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By Bayani San Diego Jr. Inquirer FILIPINOS from both sides of the network wars won in major categories at the 12th Asian Television Awards, held at the Suntec International Convention Center in Singapore on Thursday. Current affairs The GMA 7 documentary show, “Reporter’s Notebook,” topped the Best Current Affairs Program category for its coverage of the war in Lebanon. It bested entries from Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. “Reporter’s Notebook” is hosted by news reporters Maki Pulido and Jiggy Manicad. Team effort Manicad, who also produced the winning episode, told the Inquirer via SMS: “It’s a team effort. The feeling [of winning] is great and humbling at the same time. Lebanon was one of the most dangerous coverages our program has [experienced so far]. We never thought we could come up with good material in that situation—especially one that would merit the attention of the Asian TV Awards.” Co-host Pulido said: “It’s a great high. It doubles the pressure to produce better stories in the interest of our countrymen.” Program manager Clyde Mercado agreed. “Serving the people through this show is rewarding enough,” he said, but this [award] is a very special bonus.” Best news program The ABS-CBN late-night newscast “Bandila” won Best News Program for its coverage of the Subic Rape Case Promulgation. It bested entries from Malaysia, Taiwan, India, as well as two Philippine news shows (GMA 7’s “24 Oras” and ABS-CBN’s “TV Patrol World”). Said Maria Ressa, senior vice president of ABS-CBN’s News and Current Affairs: “‘Bandila’ is just a little over a year old, and we are grateful that its work has been recognized by our peers in the region and the world. We wanted to put together our ideas of nationalism with a faster production pace and more succinct and analytical reporting. ‘Bandila’ has already been named one of the Top 4 newscasts in the world by the International Academy of Arts & Sciences, making it the first time ever that a Philippine network has received this recognition at the Emmys.” Acting trophy Gina Pareño topped the Best Drama Actress category, besting performers from New Zealand, Thailand, India and Singapore. She won for portraying the troubled mother of three mentally ill children in the “Rehas” episode of ABS-CBN’s “Maalaala Mo Kaya.” “We were only given 30 seconds in our thank-you speech,” recalled Pareño. “I was happy and nervous at the same time. I dedicated my award to my family and our countrymen.” The episode was megged by Jeffrey Jeturian, who also directed Pareño in the internationally acclaimed film “Kubrador.”

By Veronica Uy INQUIRER.net I BELIEVE Beatriz Saw emerged the big winner because of overseas Filipino workers around the world and their families throughout the country. Despite having an absent dad, an OFW in Taiwan, Bea seems to have grown into a good person -- something the eight million OFWs all desperately hope for their own children even in their absence. Of course, she could have been just the lucky girl who scored from Wendy Valdez's negative vibes.

By Oliver Pulumbarit Inquirer AFTER episodes where older works by filmmakers like Khavn Dela Cruz and Keith Deligero were featured, calls for entries were announced and the program “Dokyu” (Fridays, ABC 5, 10 p.m.) was ready to air the short-listed entries. The show’s current season is concentrating on the tilt, with competing students from different universities to be judged based on scores given by a panel of critics, and viewers via text voting. A list of over 160 hopefuls has been narrowed down to a select few. The winner of the P50,000 grand prize will be announced in August. Analytical perspective The reformatted show does away with the singular critique of the featured documentaries. The new episodes have an eclectic panel of critics—broadcast journalists Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala and Ed Lingao and journalism professor Danny Arao—whose reviews of the finalist documentaries offer an analytical perspective. Inquirer columnist Patricia Evangelista is the new host. A wide range of subjects and stories are tackled. Most of the finalists show technical proficiency and a cohesive attention to details. The more intriguing ones make the seemingly mundane topics many times interesting and captivating. In a recent episode, two gay-oriented entries were able to present sides to issues that homosexuals face. The first, “Nasaan ang Katawan ni Baklesh” by Gerardo Calagui, talks about the buff, gym-frequenting Pinoy gay man and how he has become an example of the growing diversity of queerdom. Three men’s thoughts on the matter are shared in the 11-minute docu, emphasizing that not all gay men can relate to the old stereotypes played by Dolphy and Roderick Paulate. Worth supporting Then there’s “When Fingers Talk Pink” by collaborators Benedict Navarro, Cindy Tejada and Leo Maranan. Running at 25 minutes, it dissects the origin of “Gay Sign Language,” created by a group of young gays. The recounting of their loved ones’ discoveries years back that they’re deaf—and later, gay—are sensitively executed. The creation of a new series of expressions is explained as well as the need for a rare minority group to come up with ways to communicate apart from the traditional “Filipino Sign Language” mode. The other finalists will have their share of air time. In such a limited span, these young talents have been challenged to tell real human interest stories, and to capture as many of their facets as possible. The new focus on the student competition, and the informative and creatively done entries, make “Dokyu” definitely worth seeing and supporting.