Reunion with the legends of TV

MANILA, Philippines - It’s always a pleasure to attend parties and gatherings. You get to see friends you haven’t seen in ages, get to eat great food and get to catch up with the latest news. One party I recently attended was TV legend Chito Arceo’s birthday-cum-Christmas party.

Chito Arceo. Back in the mid-’80s, one of the highest-rated TV shows was called Chicks To Chicks and it aired weekly on primetime on the then No. 1 TV station Channel 13 (remember the slogan Basta Pinoy Trece?). It starred then Sen. Freddie Webb, Nova Villa, Carmi Martin and Chito plus a bevy of sexy upcoming stars like Maria Theresa Carlson. The term “Manyakis” was invented for Chito’s character Chiqui in the sitcom. In real life, Chito is one of the nicest and well-behaved gentlemen in the TV industry. Besides being a TV actor, Chito appeared in a few movies but his main line was always sales and marketing. He has worked with BBC 2 (before it became ABS-CBN), ABC 5, RPN 9, IBC 13 and most recently GMA 7 where a sudden stroke put him into semi-retirement. Chito has been a good friend since the ’70s and he is one of the most down-to-earth people I know — without any airs at all. I miss those days when we used to attend TV and movie markets and conventions in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Chito, nowadays, is into breeding horses.

Tony Tuviera. A lot of people are not aware that in the early days of Eat Bulaga!, its producer Tony almost had the show cancelled because they were already running really low on funds. Back in the ’70s and the early ’80s, ad agencies and sponsors only wanted to advertise in the top-rated noontime show Student Canteen. Sheer perseverance and faith in Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon steered him to make the right decision. Over 30 years later, Eat Bulaga! is not only a legendary top-rated TV program but also the longest-running live show in Philippine TV history.

With Tony Tuviera (left) and Bobby Barreiro

I met Tony in the early ’80s and he became a business partner and one of my closest and most admired friends. He is the type of friend that I would have proposed marriage to had he been a woman. Tony is always ready to come to your rescue 24/7 and has the habit of spoiling family and friends. I remember a time in the ’90s when we were looking at giant TVs at a high-end shop in Megamall. I saw one that I really liked but couldn’t afford but didn’t make a comment. He just looked at me as we walked out of the shop. When I woke up the next morning, I got the surprise of my life when I saw the TV at my doorstep. I don’t see Tony much nowadays because he’s so busy doing movie and TV work not to mention constant traveling and farming.

Bobby Barreiro. Bobby is one of TV5’s top honchos. He indeed has come a long way. I had the pleasure of working with him during the early days of ABC 5 in the ’90s when he was with sales and marketing and I was producing two TV shows for the network, Stay Awake, a talk-cum-comedy show topbilled by Joey de Leon and Jimmy Santos, and Beatles Forever. Although both shows had excellent viewership, both were financial sinkholes. Bobby encouraged me to continue producing and directing TV shows as he saw some potential in me which to date are golden words difficult to forget. Bobby left ABC 5 for greener pastures and transferred to GMA 7 Sales and Marketing. It was Bobby together with Tony Tuviera that started Mike Enriquez’s career on TV. They convinced him to anchor GMA 7’s election coverage. When Edward Tan sold ABC 5 to Tonyboy Cojuangco, Bobby rejoined ABC 5 as GM. Recently, ABC 5 became TV5 when Manny Pangilinan took over.

With Boy Santiago and Gil Balaguer

More friends I haven’t seen: At the same party, I saw more friends I haven’t seen in ages like Nilo Choa — my golf buddy and partner in seven TV shows in the ’90s. Nilo is the uncle of Malou Choa-Fagar, executive producer of Eat Bulaga! and was one of the moving forces of the AD Agency Basic Motivators. Nilo is very much active in the industry with his media boutique. Also at the party were industry bigwigs Boy Santiago, Gil Balaguer, Manny Gutierrez and Chito’s heir-apparent Ian Arceo. Also in the party were some of Chito’s former TV cast mates, former Sen. Webb and Nova. As I bid goodbye to my friends amid the flow of Litsong Baka and Chito’s favorite Lechon Cebu, I had a sudden rush of sentimental nostalgia.