faces of 2003 Mag-Otso-Otso Na!

One plus one, Magellan
Two plus two, Lapu-Lapu
Four plus four equals eight
Doblehin ang eight, tayo’y
Mag-otso-otso, otso-otso
Mag-otso-otso na! – from the hit novelty song Otso-Otso by Bayani Agbayani

If Mike Defensor and the other think tanks of the administration would have their way, even President GMA might be doing "otso-otso" like the rest of the country come election time. Defensor is toying with the "brilliant" idea of using Bayani’s surprise smash-hit dance tune as GMA’s campaign "theme," along with the Hotdog’s ’70s hit Bongga Ka, ‘Day, never mind if the rights to both songs would reportedly dent the administration’s campaign budget by – believe it or not – a whopping P1 million! Chicken feed? A teeny-weeny drop in the bucket!

Despite the surmounting economic problems (with the peso’s value dwindling against the mighty dollar), the political circus (the antics of the Senators and the Congressmen have ceased to be funny, haven’t they?), the worsening crime situation (you don’t feel safe even inside your home, do you?) and the natural disasters (let’s pray for the repose of the souls of the landslide victims in Southern Leyte) that regularly visit the country, the resilient Filipinos (perhaps) tried to wriggle away and shake off the uncertainties by, you guessed it, doing the otso-otso.

That is, if they were not glued like zombies to the TV sets following the (mis)adventures of the fabulous F4 (Flower Four) guys Jerry Yan, Vanness Wu, Vic Zhou and Ken Zhu, the Taiwanese quartet who took the archipelago by storm with their TV starrer Meteor Garden (on ABS-CBN). In September, two of the guys came for a show. They were a hit. Ayos na ang kasunod! A few weeks later, Jerry Yan (a.k.a. Dao Ming Si) flew in solo to promote Bench of which he’s the newest image model and came back (with Vic Zhou) barely three weeks later to join ABS-CBN’s stars in the company’s Happy 50 concert. The other day, all four guys came for yet another concert which capped a year of chinovela-mania (credit Viva Films’ big boss Vic del Rosario, Jr. for coining the word "chinovela," derived from "telenovela" which referred to the Mexican soaps that used to lord over local television).

Competing for centerstage during the year were the Sex Bomb Girls and the Viva Hot Babes who have become indistinguishable from one another because, with hardly a stitch on, they all look alike, especially when they’re turning their sexy bottoms toward the camera, sending the self-apppointed guardians of public morality into a panic.

The F4 and the Sex Bomb Girls and the Viva Hot Babes were not the only familiar and recurrent faces of 2003. How could anyone overlook diminutive TV stars(?) Mahal and Mura who, along with Dagul, turned the ABS-CBN noontime show Magandang Tanghali Bayan (MTB) into a "freak" show? Mahal and Mura have given "small" people with big dreams a lot of hope.

But the most distinct and most indelible faces of the year were those of "un-coupled" Kris Aquino and Joey Marquez, contorted with guilt and remorse on national television during a two-week fight that stopped in their tracks all the chinovelas and the telenovelas as the tsismis-hungry populace watched with bated breath, waited in suspense what the next move of the ex-lovers would be. Kris claimed that Joey, third-termer mayor of Parañaque City, poked a gun at her during a lovers’ quarrel, revealing also on national television that Joey likewise gave her STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease). The latest episode in the real-life drama? Kris and Joey are communicating but, insisted Kris, not "reconciling."

Meanwhile, FPJ finally ended months of guessing game by announcing his desire to run for President in 2004, sending shock waves into "enemy" territory and no doubt causing other presidential aspirants sleepless nights. FPJ’s wife, Susan Roces, continues to share the limelight with him not only because she’s making a much-awaited movie comeback as one of Christopher de Leon’s three wives in Mano Po 2 (Regal Films’ 2003 Metro Filmfest entry) but also because, well, simply because she is Susan Roces who is teased by friends as "the next First Lady."

Other couples who figured prominently in the media included Robin Padilla and Judy Ann Santos who denied they were an "item" after Robin’s Australia-based wife, Liezl Sicangco, announced that she and Robin were breaking up because of a "third party" (unidentified but presumed to be Judy Ann). When last heard from, Robin just came back from an "emergency" trip to Australia after trying to iron things out with Liezl.

Likewise, Regine Velasquez and Ogie Alcasid vehemently denied persistent rumors that they were having an "illicit" affair that allegedly made Ogie’s wife, Michelle van Eimeren, pack her things and fly in a huff to her native Australia with their two daughters.

The most refreshing loveteam to emerge in 2003 were John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo, a hit in the ABS-CBN soap Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay (which has ended and given way to a new one, It Might Be You), never mind if there’s no romance between them since John Lloyd was (take note: past tense) going steady with Ciara Sotto with whom he was said to have split up just recently.

There was glamour and glitter, too, in 2003, provided by the fabulous sunset wedding of Ruffa Gutierrez and Yilmaz Bektas at The Fort on March 25 (the couple now has a daughter, Lorin Gabriella, born last Aug. 3). Only three months later, Ruffa’s friend Donita Rose followed suit, exchanging "I do’s" with Eric Villarama at a resort wedding in California. First week of December, Tintin Bersola and Julius Babao vowed to each other "to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, till death do us part" at a garden wedding in Antipolo (the newly-weds are still honeymooning in the US and Europe).

And there were sad goodbyes. Among those who "crossed the bar" were Inday Badiday, Oscar Moreno, Vic Vargas, Cesar Ramirez, Fred Montilla, character actor Johnny Vicar and Carding Castro (of the Reycard Duet).

So that was Year 2003. Let’s say a prayer as we bid The Year of the Goat goodbye and pray for better things to come as we welcome The Year of the Monkey.

In the meantime, mag otso-otso na!

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