Charice Pempengco on Ellen DeGeneres Show,' both as Ellen's guests, with Bianca singing 0n 24 September 2006 and Charice singing 20 December 2007 the exact same song, 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going' (YouTube.com). That video now has 3,530,720 views, uploaded by Rnulfo. Be careful now: if you don't have the goose bumps, you'll cry. Unless you're a dummy.

'That chills!' Ellen says in her show after watching a replay of Charice singing her second song in the previous day's episode, 'I Will Always Love You.' That thrills!

And you know the rest of the story: Charice went on to guest on Oprah, with David Foster as friend. 'You were smitten,' said David to Oprah. She was. Now David is her mentor and Oprah is her fairy godmother and much of the listening world is at her feet - I mean both Charice and Oprah. We owe Oprah what has become of Charice, after Oprah recognized that she was The Most Talented Girl in the World and waved her magic wand to make Charice's dreams come true in a big way. With Oprah, you can have 3 big wishes, and 4 will come true. You will not be wishing in the dark.

And the unlucky, hibernating Ten Songs? They have turned out to be lucky after all. They have 7 songs that now belong to history. A treasure from the Internet, courtesy of Charice from the Philippines. You've got talent, Ten Songs!

I have written about Charice myself; note my dedicated blog, 'Pinoy Cinderella,' blogspot.com). And why do I call her Cinderella? Read my blog! I hope it strikes a chord in you.

So, what does that all mean: That Charice was made famous by the Internet? Yes. But that would not have happened without the big help of FalseVoice. And without her big talent. And without the big, powerful voice of Oprah.

And you know what? The Internet continues to follow Charice wherever she goes. Literally. In an interview with Boy Abunda at The Buzz ('True Confessions'), she says her contract has a rider in the States that whoever gets her to perform must provide her 3 things: Internet, fruits, water. 'Charice has a rider already,' Boy Abunda says. 'I'm happy with that,' she says. She's a loner; she does the Internet to keep her in touch with the world out there. Fruits for energy. (I remember a family friend of ours, Papa Buddy Lacuna, a pilot, who told us that for pilots, for breakfast they take fruit juice, to keep them alert.) She tells Boy Abunda in another interview that she drinks lots of water, never cold, to keep her voice. She does the Internet to keep her company.

Charice has the voice that not only her mother could love at first note, when she was 4 years old. Her auntie was agog herself, and she was the other vocalist in the band. Charice has the voice that people in countries other than the Philippines learned to love much through the Internet before we Filipinos ever did. Either we don't give much credit to the Internet, or we don't give much credit to our fellow Filipinos, or both. Folks, you can't beat the Internet; come on in, the water's fine!

In The Buzz interview, Boy Abunda asks Charice what she now wants to say to those who had thrown at her face the insult that she wasn't pretty and the affront that her career wasn't going anywhere because she didn't have talent. Charice says, kindly, 'Hello po,' and smiles. Music to my ears. Hello Ma'am, Hello Sir. You see her smiles all over the Internet these days. Music hath charm that soothes the savage breast. Does that ring a bell?

In the photo above, which I cropped from the poster for her first Philippine solo concert the past 27 June this year, at the top you will find these words:

Smart and HP present ...

She's a Smart girl, on and off the Internet. HP should know; I know she has a Macbook and a Mac desktop. (Smart has the wireless Internet I love; HP has the laptop I have.) She keeps in touch with the world. With her brother Carl's and her mother's love and their faith in God, Charice has been as wildly successful as her detractors have been wildly wrong about her. To educate themselves, those vulgarians should do the Internet more. Or have a jam session, face the music and change their tune.

In the meantime, I want to tell them: You can't stop the music. Be music to somebody's ears instead. If you can't beat her, join her!

Full, Full, Full!

'Full, full, full!' was what Oprah famously said of Charice's first and amazing performance in her TV show, 'Oprah,' aired 12 May 2008, when the young Filipina was 16 years old, when the bigger world began taking notice of the extreme singing performer she was, is. Oprah was awe-struck; so was the rest of the world, as far we know. Charice is the little girl with the whole, huge, divine singing voice the world has hardly ever known or heard before. Or since.

Inspired by Charice's story, let me tell you another 'full, full, full' extreme story, from the Philippines. This one is about a Filipino multi-millionaire, Juanito Dela Cruz, who had 13 highly successful companies, the most successful of them being the one that manufactured Japanese zippers; he was shipping out of the country 13 million zippers every month. He loved zippers because they always suggested to him possibilities that were open. He had forgiven the Japanese for their World War II sins. He was very creative, his mind always searching for open doors, if not open windows. That's why he had 13 incredibly successful companies: chain of bookstores, fruit juices, telephone, cell phones, wireless Internet, personal computers & peripherals, chain of fast food restaurants, real estate, middle-income houses, toothpaste, shoes, chain of department stores, and zippers.

He was prolific in another way too. He had three sons: Arsenio, Bernard, and Chris. Triplets. He also had 2 other sons and 8 daughters. 13 children, 1 wife, no adoption, no extra-marital affairs. No wine, women but song for him. And the Internet, hours and hours of surfing, and blogging. He had many ideas he wanted to share with the world, in case the world was surfing, including about climate change. He famously blogged, 'If we don't minimize climate change, climate change will minimize us.'

Juanito was getting old in the matter of years, though not in the matter of mind. So, on his 69th birthday 11 November, he called his eldest 3 sons, the triplets, while he was lying on his bed, because he was sick. Besides, he thought it was a funny thing to do, telling his sons the truth while he was lying.

'Sons,' Juanito said, 'I have maybe 20 years more in me, I pray to God, but that would be all. So, before time runs out on me, I want you to do something about your lives. I want one of you to be the President and CEO of all my companies. The best of you. But you have to show me the best manager in you first.'

He didn't know who of his sons had the leadership qualities in him, and he wasn't really in a hurry to find out. Not only that; he knew you can't hurry out the manager in you. You can't do that with an MBA. You need experience, both in succeeding and in failing, and that is an immersion process. Somebody can take the credit for your success, but as to failure, you have to do it yourself.

He brought out 3 envelopes, each with an ATM card for 1 million dollars. Philippine National Bank, BancNet.

'I am now giving you the first part of your inheritance from me. Here's your ATM card for 1 million dollars, each of you. I don't care how you spend it, just spend it! I want you to come back to me in exactly 13 years and show me that you can truly fill up this room all by yourself alone. The one who can do that will become majority stockholder of all my 13 companies, owning 87% of all stocks. President and CEO 13 times.'

