‘Grateful’ lessons from road of charity
Charity begins at home. It’s very true in the case of chemist Pinky Tobiano.
When she appeared as a guest in the Bawal Judgment segment of Eat, Bulaga! last Friday, Pinky retold how she helped mind the family business at age five, issuing the receipts and doing other tasks. At that tender age, she said that she also accompanied her parents on their charity projects.
A Business graduate from Harvard (Boston), Pinky hasn’t stopped traveling the road of charity, especially during this pandemic, not minding if she has been dealing with health issues (she has just come back from another round of treatment in Singapore). Charity is in her genes.
An authentic frontliner, Pinky put up an online show called Grateful Tuesdays (GT, named after a daughter born on a Tuesday) through which she has been helping those in need.
Streaming Tuesday nights starting at 7 o’clock on Chemist Tobiano Facebook, CS Entertainment Kumu Channel and Cornerstone Entertainment Facebook, the show is premiering its third season tonight, capping a year of non-stop charity work that extends beyond the confines of four walls and into places where help is needed like those ravaged by typhoons and floods, etc.
Asked what three lessons she has learned on the road, Pinky said, “One, there’s a lot more to do. Two, many people need urgent aid including jeepney drivers reduced to begging after being rendered jobless by the pandemic. Three, we should be grateful for every little thing that we have; we should be grateful that we are alive.”
After two successful seasons co-hosted by Yeng Constantino, Pinky kicks off Season 3 with three new co-hosts — Catriona Gray, Jaya and Zephanie Dimaranan. In its first two seasons, the show gave away gadgets such as laptops to deserving students in need, as well as relief goods and cash donations to displaced families and individuals (over 35,000 families in total).
“We reach people not just locally but worldwide,” noted Pinky. “And many people are giving donations like a group of OFW singers in New York City that held a concert and then nag-ambag-ambag sila and donated the money to GT.”
Season 3 promises to be as star-studded as the previous shows, or even more so. Having guested some of Filipino’s most sought-after singers such as KZ Tandingan, Kyle Echarri, Jay-R, Moira dela Torre and Kyla; and celebrities like Ruffa Gutierrez, Tim Yap, Herbert Bautista and Mayor Chavit Singson, GT is bound to make its regular viewers and new fans eager to see who would grace the show this season.
Season 3 opens with a bang as the show is set to give exciting prizes on its premiere night! The show also aims to promote tourism in the country as businesses are starting to open. Expect exciting tours, visits and trips to some of the Philippines’ well-renowned tourist sites. Also, the show continues to be of help to all our kababayan in some selected barangays and for the online viewers, GT will still be giving away cellphone load and laptop. Plus, new segments are also lined-up to add more fun. Lots of other surprises await the viewers.
Besides co-hosting and helping distribute relief goods, Catriona, Jaya and Zephanie can always sing for added entertainment. We know what good singers Catriona and Jaya are, and Zephanie can easily level up to them with her vocal prowess (“Electrifying voice!” is how Pinky described it) amply showcased in the Kapamilya contests she has competed in (The Voice Kids Philippines, Idol Philippines, Showtime’s Tawag ng Tanghalan, etc.). A native of Biñan, Laguna, Zephanie is one of five children (dad is a pastor).
Jaya joining family in US
During the recent Grateful Tuesdays’ virtual mediacon, Jaya confirmed that she is soon joining her husband, Gary Gotidoc, in the US. They got married in 2006 and have two children, plus Jaya’s stepson.
“My husband got a scare last year,” revealed Jaya. “He suffered a mild stroke. He has gone back to the US with my stepson. I am thinking about not just my career but also my family. My husband got a job just 22 hours after he arrived there. I am leaving after fulfilling my commitments here. My career brings me to different places around the world and I will always be available for projects.”
Count Your Lucky Stars on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z & TV5
The original Dao Ming Si, Jerry Yan, and the new generation Shan Chai, Shen Yue, are spreading kilig to more viewers as their hit series, Count Your Lucky Stars, airs on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, TV5, and Kapamilya Online Live starting yesterday (March 15), 10 p.m. after Walang Hanggang Paalam.
The 2020 romcom fantasy drama series follows Calvin Lu (Jerry), an attractive and well-respected fashion designer who has life figured out despite being a snob. Andi Tong (Shen), on the other hand, is a struggling fashion designer whose bad luck doesn’t seem to run out. However, tables turn when they bump into each other, resulting to a reversal of fates.
Count Your Lucky Stars was first streamed in the Philippines via iWantTFC recently. It currently is in the Top 10 list of most-watched series on iWantTFC.
Even before it became available on the streaming platform, it already sent netizens abuzz after a photo of Jerry Yan from the show while sitting in a bath tub went viral on social media. Many said the actor seemed to have not aged since he took the country by storm when he played Dao Ming Si in the phenomenal Taiwanese series Meteor Garden.
Besides iWantTFC, the hit series will also be available on Kapamilya Online Live on Facebook and YouTube once it airs on TV.
(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)
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