Only those whose hearts radiate with love of family could face an uncertain future with hope and optimism.
The photos and videos of ABS-CBN’s current and former employees posted on social media have brought a wave of nostalgia to everyone who has ever worked at the former broadcasting network, including yours truly. I was a production/promo assistant at ABS-CBN’s film production arm, Star Cinema, and an associate editor/writer at ABS-CBN Publishing.
The pictorials and video shoots at the Mother Ignacia complex, site of the 720-foot ABS-CBN tower, were symbolic goodbyes to the tower and the main building. Soon, these would be demolished to give way to an Ayala Land development. As a result, ABS-CBN’s operations and studios would be consolidated at the Eugenio Lopez, Jr. Communications Center.
ABS-CBN served as my training ground and a very important part of my career in media. I was lucky to be there during the company’s expansion and bravest years.
I learned from the pioneers who took on the challenge of rebuilding the TV station immediately after the EDSA People Power Revolution.
I remember Tita Cory Vidanes (she was head of Star Cinema’s Promo Department for a very short while) telling me that her kids would only open their Christmas gifts on December 25, and how that struck me as a lesson in building Emotional Quotient.
I recall Tita Malou Santos always arrived at the office straight from the salon, where she had her hair blow-dried, because she wanted to look and feel her best at work. (“Huwag kayong papasok na basa ang buhok n’yo,” she advised us PAs). I appreciate the box of Muhlach ensaymada that Ma’am Charo (Santos) gifted me and everyone else at Star Cinema one Christmastime. The box came with a note that she signed herself.
Of course, there were up-close-and-personal moments with the stars. I won’t ever forget how Sharon Cuneta looked at my (handwritten) list of interview questions and told me that I had good penmanship. Or the time Raymart Santiago—with no entourage— brought cheer to our drab office at the JUSMAG Complex; he was so action star-charming that we, the PAs, simply had to have a picture with him.
After I left Star Cinema, I returned to ABS-CBN after some years to be part of their magazines. The Kapamilya essence was present amid the network’s immense growth.
I felt it at the “Kapihan with the Chairman” events where ABS-CBN Chairman Mr. Gabby Lopez met employees and talents face-to-face to listen to their concerns and dialog with them. I experienced it with ABS-CBN Publishing Editorial Director An Mercado Alcantara who was very hands-on and treated each magazine staff under her like her own children, clearly suggesting how to angle a story, giving us an editorial brief she took time to craft, and sometimes treating us to lunch at the nearby Gerry’s Grill. I saw it in the lifestyle of publishing big boss Ernie Lopez who didn’t have to preach about being practical; he demonstrated the virtue by riding the MRT.
I lived it whenever the staff of StarStudio patiently worked together.
The working conditions weren’t always the best, but my days as a Kapamilya taught me to be resourceful (we could write entire articles without personally interviewing the celebrity subject, but just by interviewing the persons around the celeb), creative (thinking of titles, cover blurbs and magazine lineups were always fun mind exercises), and, most of all, grateful.
The photos of upbeat Kapamilyas gathered at the main building and tower may look initially weird and baffling. They were smiling despite losing a big part of their history and glory. The collective picture was in contrast to the Kapamilyas’ sadness after ABS-CBN lost its franchise.
But I understood.
Only those whose hearts radiate with love of family could face an uncertain future with hope and optimism.