Juanito wanted to find out who was the most creative of the triplets. This is the story of the prodigal son in reverse; not only that, the father was in danger of making not just 1 but 3 prodigal sons.

I forgot to tell you that the sons were all of 13 years of age. And they went their separate ways and never talked to each other again for the next 13 years. And since we never heard of them again, and had nothing to do with their lives after they left, the many years rolled by very fast.

On the 11th of November 13 years later, they all gathered at the palatial home of their father in an old Spanish mansion in Old Manila, the triplets, their 8 sisters and the 2 other and younger brothers in full attendance. The mother was also there.

'Happy Birthday, Dad!' they all said.

'So, sons, what have you to say now that I'm 82?'

Arsenio was the first to speak, being the eldest by 13 seconds.

'Dad, I brought you Heat,' he said. And he brought out a gas range and ignited all 13 burners. In a few minutes, the heat filled the room; all of the room became hot, anywhere you were. Everyone said so.

'Full,' said Arsenio.

'Fool,' said Juanito. 'Hot air. Next!'

'Dad, I brought you Success.' That was Bernard, younger than Arsenio by 13 seconds. He brought out 13 boxes, full of his medals, trophies, awards, citations, recognitions, commendations and honorary degrees. He was indeed a high achiever, and he was hugely proud of his accomplishments. He made everyone envious of him. His life was indeed filled with much success, and his pride filled the room.

'Full,' said Bernard.

'Fool,' said Juanito again. 'Pride before the fall. Next!'

From out of nowhere Chris, the third son, youngest of the triplets by 26 seconds, quietly brought out 13 red Bibles, counting them out one by one, the same New Revised Standard Version, 2008 Roman Catholic edition. Everybody laughed, including the father. You can associate the Bible with creativity, but only in the sense of God the Creator. Not the mother. You can always count on the mother to take your side if you are a son, even if she doesn't understand you. She was smiling.

Why not the King James Version, the KJV? Why the NRSV? Because Chris knew that the KJV and the NRSV were loved both by the Protestants and the Roman Catholics for their majestic language, but the KJV contained much error in translation. The NRSV corrected the errors of the KJV while retaining much of its magnificent language. Besides, Chris secretly knew, through his mother, that his Dad loved that version of the Bible himself.

But the father saw a problem, a huge problem. That's what fathers always do, don't they - see a huge problem with one son or another?

'Ho!' Juanito said. 'I love that book, but how can 13 little things like those fill this huge room? Ha! Show me. Maybe you can show me the Roman Catholic Church in that, the one in Rome?'

The sarcasm wasn't lost on Chris too. Fathers are always like that - they can't wait to be shown. They like to open their big mouths first.

I the narrator forgot to tell you that Dad's bedroom was not only huge; it was mammoth. If you want to be biblical about it, it was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. All of 135 meters long, 22.5 meters wide, and 13.5 meters high. Higher than a 3-story building.

Chris smiled kindly at his old Dad. 'Live well, laugh often, love much' had become his motto in life. He said:

Full, full, full! I love you, Dad. The 13 copies of the Bible were only for show, to get you to laugh. I succeeded, didn't I? And you filled the room with laughter, didn't you? Didn't you? 

'I'm listening.'

Dad, you forgot that the Bible contains Noah's Ark, which measured exactly like this room: 135 meters long, 22.5 meters wide, and 13.5 meters high! In one calculation, its deck area could hold 36 lawn tennis courts.

Quiet filled the room. Juanito clutched his breast but didn't say anything. Sometimes fathers are speechless when assaulted with the truth.

And Dad, the Bible contains the River Jordan, where John baptized Jesus, remember? Not only that. A voice from above, from a pedestal certainly much higher than 13.5 meters, proclaimed, 'This is my Son, of whom I am well pleased!'

Quiet filled the room again. Juanito's eyes widened but still didn't say anything. He was still clutching his breast. Sometimes fathers are speechless when they know they're beaten. They know better.

And Dad, the Bible tells us of the scene in the manger where Mother Mary had lain Baby Jesus, with Father Joseph looking and with the shepherds adoring on Earth and the angels singing up high among the clouds, 'Glory to God, Peace on Earth to men of good will.'

And quiet filled the room again. Juanito looked up but still didn't say anything. Sometimes fathers can't speak when good will assaults them.

And Dad, the Bible tells us of the house of the rich man to where Jesus went, and when people derided him for hobnobbing with sinners he said, 'Don't you know that it is the sick who needs a doctor?'

'Say no more!' said Juanito. 'I am sick. Bring me to the doctor, quick! But I'm glad I have a son who knows how to fill a room with laughter, with quiet, and with the light of goodness, thank God.'

And the 8 sisters applauded, the 2 other sons applauded, and the mother applauded, and their applause filled that enormous room with their gladness.

Full, full, full!

Then they rushed Juanito to the hospital.

Back at the Philippine General Hospital, the heart specialist said that Juanito was just suffering from heartburn, that's all. And Juanito said as he stepped out of the car when they reached home: 'Fool, fool, full!' I don't know if the family noticed the exact words, the inflection, but I did. I was the family driver and of course he was always talking to me.

And so they all lived happily ever after. And why is that? Chris' heart was too full of love to be selfish even to his brothers who were. He knew that if he loved only those who loved him, what good was that? Even fools did that among themselves. He had known that the world was full of fools who were full of themselves. Full, full, full!

Now then, about climate change, there must be a climate change in love first. Three things remain: Faith, Hope and Love, but the greatest of this is Love. Of it, the world must be full, full, full!

- An original story by Frank A Hilario - Revised 04 November 2009

Pinoy Cinderella. 1: Sky falls on Little Big Star Charice

Revised 0738 hours Monday, 28 September

Today, hers are a face and a voice well known and admired in the universe of singers from the Netherlands to England to Korea and all over the United States. She is 'The Most Talented Girl in the World,' and you better believe Oprah, the one and only (oprah.com). It takes one to know one.

And she's only 17 years old, and she's a true Pinoy. I have always been proud to be a Filipino; she makes me prouder still. The Filipino is worth writing for! This is the beginning of my book on her. Take that, Freddie Aguilar! (See my ‘Unggoy, Ka Freddie. Aguilar must decrease, Charise must increase,’ americanchronicle.com.)

