I was involuntarily kept at home last Saturday night, hence living up to my column’s title, lying having my household massage my feet while watching TV. You see, I can’t go against my help as she was performing a non-essential chore, so I let her do the choosing of the show she wanted to watch while rubbing my feet.
So there we were, watching Ate Charo (Santos) and the love story of a paraplegic in MMK or Maalala Mo Kaya.
Kind of compelling, I must say. And it’s based upon a real-life love story between Kiko and Agnes. But, of course, TV romanticizes the factual reality of Kiko and Agnes’s story, but that’s beside the point.
Titled “Simbahan,” last Saturday’s episode is also a May-December affair. Agnes, the polio victim since childhood (played by once trifling sister of drama diva Janice de Belen, Gelli, thinks at her age (she’s mid-30s) no one would bother with her. But, to her surprise, a factory worker 15 years younger than she is, Kiko (played by the fine-looking Jerome Ponce), and who sits with fellow workers at a table in her carinderia-cum-sari-sari store without purchasing anything was secretly observing her.
And when the opportunity came for Kiko to reveal his true feelings for Agnes came, the woman was incredulous although she herself has developed a liking for the guy.
Although at first Agnes’ mother doesn’t approve of her daughter’s relationship with Kiko, she eventually relents. Kiko and Agnes are wed, but Agnes’s vision of a happy life doesn’t come to reality when her husband is hospitalized for renal failure and needed twice a week dialysis as medical intervention.
No, Agnes doesn’t want to give up even if Kiko just wants to let it slide so his wife will not think of him as burden. The ironical situation of the two reinforces the story’s dramaturgy, making it a gripping drama that despite the commercial loads, I didn’t want to switch to a streaming service (without commercials).
Well, Gelli has matured as a performer, I didn’t see the once-irritating giggles that she used to mark her performances, whether in a drama or a comedy. I guess, age has something to do with it.
Also, at a young age, (he’s only 24), Jerome displays the kind of readiness to show a wide range of emotions necessary to pull off a performance. ABS-CBN should start seriously looking at this guy if they needed an actor that could very well take the place of Piolo Pascual and Jericho Rosales (both had stated they’d no longer star in soap operas) in its prime time shows. Jerome’s a formidable candidate.
As the show ended with the real-life Agnes talking about how she surpassed the struggles she had as a polio victim and then as a wife with a sick husband, I thought how many Filipinos afflicted with the same condition and in the same situations continue to struggle day in and day out. And here I am having a foot massage while watching television.
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Supermarket in an airport terminal?
Well, well, there’s one, indeed, at NAIA Terminal 3.
Passengers passing through Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 before they proceed home can buy groceries at the newly opened Duty Free Philippines (DFP) supermarket at the DFP Arrival Mall, South Arrival Lobby, NAIA Terminal 3.
The over 800 square-meter supermarket boasts a complete section of grocery items for mass consumption, such as laundry detergents, shampoo, condiments, canned goods, frozen foods, and snacks.
It also has shelves for cereals, baby care, pasta and noodles, cheese, yogurt, and other items.
According to DFP Chief Operating Officer (COO) Vicente Pelagio A. Angala, the supermarket offers a complete section featuring dedicated wall bays and an increased product assortment to serve the travelers better with a fully stocked supermarket right at the airport.
“We came up with this idea to raise the bar of the Duty Free pasalubong shopping experience. Instead of buying grocery items abroad that will add up to their baggage fees, they can shop the same brands when they arrive at the airport at a duty-free price,” said Angala.
“Other than keeping yourself from paying unnecessary baggage fees, this also adds convenience. Imagine arriving at the airport after a vacation or working abroad, one can just conveniently grab groceries or do grocery shopping with their family,” he added.
