Three-way network battle for fiesta crowd

CEBU, Philippines - Here in Cebu, we’re fortunate (or un-fortunate, for those who abhor the resulting terrible traffic) to have the festive air carried on in January after the madness that was the Christmas season.

The past month was no different, as it saw the Queen City of the South in a whirlwind of entertainment pre-Sinulog activities and events, with local attractions competing with visiting television talents. This year, the third player in the Philippine TV network war finally joined in the Sinulog fray for the first time.

Stars were aplenty, and wherever one’s network loyalties lie, there was something for every Cebuano, whether you were a staunch Kapuso, Kapamilya or Kapatid.

The fast-growing TV5 began their presence early with a week-long roll-out prior to the grand Sinulog Sunday parade, including free marathon screenings of their soap operas and Talentadong Pinoy auditions, both held at our century-old landmark Fuente Osmeña Circle.

Their talents hopped from one press table to another at TV5’s interview venue at the Casino Español, including Cebuanas Eula Caballero (who’s starring with Jasmine Curtis-Smith and David Archuleta in TV5’s soap Nandito Ako, which premiered February 20) and Morisette Amon, who in turn detailed that she is hard at work on her debut album. Among the line-up, former sweethearts and now Paparrazi co-hosts Ruffa Guiterrez and Zoren Legaspi get the Most Amusing Interviewees award for their candidness and memorable one-liners.

The artists were pulled out after to prepare for their Sugod mga Kapatid sa Sinulog show, still at Fuente, where an unanticipated power outage briefly hampered their program and delayed that night’s other Sinulog-related activities scheduled at the venue.

Meanwhile, it was a double treat over at the Kapuso camp, which organized a Kapuso Sinulog Festival show at Ayala Center’s Terraces and another one at SM’s North Covered Parking Area. Uprooted Cebuanas Isabel Oli and Diva Montelaba were delighted to visit their hometown even for a brief time, and are still able to comfortably switch from the Tagalog to Bisaya dialects.

Survivor celebrity castaways, including eventual winner Albert ‘Betong’ Sumaya and his top three competitors Mara Yokohama and Steff Prescott, were just some of those we pleasantly interacted with the following day at the Café Laguna restaurant of SM Northwing.

Definitely not to be outdone is the Kapamilya group, which relied on their resident Banana Split comics to entertain their Cebuano fan base at the Ayala Terraces, together with Gerald Anderson of Budoy and Kaye Abad of Angelito: Ang Batang Ama. Earlier in the day before their mall show, they also obliged us with a press huddle at the Castle Peak Hotel, with the Visayan-speaking Melai Cantiveros and Pooh cracking up the room every now and then.

While both ABS-CBN and GMA7 participated in the Sunday float parade like they’ve had in previous years, TV5 is still working on their regional efforts one at a time and are hopeful that they could mount their own float of stars the next time around.

One thing’s for sure: It’s no longer a two-way network battle in wooing viewers here in our region, and all this to the benefit of Cebuano television fans. For now, relive those star-sighting moments through this photo spread of your visiting idols.