She deserves more. Charice is on top of the world. She gets standing ovations wherever she performs: Seoul, London, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, New York, Madison Square Garden. Most people wouldn't have an idea however up the ladder of international superstardom did she climb? She didn't climb – she flew. But, I tell you:

First, Charice went through a Baptism of Fire.
Then she went to Hell.

With Mommy Racquel always at her side. Our little Cinderella started not at the bottom but below the normal level of living, below the average family life. They were poor, and she had a violent father, for crying out loud. The last time they saw each other and knew that they were parting for better or for worse, Charice was crying – she had lost her love for her father, and didn't think she would ever find it again.

(1) When you're crying, you can't see the flowers.

This is an implausible story. I want to say this story started with a gun whose shot was heard around the world, even if the gun didn't go off. How do you watch your father aim a gun at the head of your mother while you are too little to do anything but cry?

The father came home one day, mad with rage, started to choke his wife and, not content with that, got his shotgun and pointed it to her head. Ming and Kuy-Kuy cried their heart out and neighbors came to the rescue, just in time. They saved the father from himself; they saved Ming and Kuy-Kuy and Mom Racquel from a cruel fate. The gun didn't go off, but the family died – in their hearts. They became a littler family, just Mommy, Ming and Kuy-Kuy.

Ming was then about 3 years old, 1995, and she saw everything, and remembers with sadness, if not anger. She and her brother Kuy-Kuy and Mom Racquel moved out to a place that had no mattress, no bed, no table, no chair – all they had was the mother's faith, hope and love. It was enough for all three of them. It had to be, for they hardly had anything else. There were times when food was only cheap chicken noodles for mother, sister and brother. (I know the feeling – my own family went through that too.)

That little girl Ming is grown up now; today, Charice is 17 years old. The memories are sad and good. She remembers that little girl Ming singing when she was 4 years old, her littler brother Kuy-Kuy (Carl) minding his own baby business. Mommy Racquel had come home while Charice was belting out Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On' on top of their little table on top of her little big voice. She thought it was Celine Dion singing, the radio was playing. Such power! Coming into the house, Racquel and her sister saw but pretended not to notice that her shy little Ming could sing, and with all those high notes yet!

Where did she learn to sing? From her mother and auntie. Racquel and her sister were vocalists of a band called Souls Free and they were always practicing at home, with the karaoke. From listening and watching, she learned to work the karaoke and teach herself to sing, mimicking those souls free.

'I asked my Mom to teach me how to sing,' Ming says (Eric Caruncho, inquirer.net). So Mom taught little daughter to sing better. That was the happy part, although Charice was a very shy girl, because she had a stammer. Shyness and stammering didn't stop her from giving herself voice lessons over and over again. The karaoke was all too willing to accommodate her. To help overcome the shyness, her mother encouraged her to sing in parties and gatherings. And she taught her that ice cream was bad for her voice. No ice cream! She could scream, but the little girl had to live with that. She had a dream, and she was willing to sacrifice.

The sad part was that Mom didn't earn much from her singing with the band. She was also a worker in a garment factory nearby, but still she wasn't earning enough for her little family.

One day, someone broke into their poor apartment and ran way with her mother's savings, all of P 4,000 pesos, in those days worth about US$ 150. She was saving for a move to a better apartment and for the schooling of her two children. You cannot appreciate the loss of a hundred dollars in the Philippines if you didn't know that for $ 50, Charice and her little family would have food for 30 days!

Before or after that incident, the little girl had a big idea. This was going to cheer up Mommy. One day, Ming told Mom she was now going to join singing contests to earn money to buy food for the table by winning. She wasn't thinking of losing. 'I was too young to think of that,' she says with a giggle.

Fate intervened. The first time, when she was about 7, she sang 'Ikaw Ang Aking Daigdig,' the Tagalog version of 'You're My World,' and she won 2nd place. She sang it with meaning - the meaning of the song was her love for her mother. She was happy with that. There was a trophy and P7,000 in cash, and P10,000 worth of gift certificate. Wow! 'I was super-happy with that. (In joy), my Auntie carried me on her shoulders.'

Fate intervened again. The second time, she sang the same song – and expected to win. The 3rd Place was announced; it wasn't she. '2nd, 2nd,' she told herself. The 2nd Place was announced; it wasn't she. '1st, 1st.' The 1st place was announced – it wasn't she. She stomped her foot and the water on the concrete on that basketball court splashed on her mother's pants, and both of them were now angry.

That was when Mom Racquel realized her little Ming knew only one song, and it couldn't be a winner forever. So she taught her little girl another song, 'I Who Have Nothing.' This was an attention-grabber, a different kind of winner. Mom taught her to begin with her back turned to the audience, backless dress. Then she would shrug her shoulders, suddenly turn to face the audience and belt out 'I, I who have nothing' in dramatic fashion, gesturing. Charice doesn't sing – she performs.

That was the start of her winning, 1st place, or 2nd place, or 3rd place. Later, 'I Will Always Love You,' 'One Moment In Time,' 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody,' 'Lipad Ng Pangarap,' and other songs were added to her repertoire. Winning 6 out of 10 contests felt good. But feeling good was not enough for food, clothing, medicine, utensils, her schooling with her little brother Kuy-Kuy. Sometimes, Charice says, the prize was only enough to pay for the hired ride back and forth.

Still, with her vocal power and singing prowess, she began to strike some fear into the hearts of the other contestants. They were very good, she says. The contests were, 'Pukpukan po talaga.' If you want to live, you have to kill. Those who were good were referred to as 'Bato' (Stone), a corruption of 'Batikan' (Renowned), among the best. Since she was winning often enough, she began to be referred to as 'Buhangin' (Sand) – it gets in your eyes and can do some damage. She was small but already she could beat the daylights out of you.

She was also known as, believe it or not, Cinderella! Yes, it's true. Those singing contests in those town fiestas would last up to midnight, or to 4 AM, and one time 7 AM of the next day. A sprite of a girl at 7, she would naturally be sleepy by midnight, the Cinderella Hour, and every time that happens, she swears her voice disappears! 'Nawawala po ang boses ko.' And naturally, the contestants would celebrate when midnight hour struck, because it was time for the Sleepy Princess to go to bed and say 'Good night' to everyone, including the contestants. No contest!

