An Open Letter to Eat Bulaga: Let's Make Better Use of ALDub Fever

Dear Eat Bulaga,

Totoo, institusyon na ang EB sa buhay ng halos lahat ng Pamilyang Pilipino. Sa loob ng 36 na taon, milyun-milyung mga tao na ang napasaya at nabago ang buhay ng dahil sa programa nyo. Sa lahat ng premyong pinamigay,  halakhak na naibahagi, at kahit mga luha na kumurot sa aming mga puso, salamat.

Kailan lang, muling nabuhay ang pagmamahal ng bayang ito para sa longest-running noontime show. Di natin maitatanggi na malaki ang papel ng samahang ALDUB sa pagpalo ng ratings para sa programang minahal na natin. Nakakatuwang isipin na sa isang iglap, nagkaron ng panibagong titulo ang ating bayan. #ALDubNation, ang tawag nila.

I'm one of the millions of fans of this loveteam. They share an unexplainable chemistry that make Pinoys feel "in-love" again. They appeal to almost everyone, regardless of age, gender, economic status, etc. Come to think of it, this loveteam is very powerful. I can only hope, however, that this loveteam does not turn out to be like many others who just let fame and money dictate their next moves.

Kailan lang din, sumikat ang pelikulang "Heneral Luna" na paniguradong pumukaw sa damdamin ng maraming Pilipino. Ginising tayo. Tila pinaharap sa salamin ng nakaraan para makita ang kasulukuyan nating kalagayan.

All these being said, nakikiusap sana ako, Eat Bulaga, kung pwede pa nating palalimin ng kaunti ang mga mensaheng pinapadala ng ALDub. Malapit na ang eleksyon, bakit hindi natin simulang gamitin ang ALDub force para maghikayat sa mga Pilipino na bumoto? Alam kong alam niyo na ang gusto kong sabihin.

Nang magannounce si Mr. Joey De Leon ng contest nyong naghihikayat sa mga Pinoy na gumawa ng orihinal na musikang Pilipino, natuwa ako. Dahil hindi nyo hinayaang maging kasing babaw lang ng pagtrend sa Twitter at pagkuha ng ratings ang loveteam na ito. Sinisimulan nyo na marahil (o pinagpapatuloy) ang isang pagkilos na tunay na TATATAK at magiimpluwensya ng PAGBABAGO sa ating bayan.

Sana sa mga darating na buwan o taon ng Eat Bulaga, dumami pa ang mga programa nyong hindi lang basta nakakaaliw, pero may mabuting mensahe sa lahat ng pagpapatawa at pamamahagi.

Once again, you have proven why you are the longest-running and number one noontime show. I do hope that this time, you bring the whole nation with you as you rise. Gisingin natin ang #ALDubNation. Handa na kaming kiligin sa pagbabago at pagunlad ng Pilipinas.

#ALDubbing Your show since 93,

Benok, isang Pilipino

Why every Filipino should watch Heneral Luna

Heneral Luna recounts the active years of General Antonio Luna, apparently the Philippines' most able army general. In this movie, we get to see scenes based on actual facts during the controversial years of the Spanish-American era in PH. We see how Aguinaldo played as the country's president as we faced crucial stages for our independence, but we see how Luna struggled to give this country a strong leader behind the thorn-full curtains of this era.

The cast generally gave justice to their respective characters. John Arcilla has proven many times why he is THE JOHN ARCILLA. Based on What I know about Heneral Luna, I bet he's giving Mr. Arcilla a tap on the back for his stellar performance. Ketchup Eusebio deserves an honorable mention for playing an excellent antagonist.

Much credit goes to the director, Jarrod Tarog, and his writers. The unexpected humor was effective in lightening things up as scenes were getting kind of heavy to watch. It's often painful to watch movies on Philippine history, especially when they remind us of our demise under foreign fists. We get to see how Pinoys can crack a joke at almost anything just to help them get by.

Heneral Luna shines with its visual effects. Though there's still room for improvement with how we stage gunshots, this movie is a sign that local films are improving in quality. There were also unnecessary slow-mos and blurred audios, but I believe these were put to give room for internalization.

Heneral Luna uses a familiar strategy of using a journalist as an eyewitness who plays the narrator, and this strategy worked in delivering the heart that it intended to deliver. At the end of this film, we'll get so many feels on being a Filipino. We'll see how politics in this country was dirty and dangerous since time immemorial. We'll see how a nation easily falls with divided people. We'll be challenged to take a look at how and who we are now as a country. And if we take this movie seriously, we get to question our own contributions for this country, if we are doing our part to show nationalism and pay back what Our Motherland deserves.

"Dahil sa bandang huli, ang tunay na kalaban ng Pilipino, ay ang kanyang sarili."

Heneral Antonio Luna
Mr. Guerilla Warfare
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