He’s not naming names, but the director of Pinay Pie has seen for himself how corrupt these public officials are. That’s why he’s so happy Fernando Poe Jr. is not tossing his hat in the political fray, as of press time.
When he bumped into Da King in an affair for the Directors’ Guild, Joey went up to FPJ and openly thanked him for being circumspect.
"I told him outright I didn’t want him to join politics. It’s such a shame how politics corrupts idealistic people," says the director. And FPJ responded with a heartfelt thank you.
If Joey is that cynical, it’s because he sees politicking rearing its ugly head, especially now that elections is drawing near. Most politicians, he says, are into mud-slinging.
He even compares politics and the soap operas he’s so familiar with.
"Politics has become even more predictable than the soap operas we watch. I haven’t seen a Filipino leader with a sense of mission for the country today," Joey explains.
Okay, okay. If he sees so much corruption around him, why doesn’t he fly the coop?
First, there’s his 91-year-old mother who, in typical Pinoy fashion, he does not have the heart to leave. Besides, it’s not only the Philippines that’s in a mess. The whole world is, says he.
"Three of my friends have lost their jobs in the US. Canada and Singapore are also suffering," he goes on.
So the university professor stays put, doing his darndest best to make a difference in his own way. Make that in his own "ways," since here is one guy so talented he can wear many hats all at the same time.
As director, he comes up with films that are commercial all right, but are careful "not to insult the audience’s intelligence." His newest outing, Star Cinema’s Pinay Pie, for instance, shows three women – Ai Ai delas Alas, Joyce Jimenez and Assunta de Rossi – resorting to occasional histrionics. What’s a comedy without some entertainment value, after all?
But they emerge as strong women who join hands to make a singular, solid statement: We will never allow men to run our lives.
They may not exactly be the epitome of the prim and proper women girls can take as role models. Men take them for a ride. As when Joyce (as Karen) catches her boyfriend in bed with another woman. But they redeem themselves in the end and move on to shape their destiny.
Joey may not be able to go to the hallowed walls of the Senate or Congress to pontificate. But making a film that uplifts and gives hope is his contribution to making the country a better place to live in.
"Pinay Pie is not American Pie in any way. I can’t come up with a movie like that," he states. But the comedy is unshamedly woman empowering, and as positive as you can get.
The irreverent director thinks he has another ace up his sleeve. And that’s the fact that he provides jobs to people who may otherwise be unemployed in these difficult times.
In fact. he has another bonus for those out there waiting for new projects to work on: Joey will soon start work on a new soap starring Lorna Tolentino and Christopher de Leon for GMA 7.
By the end of this year, he buckles down to work on the special-effects studded Malikmata, a thriller meant for the Metro Manila Filmfest.
He is not keeping those blessings stuck in the four corners of his house, though, Joey feels – rightly – that he’s paying his dues to future generation of filmmakers by imparting what he knows to them as a UP professor. It’s a thankless job, mind you.
"My salary can’t even cover the gasoline expenses I incur," he reveals.
But he’s not complaining. First, that youthful energy and idealism rubs off on him. It gives him vigor, opens his mind, gives him a thousand and one ideas for future storylines.
"I can create an entire film festival out of the stories behind the lives of the people here," this incurable storyteller says (he started out as a scriptwriter, remember?).
More importantly, the rewards of teaching the young are intangible. It’s more lasting than any of today’s telenovela stars – foreign or local. This permanent impact on the future generation’s values is what keeps Joey going, never mind if, in the process, he rants and raves against the corruption and the social malaise he has learned to abhor.