As the little girl grew up, she kept on joining singing contests. By her own count, she competed in more than 80 singing competitions. For the glory of winning? Also, and for the food on the table, for her family's needs, and dreams. This is the Cinderella whose slippers were not golden, but her voice was. No, not for luxuries either. It was a hard life, but the mother's faith, hope and love kept them going.

(2) When you're crying, you can't see yourself.

Then came Little Big Star, and this became the TV show that broke the camel's back, almost. The camel had been born 12 years earlier, on the 10th of May of 1992; she was named Charmaine Clarice Relucio Pempengco, 'Ming' for short; the whole world now know her as simply Charice.

That was in 2005. Little Big Star was the search for singing talents at the TV station ABS-CBN, #2 in Manila. She was the very first to audition for Little Big Star, then known as Kiddie Kampyon. She was asked why she joined Little Big Star and she said she also wanted to be known. 'Gusto ko rin po maging sikat.' What would she do if she won? She would put the money in the bank for her brother's and her own future. She was thinking of the Grand Prize: P1 million. When you dream, you might as well dream big.

In the first round, she sang diva Regine Velasquez's 'Shine' and she was one of the first to be eliminated. Round 1 and she was out?! She got a 91% to the winner's 92%. She almost fainted that she lost by only 1 point. Oh my God, oh my God!

She was shocked. 'I gave it my best,' she says. 'My super-best.' And still she was booted out. Her best wasn't good enough for the judges. (Pop singer Jamie Rivera was one of the judges.)

I just finished watching and listening to the video of Pinoy diva Regine Velasquez herself, as well as of Charice singing Shine. I can understand the scoring of the judges – there was sunshine in the singing, but the song didn't call for the musical highs and lows and in-betweens that Charice could easily have displayed to knock the judges off their seats. That was the point of her singing, wasn't it, to knock the judges out before they could downgrade her performance?

And the lyrics were so uninspired they probably made the judges sad! Listen to the first lines:

Shine
There I was alone in the shadow
Couldn't find my way
Then you came in
And brought along the sunshine
Now you're here to stay.

Shine? Irony of ironies, Shine was the song that brought Charice the darkness! She sang first, so you can imagine the suspense. When the score of her competitor, Rafael Canillas, came up 92 to her 91, what happened was the exact opposite of what the chorus of the song says:

(Chorus)
You make me shine, shine
Like the stars in the heavens
Shine, shine
You keep me shining through
Shine, shine
With the light that you give in, it's true
I'm shining on, all because of you.

All the lights went out of her face. She went home in a daze. The sky had fallen on her, along with all those little big stars, literally. What else could have happened? She much wanted to win, but the judges didn't want her to. I know the feeling. When you know you're really good and people not only really ignore you but really reject you, what good is that?

Did she take it as public humiliation, or private failure? It didn't matter then which was which. Her losing this time was just too much.

'Mga 1 to 2 weeks ako na tulala,' she says. For 1 to 2 weeks, she just kept staring but not seeing. She felt extremely sad, dejected, hopeless. She was shell-shocked; her self-confidence was shattered. She couldn't function.

Does she remember what was playing in her mind in those times? Boy Abunda asks. She says she doesn't remember anything. All she remembers is playing the guitar, playing, just playing. Her mind was blank. 'Ang nangyari sa akin, super-sakit.' What happened to me was deep, deep hurt.

Even Mommy Racquel could hardly get through to her. Cinderella had turned into Sleeping Beauty and no kiss from Prince Charming could have woken her from her deep waking-sleep induced by shock, if not despair.

When the sky falls on us, let us remember what the Little Prince learned from the Fox (Antoine De Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince, page 66):

'Yes,' I said to the Little Prince. 'The house, the stars, the desert – what gives them their beauty is something that is invisible!'

'I am glad,' he said, 'that you agree with my fox.'

One day, Sleeping Beauty found the beauty that was invisible and woke up. Was it Faith, or Hope, or Love? It was all of the above.

The wake up call may have been Mommy Dearest who had kept on kissing her into the morning after the night before. It may have been the call from Little Big Star that she was a wild card, implying qualities unknown, or that she might still spring a surprise. She was being called back into the contest. They realized they had made a mistake and they wanted to make amends?

But she didn't want to anymore, and told her mother. 'Ayoko na po.' No, thank you. She was done with it. 'Maraming magagaling din.' Mommy, there are many who are very good singers too. She didn't want to lose again, because it would hurt more the second time around. But, thank God for mothers like Mommy Racquel who would not take no for an answer! 'Hayaan mo na; kahit matalo ka, basta ituloy na lang natin.' Just let it be, even if you lose, we didn't give up on it. What mattered was that you gave it your best shot. You did your best.

Boy Abunda: 'When you returned as a wild card, you had no more expectations?' Charice: 'Wala na po.' 'Not anymore.' But again, she gave her best: 'I Will Always Love You.' 'Lipad ng Pangarap.' Her contest pieces. She didn't expect to win because there were many very good singers who competed. But she won, and won, and won. She became a consistent 1st Honor. This loser was showing everyone that she should have won the first time – and they realized that now she was out to get the Grand Prize: P 1 million. The wild card had turned into an ace.

That was when out came the issue of age; she was 12 but some people insisted that she was lying about it and that she was really 14 or 15. They couldn't believe that this little girl had a big, beautiful voice that was only a little smaller than her big dreams for her little family. They didn't think Mommy Racquel and child Charice were honest. It takes one to know one?

Was she going to be eliminated again? She knew they were ganging up on her, whoever they were. 'Parang ang dami-dami kong kalaban, hindi lang po mga contestants.' 'I felt I was battling with many, not only contestants.' Why, she thought, couldn't they just accept that she was just another person, another contestant, and they were just contestants, and let the contest be among equals? No, because she was Cinderella and she had no right to be happy.

And in the Grand Finals, did they let the best girl win? No, they didn't want the best girl to win. She came in 3rd, to 2 boys. 'Super po akong nasaktan nung tinawag akong 3rd Place.' She was terribly hurt when they called her 3rd Place. 'Super po akong nanghina. Paano na?' 'I went limp. What now?' She had given it all aiming for that Grand Prize. A dream that didn't come true. She wanted with all her heart to win. Her family needed all that money; in fact, it wasn't enough. She wanted to win that much money for her mother. When her father aimed a gun at her mother, she couldn't help her. She wanted to help her now. What now?

