A HOUSE divided.
Ganito rin kahati ang public opinion sa pakikipagrelasyon ngayon ni Freddie Aguilar sa isang menor de edad na nagngangalang Jovi Gatdula na tubong Mindoro.
As for the romanticists, aprub sa kanila ang relasyon. Ayon mismo kay Ka Freddie, “Eh, sa nainlab ako, eh!” The legendary folk singer has found a bunch of kakampi in his family, even fellow artists like Joey de Leon.
Ayon kay Tito Joey sa nakaraang episode ng Startalk, “Oy, wala nang Kapuso, wala nang Kapamilya, wala nang Kapatid… Ka Freddie na!” Nabuhay raw ang ugat ng singer kaya, “Mabuhay ka, Ka Freddie!”
Of course, there are also the moralists to contend with. Sakop kasi ng R.A. 7610 ang paglabag sa child abuse, kung saan maaaring papanagutin ang singer dahil disisais anyos lang ang kanyang dyowa. Under the law, pasok ito sa concern ng DSWD na maaari ring papanagutin ang mga magulang ng menor de edad.
But there exist gray areas to this issue. Why are Jovi’s parents liable gayong tanggap naman nila si Ka Freddie bilang dyowa ng kanilang anak? Why must there be a DSWD intervention?
Having analayzed this, Ka Freddie—who’s way above legal age—should have known better. Sa edad niyang sisenta anyos, maano ba namang inilihim niya ang tunay na edad ni Jovi, to think that he thought that the girl—during their first meeting—was in her early 20s?
Wala ba ni katiting na alam si Ka Freddie sa batas?
Siguro naman, there are also laws that govern love. About two weeks ago, naiulat sa GMA ang pakikipagrelasyon ng isang barangay official sa isang menor de edad. May mga awtoridad na nagtangkang bawiin ang babae sa reklamo na rin ng mga magulang nito.
So, ano ang kaibahan?
PERSONALLY, WE would assume that if there’s anything that Boy Abunda would rather not divulge about his personal information, ‘yun ay ang kanyang tunay na biological age.
Taong 1999 nang manganak, so to speak, ang aming pakikipagtrabaho kay Kuya Boy from Startalk to DZAR Angel Radyo via his program The Boy Abunda Radio Show bilang co-announcers along with friends Jobert Sucaldito and Gorgy Rula.
Back then, isa nang established TV personality si “ama” who made a crossover to the airwaves gayong wala na naman siyang dapat pang patunayan.
To this day, our personal gratitude extends to the guy who gave us that break.
Tandang-tanda pa namin, in one of our off-air tsikahans near the building stairway, tinanong kami ni Kuya Boy kung ilan na kami. “Kuya Boy, 37 na po ako,” to which ang kanyang kaswal na sagot ay, “Ah, matanda ako sa ‘yo, Ron.”
Even in a local glossy magazine published years ago kung saan natisod namin ang pangalan ni Kuya Boy alongside other famous showbiz luminaries, tanging siya lang ang merong “classified information” pertaining to his age. Which means, confidential ‘yon, that only an expert in many a Hollywood film about espionage could unravel.
Sa maraming taon naming pagsasama ni Kuya, tumatak sa aming isipan ang madalas din naming ibahagi sa mga kakilala’t kaibigan sa tuwing madaragdagan ng taon ang kanilang edad, “It’s not the age… it’s the mileage.”
Sa darating na October 29, only Kuya Boy plus his Nanay Lising, his sister Boronggan Mayor Mana Fe and his partner Sir Bong Quintana are privy kung ilang taon na ang binansagang King of Talk. Perhaps, even the National Statistics Office (NSO) is misled to Kuya Boy’s age.
Kuya Boy’s well-deserved success is equal to his born days.
Sa aming simpleng paraan, more than greeting him a happy, blessed birthday ay aming pasasalamat sa isang tunay na pagkakakaibigang walang kundisyon, walang pag-iimbot at walang pag-aalinlangan.
Maligayang kaarawan po, “ama.” Labyu po, Kuya Boy.
Pepperoni
by Ronnie Carrasco III
