S.I.R.'s auspicious debut

It is difficult enough to come up season after season with new and exciting formats that will make the public tune in while keeping the sponsors happy. The hybrid of an entertainment format dressed up as news, something like an investigative docu-drama exclusively on showbiz affairs had just aired its pilot show of Showbiz Inside Report on ABS-CBN last Saturday afternoon.

The show features former E-Live host Ogie Diaz, former Kapuso talents — Carmina Villarroel, Janice de Belen and Joey Marquez tasked with the difficult role of probing into the inside stories of celebrities in the business. The pilot episode dealt with the highly controversial Oct. 29, 2011 Ramgen Bautista murder case which involved siblings, children of Ramon Revilla Sr. and Genelyn Magsaysay, implicated in the murder of their elder brother Ramgen and the shooting of Ramgen’s teenage live-in girlfriend Janelle Manahan. Cause was supposedly division of the monthly P1M allowance from the senator. It was a superb choice for a pilot. There has never yet been a story involving a high profile showbiz family in such a heinous crime as this.  

To this day, the case has not been resolved although Ramon Joseph has been arrested and sister Ramona is expected to give herself up. Various witnesses have only added more fire to the issues, not to mention the uploading of a sex video between Ramgen and Janelle that didn’t help any but point a finger at the Bautista kids as perpetuators. Information unearthed by investigators showing mother Genelyn heavily in debt has also made her a potential suspect.  

This is the backdrop against which Carmina, Janice and Joey interview their subjects with Ogie keeping the fire burning in the studio. Janice interviews Genelyn who at 16 fell in love with the handsome action star, known for his proclivity for woman with more than 80 children as of latest count. Senator Ramon Revilla Sr., however, supports all his women and children for household and educational expenses, the Bautistas purportedly at P1M monthly. Which is perhaps why he was rushed to the hospital upon finding out that Ramgem’s death was about squabbles over money.

 Genelyn, mother of nine among them the slain Ramgen met Janice at a Manila Hotel suite where she and the kids used to meet the Senator for bonding time. She was upright in answering questions, careful not to implicate Ramgen’s girlfriend Janelle. When Janice asked her about Janelle’s statement that she was a schizo, Genelyn calmly admitted she was prone to depression. While telling her story of how as a young girl she gave her youth to this man, not fully aware at first that she would never really own him, we find in her a woman hardened by time. If we expected a breakdown, or a tear while discussing the fate of eldest son Ramgen, we were sorely disappointed.

 Carmina interviewed Janelle and discovered she and Genelyn had so much in common. They both communicated to us a hardness of the spirit. Both were products of broken families, getting into a relationship in their teens, and Janelle living-in with a boyfriend in the same house with eight other children and their mom, which could be unnerving. Joey spoke with Julius Manahan, the father who gained custody of his daughter Janelle, even while both he and Janelle’s mom were living separate lives. Julius confesses spoiling Janelle, if letting her live her life her way can be called spoiling. It was a situation that was less than normal for all of them, that they had to deal with to survive.

 In the premiere telecast, the hosts performed superbly and more; they sustained the audience’s interest. We are already familiar with Carmina and Janice’s prowess from Sis. They only need to keep their emotions in check. As Joey had explained, their purpose in Showbiz Inside Report was to merely present the facts and let the audience be the judge. Happily, Joey’s humor and experience from S Files made him blend in easily with the girls. But we wonder how many stories they could gather that were like this? We also wonder if the audience would accept a serious investigative show that doesn’t resort to hair pulling and bleeped expletives? We congratulate ABS-CBN for taking this risk.

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