She didn't understand what she felt when she was announced 3rd Place. She didn't hear the shouts of the audience. She only heard the loud beating of her heart, too loud it seemed it was bursting out of her breast. She smiled because she didn't want to cry right there and then. She stopped herself from crying. Earlier, they were more or less told before the actual announcement that Charice was going to be only 3rd place, because of her low text votes. Mommy told her that if that's what happens, to not show her true feelings, to not cry, to be a sport, to smile. Afterwards, backstage, she asked permission from her mother, 'Mommy, can I cry now?' It was so funny even as it was so pathetic. They told her that her text votes were too low. Cheap votes can be cheat votes. Some people hide their being cheap behind high numbers.

Had they been right about her, those critics, those who were always trying to put her down? They told about her before: 'Wala naman 'yan mararating; wala naman s'yang star quality; hindi naman siya maganda.' That really hurt. 'She won't go anywhere; she has no star quality; she is ugly.' She told herself, 'At least, itong pangit na ito, narating 'yong Grand Finals!' 'At least, this ugly one reached the Grand Finals!'

When she lost, people laughed at her. 'Sobrang sakit po nun.' That really, really hurt. Even her own classmates cruelly made fun on her, whispering behind her but loud enough to hear: 'Loser!' 'Talo ka pala, e!' Many times she wanted to quit again. She wanted to stop being hurt. But Mom Racquel wouldn't let her daughter let herself down. She was always there. She told her, ''Wag mo silang pansinin.' Don't bother about those who bother you. I'm always here for you.

But Charice was done with singing contests. Really! 80+ singing contests and it was time to quit. The counting could go on, but not the hurting.

(3) When you're praying, you can see forever.

She told her mother after Little Big Star that she would not join singing contests anymore and would now just go to school. She had some guestings in TV shows that she hoped would tide them over. Her mother said to wait, 'Baka may dumating pa.' 'Something might come up.' That was when her little family adopted as theme song 'Maghintay Ka Lamang.' Play your guitar and 'Just Wait & See.' Little did they see!

Still, those were dark days and lonesome nights. When you can't sing with delight, what do you do for an encore? Sing with sadness. 'Malungkot po talaga.' Really, truly sad. Boy Abunda: 'You lost your self-esteem, self-confidence. The voices you were hearing were those who were reviling, ridiculing, insulting you.' You make me cry.

They kept praying. Being Roman Catholic, one time Mommy and she decided to hear Mass at the much-venerated Quiapo Church, their first time. Remember, they were staying in Cabuyao, San Pedro, Laguna, about 2 hours away from Manila, where Quiapo is. Then she called on the Good Lord. 'Suffer the little children to come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of God,' doesn't the Bible say? Her prayer was, 'God, bahala ka na.' 'Lord, it's your will.' But please let happen something wonderful. How about something that will make them swallow their own words? The child was talking to the Father in her own language.

After that, what happened one after the other showed Charice and Mommy Racquel and Carl that there is Life After Hell:
FalseVoice.
Ten Songs Production.
Star King.
E!
Ellen DeGeneres.
David Foster.
Paul O’Grady.
Rai Uno.
Oprah! 1st.
Oprah! 2nd.
Oprah! 3rd.
Andrea Bocelli.
Celine Dion.
David Foster & Friends.
Muhammad Ali.
Dodgers.
Barack Obama.
Andre Agassi.
Good Morning America.
20th Century Fox.

The Father does listen to prayers – of children.
(Listen! Unless you are born again, you cannot become like children.)

Boy Abunda: 'This is a difficult question. Sa lahat ng taong nang-api sa inyo, sa lahat ng taong nang-alipusta, sa lahat ng taong nambato ng masasamang salita sa iyo, sa puso mo ba at sa puso ng Mommy, nagpatawad ka?' 'Those who ridiculed, those who reviled, those who insulted you, in your heart and Mommy's heart, did you forgive?'

Charice: 'Actually, we didn't let them know what we were feeling. We didn't want enemies. (Ayaw namin ng kaaway.) What pained you was that, you were always forgiving, and yet they were always repaying you in more hurtful ways. We talked about them, identified them, but forgiveness was always on top.' 'Nangingibabaw pa rin po yong patawad.' Love your enemies! At least, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Boy Abunda: 'Sa lahat ng pagbabatikos na ito, sa lahat ng pang-aalipusta, sa lahat ng pang-aapi, 'pag kumakanta ka, Charice, lahat 'yan nakakalimutan?' When you sing, all those vituperation, vitriol, ridicule, you forget? She says she thinks of them all; she also thinks about Mommy Racquel being always there for her, so there are mixed emotions when she performs.

Boy Abunda: 'You cannot imagine life without Mommy.' It was more a statement than a question. She laughs a little to mean, yes. Mommy will always be there.

She has learned enough about singing from her mother, but not enough about living. Don't hate your father that much, she tells Charice and Carl. Without him, you wouldn't be around. Hate the sin, not the sinner. Thank God for mothers! If they are Pinoy, mothers last forever.


Note: Many details in this essay, as well as many quotes, especially related to Little Big Star, came from the interview by Boy Abunda with Charice June 2009 at her new home in Tagaytay City before her 1st major concert in the Philippines, for the TV show 'Showbiz News Ngayon' (YouTube, in 8 parts) – Frank A Hilario

Charice's 'Note To God'

Unggoy, Ka Freddie. Aguilar must decrease, Charice must increase

MANILA – I wanted to write this days ago; this is a delayed broadcast; this is my open letter to Ferdinand 'Ka Freddie' Pascual Aguilar – and those of his ilk, who are as funny as a barrel of monkeys – after his mid-July putdown of Charice, whose star shines higher and brighter and bigger than Ka Freddie's. For he must decrease, and she must increase.

For that putdown, Freddie Aguilar was accused of monkey business getting media attention just so everybody would notice he had a new restaurant, Ka Freddie's Bar & Restaurant at Adriatico, Manila (Nonie V Nicasio, 6 July 2009, pep.ph). So I notice. After that, at the very least, we all must learn (even earn) from all this monkey business. Including reinventing monkey idioms like 'If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.' To imitate the monkey idiom, to Ka Freddie overseeing his new eatery I say, 'If you serve peanuts, you get monkeys.'

Now, I'm serving you my open letter to Freddie Aguilar.

