Show must go on

It’s exactly one week to day after typhoon Ondoy  slammed into Metro Manila and nearby provinces. At the height of its onslaught, I was actually in ABS-CBN Manila, together with other media and the weekly finalists of the regional program “Kapamilya Winner Ka,” who were to compete in a game segment of the noontime show “Wowowee.”

Despite the onset of heavy downpour that morning, many people still made it to the noontime program. Many of them waited as long as nine months just to get a slot among the studio audience, so, how can they dare miss it?

But the gravity of the situation could not be ignored. Our early morning flight, for one, was the only one permitted that day. When we were heading to the ABS-CBN compound from the hotel where we were billeted, floodwaters were already rising to knee-level; and cars, buses, and the like were rendered immobilized in Edsa.

And “Wowowee’s” main man Willie Revillame, who just returned to TV work after a lengthy suspension, didn’t turn up; he was stranded somewhere in San Juan. Revillame had to phone in his predicament as well as apologies, to which Pokwang jokingly reacted in Filipino, “Do you want us to send you your yacht?”

“Wowowee” promised a star-studded line-up of guests that day, which included Sam Milby, Anne Curtis, Piolo Pascual, and even beauty queen Bianca Manalo in her first ever TV appearance since her stint in Miss Universe. But all of them could not make it. The show’s dearth of stars could easily be described as a downer, but nobody dared thought of it that way as the outside world was being ravaged by the tropical storm.

And the show must go on. So, in the business of entertainment programs, how do you solve a problem like the unexpected? Production staff had to stretch out segments. The little getting-to-know-you banter we normally see between “Wowowee” hosts and contestants before the game proper became quite the chit-chat, which was a good thing really. The central attraction of “Wowowee,” at least for me, is how the hosts, particularly Revillame, touch base with the audience or contestants and draw out their personal stories.

One of the many interesting stories I heard that noon (which brought some of us to tears) was that of a househelp, who despite the inclement weather was driven to the studio by her employer, herself. She thanked her employer for treating her well and for even sending her to school. She also quipped, “Magpapasundo sana ako, pero nakita ko po ang bagyo kaya huwag nalang po.”

To fill in the rest of the time, dance numbers held in reserve were presented, spiels and ad libs had a field day, and all game segments got utilized, so much so prizes literally poured inside the studio. The people running “Wowowee” managed to keep the mood inside the studio upbeat, even as newsflash reports were starting to give everyone a scare. We would soon get a clear look at the torrential rains and harsh winds through the glass windows of the uncharacteristically near-empty ABS-CBN compound.

“Walang artista!” one of the production people finally articulated what everybody was thinking. After all, they still had to do “Entertainment! Live,” and not one of the hosts—except Mariel Rodriguez for she had “Wowowee” earlier—showed up due to Ondoy. In the end, it was her fellow “Wowowee” host Pokwang, who had to substitute for Luis Manzano, Toni Gonzaga and Bianca Gonzalez. 

For obvious reasons, we also had to stay put for the entire day at the ABS-CBN compound, and amidst a raging storm, it wasn’t hard to realize that nobody—stars and ordinary people alike—can be really prepared for a disaster of this magnitude. But we have a choice: it’s either we grumble and rumble at the misfortune of it all, or get on with the “show” by making the most of what is available and possible. (To be continued.)