When Justin Bieber Came to Town

I have been converted and I am now a “Belieber.” Like the thousands of people who have been lucky enough to see, hear and touch him, 19-year-old pop heartthrob Justin Bieber (JB) surely made converts of those Filipinos whom he met when he flew in for a day last Dec. 10 and interacted with the kids who have been victims of Typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban City. The international pop sensation was supposed to hold a concert as part of his Believe world tour but decided to cancel plans for his Manila concert and instead go directly to Tacloban to show his support to the survivors. “Justin wanted to bring his gift of music to the kids of Tacloban as a way of showing that he cares for them,” says Penni Thow, head of Social Impact for Scooter Braun Projects.

His visit was like a lightning out of a blue sky and I had no inkling that it was forthcoming. When the top honchos of Smart, PLDT and TV5 made the decisive move and called in some people to help with the arrangements, the mills immediately started churning to mount a task that combines the speed and efficiency of a blitzkrieg and the hush-hush secrecy of James Bond. The point person in this scheme of things was Sports5 head Chot Reyes who shared that the whole thing came about when his friend, Rhiza Pascua, asked if TV5 would like to help in #GiveBackPhilippines — JB’s fundraising campaign for Yolanda’s victims. “Of course, I said yes right away,” Reyes says.  “We have always been on the look-out for ways to help as a group. I asked our chairman MVP (Manny V. Pangilinan)  and TV5 president  Noel Lorenzana who both said yes quickly; and when bosses Charles Lim and Orlando Vea of Smart, together with PLDT’s Chaye Revilla and Ariel Fermin, committed the help of their respective companies, then it was full steam ahead.”

A bit of a background on Justin’s #GiveBackPhilippines. The young pop superstar started his #GiveBackPhilippines campaign in order to help victims of Typhoon Yolanda. According to reports, he “seemed to have gone all out in his campaign to raise money for Filipino victims,”  including painting a graffiti on a wall in Los Angeles, U.S.A.  on Nov. 17 portraying two hands clasped together in prayer with the words “Pray 4 Philippines” and his initials, JB, at the bottom. A photo of the graffiti painting with the signed spray paints used are for auction with proceeds going to Typhoon Yolanda victims. In addition, Justin also started a donation campaign in micro-donation site prizeo.com. Donors and fans have the chance to win an exclusive studio hang-out with him in exchange for donating a few bucks. The campaign raised $665,000 which he personally handed to UNICEF for its relief and rehabilitation of the children affected by the supertyphoon.

So Justin’s trip here was not an off-chance thing, for it stems from his generosity of spirit. He actually put it as “#pray4philippines most touching trip of my life” with which he captioned a shared Instagram photo of his Tacloban trip. 

Though Reyes also had his initial misgivings during the early stages of planning, he now seems to be something of a “Belieber” as well. “We saw how sincere JB was in raising funds. The secrecy and security showed us this was not merely a publicity stunt for him, but a genuine desire to help so much so that the UNICEF partnered with them, too. And this was just another way for us to help. Aside from this, they produced 1,000 shirts for us to sell, the proceeds going directly to our Alagang Kapatid Foundation.”

Summing up what transpired behind the scenes of the Justin Bieber visit, Reyes has this to say: “It was teamwork at its best. To mount such an event with very little lead time (barely one week) speaks volumes of the ability of the group to mobilize and execute. It was not perfect. The very strict security and short lead time meant there was very limited opportunity to do pre-event publicity. But in the end, it was about raising funds for Tacloban relief. The fact that #GiveBackPhilippines has already raised more than $665,000 to date means it’s mission accomplished.” 

Most importantly, Justin’s visit brightened the world of some of the kids in typhoon-devastated Tacloban even for just a while. And maybe, for that brief shining moment when he performed to the delight of the young survivors, Justin made the most meaningful performance of his life and inspired millions of people all over the world to help make a difference in the lives of others in their own little way.

(TV5 will air a one-hour special Give Love. Give Back Philippines on Dec.  21 at 9:45 p.m. Watch for the exclusive interviews and video coverage of Justin Bieber on the said special.)