Somewhere in the Philippines
10 September 2009

Ka Freddie,

Please be nice. I know what you said angrily about Charice is not the ranting of an old man, since you're only 56 – unless of course you feel old, because age is a feeling – it is but the verbal rage of one who has run out of nice things to say about other people. Don't forget: It pays to serve nice.

You were once the King of Pinoy Soul wherever you went, especially after your singing of 'Bayan Ko,' which became the song that toppled a regime, which was Ka Ferdie's; that song helped inflame a nation and destroyed the dictatorship of your namesake, Ferdinand Edralin Marcos. We were proud of you.

You were once the Father of the Child wherever you went, with your song 'Anak' (Child), whose sales went wild all over the Philippines and Asia, if not in the US of A. Didn't that song go through 56 conversions as it was translated in 26 languages? A distinct honor for a Pinoy, an Asian. We were proud of you.

Today, with your raised voice in your attempt to put down Charice so dramatically captured in video and now showing on YouTube (watch PinasWatch here), I hereby baptize you:

Freddie Aguilar,
Child of the Putdown
(Anak ng Putdown).

Freddie Aguilar, what are you trying to do with the international career of Charice: throwing a monkey wrench in the works? I wouldn't ask if I didn't care; damn if I didn't give a monkey's. I have to write because if the problem persists, we have to consult the doctor because you Ka Freddie will be a monkey on Charice's back.

'Hindi ako ang nagsasabi ng 'monkey' – Ang sabi ko, kaya tayo binabansagang Pilipino na unggoy ay dahil manggagaya tayo. Ako ang magtatanong sa lahat ng singer na Pilipino: 'Bakit puro banyaga ang kinakanta ninyo!?' Yan ang tanong ko. Hindi 'yung tinatanong n'yo sa akin kung bakit ko kayo tinatawag na unggoy; kayo ang nagpatawag na unggoy dahil gaya-gaya kayo!'

That's what you said, and it was too loud for me not to hear even if I wasn't around. I noticed your hand gestures, exasperation.

This is my free translation of your flare-up:

'I wasn't the one who called you 'monkey' – I said, the reason we Filipinos are being called monkey is because we are copycats. I will be the one to ask all Filipino singers: 'Why do you sing foreign songs only!?' That is my question, not you're asking me why I'm calling you monkey; you called upon yourselves to be called monkey because you are simply copycats!'

That's what I call Ka Freddie going ape, as in going wild. Wearing glasses, you made a spectacle of yourself.

Ka Freddie, let me repeat what you said about Charice: 'Charice, magaling kang singer, pero mas bibilib ako sa 'yo kung kakanta ka ng sariling atin.'

My translation: 'Charice, you're a good singer, but I will respect you more if you sing our songs.' That's polite enough, Ka Freddie, saying that.

My interpretation: 'Why don't you do another Freddie Aguilar and sing local and make the world take notice of the Filipino?' That's not polite.

Still, I can forgive you for implying that. But I cannot forgive you when you said, after being verbally polite to Charice, suddenly changing your tune:

'Ang kinanta n'ya, Celine Dion, e, kahit na sinong Pilipino na mataas ang boses, kahit bagong gising, kayang kantahin yong kanta ni Celine Dion.'

My free translation: 'What she sang, Celine Dion, eh, any Filipino who has a high register, even if just risen from bed, she can sing that song of Celine Dion.'

Now, Ka Freddie, that's a double-bladed thrust of a knife at the back, or you just shot 2 birds with 1 stone. You are a sharpshooter, Ka Freddie – your tongue is sharp and you shoot from the lip. What you said means Canadian diva Celine Dion is not an extraordinary singer; likewise our own Filipina diva Charice Pempengco. Ouch!

Ka Freddie, do you mean to say that only Ferdinand Pascual Aguilar from Isabela deserves to be known as an extraordinary singer? Why, that's extraordinary!

What you said is a putdown on their Celine Dion and our Charice. Do you realize, Ka Freddie, that what you said is also a putdown on our Freddie Aguilar who is a good singer-composer? Ka Freddie, with that, to me Freddie Aguilar is now not a good singer-composer, not anymore.

You also said (barriosiete.com):

'E, pinatototohanan lang ang sinabi ni Mariah Carey na tayong mga Pilipino ay mga unggoy. Kasi, wala tayong sarili, gaya-gaya lang tayo. Nasa Amerika ka na, binigyan ka na ng pagkakataon na kumanta sa Oprah, bakit kumanta ka pa ng kanta ni Celine Dion? Sinabi ni Mariah na mga unggoy ang Pilipino, gaya-gaya lang tayo, e di napatunayan nga, totoo nga. Kasi, di ba, what monkeys see, monkeys do? Dapat ang kinanta n'ya, bakit hindi 'Dahil Sa Iyo' o kaya kahit ano, basta kantang Pilipino? O kaya Bisaya, Ilocano ... lalo s'yang sisikat sa buong mundo nun.'

My free translation:

'Eh, that proves what Mariah Carey said that we Filipinos are monkeys. Because we don't have our own, we're just copycats. You were already in America, you were already given the opportunity to sing in Oprah's show, why did you have to sing Celine Dion's song? Mariah said we Filipinos were monkeys, we were just copycats, eh, that proved it, it was true. Isn't it, monkey see, monkey do? What she should have sung, why not 'Dahil Sa Iyo' or any other song, as long as it's Pilipino (Tagalog). Or Visayan, Ilocano ... her star would have shone brighter over the world then.'

Charice explained:

'Yong plan nga po nila doon, kaya Celine Dion 'yong kinanta ko, dahil lalabas nga po via satellite si Ms Celine Dion. Hindi rin po ako ang nagpa-plan n'yan, kung ano po ang kakantahin ko; sila rin po ang nagbibigay ng songs sa akin. Maiintindihan po ba yon ni Ms Oprah kung kakanta po ako ng Tagalog? So, hindi man po ako kumanta ng Tagalog, or hindi man po kumanta ng makabayan na songs, alam ko po na maiintidihan ng mga tao. Gusto ko s'yempre, nararamdaman ko po na ako ay Pilipino ... Nirerespect ko po si Freddie Aguilar kung ano man po yong opinion n'ya.'

My translation: 'Their plan was, the reason I sang Celine Dion was because Celine Dion was appearing via satellite (meaning, showing worldwide simultaneously). I didn't plan it, what I was going to sing; they were the ones who told me what songs to sing. Would Ms Oprah understand if I sang a Tagalog song? So, even if I did not sing Tagalog, or I did not sing a patriotic song, I know people will understand. I wanted to, because I feel in my heart I'm a Filipino ... I respect Freddie Aguilar's opinion.'

