WHY POKWANG CRIED SO HARD THE FIRST TIME SHE MET SANTINO

At the peak of Zaijian Jaranilla's popularity as Santino of the top-rating soap "May Bukas Pa," comedienne Pokwang tried so hard to avoid having a face-to-face encounter with the wonder boy. For a while she succeed despite being just under one roof. Until one day the unavoidable happened: the two needed to shoot a few scenes together for an ice cream television commercial.

Pokwang is a softhearted mother

Pokwang's reason is very personal and it isn't exactly Zaijian's fault. The child actor is a deadringer of her deceased son and Pokwang had goosebumps the first time he saw him on TV. Pokwang showed me her son's school ID and I agreed that he indeed resembled the tender face of Zaijian (perhaps made slightly different by the latter's fuller eyes).

Before Zaijian arrived at the set, Pokwang was visibly tensed. She feared that she might break into tears when she sees him.  The moment was dramatic. The set, the courtyard of an old Intramus church, was painted with gloominess of the afternoon drizzle. Out of professionalism, Pokwang knew then that she has an undertaking to finish and her fears must not get into the way.

Zaijian Jaranilla looks like Pokwang's deceased son

And the most awaited moment unfolded. Zaijian stepped into the set with his handlers and instantly ran towards Pokwang when he saw her. He embraced her with so much warmth and innocence that a mother who had lost her child must have longed for. I remember everything in slow motion-- Pokwang holding her tears back, maybe in her mind wishing that at that instance Zaijian be her own son.

I could not recall how Zaijian and Pokwang separated and how she ended on my shoulders weeping with a river of tears, repeatedly telling me how his son and the child actor are so alike in so many ways--their fragile frame, their thick hair, and even their smile.

I saw a different Pokwang then-- not the funny girl wearing a flamboyant costume waiting to crack a perfect punchline-- but a simple, loving mother haunted with regret, that if only her big break in showbiz came just a little early, she could have had saved his son's life.

Side Story
A few minutes after posting this blog entry, I invited my Facebook friends to view it. I got a really disrespectful comment from someone that really ticked me. Here's his comment and my reply:


Philip Jr Lustre Characters like her contribute to the idiotization and faggotization of the Filipino people. Nakakadiri...


Chris Cahilig i respect idiots and faggots who make the masses happy better than an intellectual elite who knows nothing but complain about almost everything. he has an insatiable appetite for destruction and he contributes immensely to the disintegration of the society. :-)