'Why do you sing only foreign songs?' you Ka Freddie ask, and that is an indictment, not an interrogatory remark. What you are trying to say is that if you Filipino singers don't sing Filipino songs, you don't love your country. If you sing 'Bayan Ko' like Freddie Aguilar does, you're okay, you're patriotic; if you don't, you're trash.

I call that tongue-tied nationalism – if you don't speak the Tagalog tongue, you're not a nationalist. You Ka Freddie is just like the ultranationalists you find in the University of the Philippines and elsewhere, including media – they would insist on talking in Tagalog even when the subject was roses, not rosas.

Freddie Aguilar, I believe you don't know Charice enough. I've been listening and watching and learning about and from Charice, and I have become a fan(atic) – that's why I'm dedicating one of my blogs to her. I'll be a monkey's Uncle! The heart of this talented young girl is here; her head is here, there and everywhere. She's smarter than many of our entertainment stars. Except perhaps Jose Rizal, Charice is the first Filipino artist who thinks local, acts global. That's why she's a Star of the World. Can you beat that, Freddie Aguilar, once Star of Asia?

The rest of what Charice says is self-explanatory. What I'm going to say is self-explanatory – it's about my own self as a writer. Because it has something to do with going ape, being a copycat:

In school, why do they teach Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet? Samuel Beckett's novel Waiting for Godot? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem The Psalm of Life? Frank Stockton's short story The Lady or the Tiger? Nick Joaquin's The Woman Who Had Two Navels? Because all these are well-written; we all can gain insights from reading them – and the writers among us can use them as models of excellent writing even as we each develop our own writing style.

Ka Freddie, when you yourself were starting to develop your talent in singing and composing, I'm sure unggoy ka – you were a copycat. Look at yourself in the mirror – look at the hat and the guitar, as PinasWatch points out, you were (and still are) imitating Willie Nelson. PinasWatch is saying, you're the original unggoy, the original copycat!

But in fact, being a copycat is not a shameful thing to do; it's a stage, a day in the life. I'm not embarrassed to say I was a copycat. When I was starting to write in high school and even when I was already in college, I continued to imitate those who to me at that time were the best storyteller (Ernest Hemingway), the brainiest and wittiest writer-philosopher (George Bernard Shaw), the best teacher-writer (Rudolf Flesch), the best Filipino journalist (Nick Joaquin – I did not like his plays but I loved his reportage in the Philippines Free Press as well as Asia Leader). Also, like a sponge, I continued to absorb the lessons I could learn from the pages of the Reader's Digest. Today, I have my own style that I call Franciscan: in the first place, I was baptized Francisco, and in the second place, I am a Roman Catholic and I write about science and faith, science with faith. My style came after imitating the best, not before, not during my imitation stage.

Nobody can avoid imitating, at first. Wait till Charice matures and develops her own distinct style; then, she can really rule the universe of songs – and sing to the world whatever Freddie Aguilar wants her to sing, and then some. Until then, she's unggoy. An amazing, brilliant, fantastic, blow-away unggoy.

So, this letter is all about being unggoy, Ka Freddie; this is about you who are the first Asian star singer-composer. Unggoy, as in ape, copycat, monkey. This is more about growing up as a child, maturing as an adult, nurturing a talent, developing oneself, finessing one's craft. That is what Charice is busy doing; give her time.

Do you remember the Toyopet? When they first came to the Philippines, Japanese cars were tin cans with wheels; today, a Toyota car is worth its weight in gold, if I may exaggerate. The Japanese learned from imitating the Americans, Europeans, Germans, Italians – why can't we learn by imitating the Japanese?

Right now, the South Koreans are all over the place – they are learning from us, especially English. First they will imitate us; unggoy sila! Then, having learned the basics, they will improve on us. They cannot improve on us until they learn from us. So, Ka Freddie, I can tell you my insight today:

Ang unggoy, pinakamadaling matuto.
Being a copycat is the fastest way to learn.

But as a matter of fact, Ka Freddie, this hullaballoo all started when Mariah Carey called Filipinos 'Brown Monkeys.' That was the mistake. In the first place, as Edgar O Cruz has already pointed out, 'It was never proven Mariah Carey referred to Pinoy singers as monkeys or brown monkeys' (stir.ph). In other words, Ka Freddie, you were overreacting to an embarrassing non-existent putdown. Anak ng Putdown ka. You embarrassed the Filipinos to the world; unggoy ka, Freddie Aguilar. But we forgive you, we including Charice, Arnel Pineda and Gary Valenciano.

Monkey see, monkey do. Unggoy kami noon, ganito pa ba kami ngayon? We were monkeys then, are we monkeys still?

Frank

Bittersweet Noynoy. Singing lessons from Charice

Revised 8 September at 0654 hours
MANILA - Be sure to read this essay with Charice singing 'I Will Always Love You' in the background and into your ears. 'Music hath charm that soothes the savage breast' - didn't Shakespeare say that? Charice sings beautifully. They call her a diva; well, Charice sings divinely.


And me? While I write this, I watch her video and listen with a headphone, over and over again, 50 times – would you believe 30? Because the best writing is rewriting, rewriting, rewriting over and over again. (Click here to watch and listen to Charice entertaining Ellen Degeneres and her audience on worldwide TV; for a full version of the song, click here for the studio version: 'I Will Always Love You.' In any case, the full text, the complete lyrics, you can see below.)

You should see my desktop background on a Hanns-G LCD 17"; it's a collage of the faces of Charice, singing of course. At 69, I'm a new fan of Charice, but not Noynoy. They're known by their first names now, which basically means they’re the center of attention, and whatever they do now, means a lot to the people who love them – Charice’s fans, Noynoy’s admirers.

He has been vacillating; she has been rolling with the punches of fate, including her father nearly killing her mother before her very eyes when she was only 3. I rather think Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III, the new political sensation, has a lot to learn from the international singing sensation Charmaine Clarice ‘Charice’ Pempengco. He’s 49 (08 February 1960); she is 17 (10 May 1992). In the light of wisdom, age doesn’t matter - the old can learn from the young.

I now have a collection of 99 videos downloaded from YouTube, all Charice, and all of 1.9 GB; downloading is a delight when you have a Core i7 ('The fastest processor on the planet') with 3 GB of memory and 320 GB hard disk space and a fast Globe Broadband (when it's working). My favorite Charice images are those when she was 12 or 13 years old, when she sang ‘I Will Always Love You,’ recorded by one of her favorites, Whitney Houston. The image I show here is 1 of 57 images I caught in the act of Charice singing in that video of that portion of ABS-CBN’s Little Big Star – it’s the last portion of the song, ‘I will always love you’ (uploaded to YouTube by Aldueza). I deliberately captured the fading in/fading out of the images so that her Mommy Racquel is right behind Charice as she sings the last notes of the song. Her mother has always been her source of strength, from beginning to end; isn't Charice lucky she has a mother like that! (And isn't she lucky she had FalseVoice uploading her first video to YouTube where she was discovered by the world! Will the real Noynoy Aquino impress the audience like Charice does?)

That song is heaven-sent today. If you didn't know, it begins with these words:

I Will Always Love You

If I should stay
I will only be in your way
So I'll go!

It’s curious how after several days of one-on-one with Senator Noynoy Aquino, Senator Mar Roxas gave way to the ambition and/or aspiration of Senator Noynoy, Mar derailing his own presidential campaign and advocating instead Noynoy’s. A King's Sacrifice. That's foolish, right? You can sacrifice the Queen, but not the King. Chess is a male-chauvinist game. Right. That's why it's not really a King's Sacrifice. It was only made to look that way.

But I know
I'll think of you
in every step of the way.

In his press conference, Mar Roxas said they agreed that whatever Noynoy decides, to run or not to run, they will talk again. Mar Roxas is still thinking of his own presidential ambition. If politics is addition, you need all the friends you can get. If politics is subtraction, you need to eliminate all your enemies. You need to think of all of them in every step of the way to the presidential palace by the Pasig. Charice kept winning, and losing. A contest is a gamble, Mommy Racquel kept on telling Charice, when her confidence was flagging. Running a race is a contest; you either win or lose. Can you suffer another loss?

And I...I will always love you, ooh
I will always love you,
You, my darling you, you!

Mar Roxas is still in love with becoming President of this country. Is Noynoy Aquino now in love with becoming President of his country? You know, love can come when you least expect it, and it came when Noynoy Aquino wasn't looking. Suddenly, the love for the Aquinos erupted when his mother died. And many people were thinking, because of the massive, positive attention people gave the death and funeral of Cory Aquino, that Noynoy should inherit the mantel of Presidency of his country.

That's falling in love with winnability. Charice fell in love with singing when she was 4 years old; the winnability came later, after the sacrifices, after the heartaches. Ellen Degeneres told Charice not to stop doing what she loves to do, which is singing and, in the process, becoming a star in her own right. The problem is that Noynoy has never been in love with the idea, which is becoming President and, in the process, becoming his own man, and even if he learns to love it, it's doubtful that he will always love her. You can't win with half a love. You can ask Charice that!

Bittersweet memories
That is all I'm taking with me.

And the lack of love is not surprising. Remember, his father Benigno Aquino Jr was assassinated because of it; after that, his mother Cory became President and had her hands tied throughout her presidency because of repeated attempts at coups by enemies of the state. This is not to mention conflicting interests and lack of management skills. In her later years, Cory Aquino became embittered with alleged corruption in high places. Then she forgave the one whose ouster as President for corruption she took active part in, and yet, even when she knew she was dying of colon cancer, she could not forgive the current leader whom she also condemned for corruption. The Eternal Question: Can we love our enemy? The Eternal Answer: That depends on the enemy.

So good-bye
Please, don't cry
We both know I'm not what you
You need.

As a little girl, Charice had dreams of singing with Celine Dion, Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, and being a guest of Oprah - and she went all-out for those dreams to come true. She perfected her singing, with her mother as coach. Noynoy is our modern Hamlet. What he needs is to grow up, and fast! Noynoy isn't so lucky he still has a mother. Now he can't decide what to do without consulting saints and sinners from Aparri to Jolo, and he calls it discernment. I heard him say on TV long before the hullaballoo that he was not interested in seeking an office higher than Senator, and in fact that was the wish of her mother Cory Aquino. I do recall our 19th-century Messiah, Jose Rizal, whose own mother, Teodora Alonzo told her husband Francisco and son Paciano, words to this effect: 'Don't send him to Manila, please. If he learns more, they'll cut off his head!'

Now then, with the clamor of some people who see in him the defeat of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's anointed, and/or the victory of those out of power, they are calling Noynoy the Messiah. They forget that a Messiah is not without honor except in his own country. When he went to Davao the other week, what did they tell Noynoy Aquino? In so many words, these: 'You better think some more about running; you know, we in Mindanao don't give a damn about your imperial noise in Manila.' (How did I know that? A little bird told me.) I take that to mean they don't care about reflected glory. I think that applies to people in Northern, Central and Southern Luzon too. One time when Mommy Racquel told her she was tired of it and wanted to stop, Charice cried, and then told her mother in that case she would go to the contests alone. She knew her earnings in singing contests meant food on the table for her, her brother Carl and their mother. Charice is her own man; is Noynoy his own boy?

And I... I will always love you, ooh
I will always love you, ooh.

Say goodbye, Noynoy! Say goodbye to your dream of Emperor. It can't be serious; it wasn't love at first sight. Then we can always love you. If we love our country, we all must sacrifice little and big. We wish you love, Noynoy.

I hope
Life treats you kind
And I hope
You have all you've dreamed of
And I wish you joy
And happiness
But above all this
I wish you love.

We wish you happiness. Noynoy, the Philippine presidency is not your best suit. But if you want to be unhappy the rest of your life, go ahead and run.

Now, if you decide to go get enough rope to hang yourself, if you insist on running, will we love you just the same? Of course, we will. To love is to be a fool. We will support you if you decide to run anyway. We lovers suffer fools gladly.

And I...I will always love you, ooh
I will always love you
I will always love you, ooh
I, I will always, I will always love you
Always, I will always love you
Always, I will always love you
You, darling I love you, I love you, ooh
I will always, will always love you, ooh!

Now, Noynoy, do you realize that the question of love is in your hands? Actually, love begins with you. Can you love the enemy? If you ask your enemy, the enemy is you. You have to love others as you love yourself. Do you?