Long before numerous cable shows aired 24/7 on TV, these are the lines greeting young viewers at around 9 o’clock in the morning. Filled humor and original Filipino stories, the Batibot show was part of kids from the early 80s to the mid-90s.

For the very young, Batibot is the local alternative to “Sesame Street” some decades ago.

Originally named “Sesame!” when it premiered on TV in early 1980s, Batibot was produced by Philippine Children’s Television Foundation in partnership with Children’s Television Workshop, the creator of Sesame Street. Years after, the show’s name changed to Batibot and followed an all-Filipino format until its last year in 1996.

Kids stay glued to the TV in the morning to watch stories, music and features as hosted by Kuya Bodgie and Ate Sienna. Add to that a lively, colorful bunch of talking animal puppets.

I bet the generation who grew up with just five channels and watching Batibot is a daily ritual. Mornings are spent with Pong Pagong, a big turtle with baseball cap likened Big Bird; Kiko Matsing, a purple monkey likened to Kermit the Frog; Manang Bola, the fortune-teller with crystal ball, twins Ningning and Gingging and Irma Daldal, a talkative actress with chuwariwap dancers.

As I was channel surfing in the morning, I looked back a decade ago when kids would stop playing under the sun to catch a glimpse of these characters, learn a story and memorize a song. Some of these kids like me still remember these stories and songs.

In Tagalog, Batibot is said to mean “small but strong robust,” which is true of its production then. The show was an initiative of two nonprofit organizations and produced by Fely De Los Angeles-Bautista. It was sad the influx of canned cable shows from Cartoon Network and Nickledeon, and newer children’s show from some local stations made it harder for Batibot to redeem its glory. Add to that several licensing issues which up to now are left unresolved.

At present, the Sesame Street still finds airtime in local stations in the afternoon and I thought again of the plight of Batibot. I was sad and happy. I am sad that the show is left only in memory and nothing but a tale to tell kids of today. I am happy that in the early 1990s at five, I stayed glued on my seat during 9 in the morning and sang “Pagmulat ng mata, langit nakatawa sa Batibot…”

What’s your fond memory of Batibot?

Who can’t forget the antics of comedy television’s famous trio? Iskul Bukol is about the lives of three students: Tito (Sotto) and Joey (De Leon) Escalera brothers and Vic (Sotto) Ungasis, a teacher’s pet who often attracts pretty girls in class. All are students of Wanbol University.

During a television interview, De Leon jokingly declares that usually movies produced for the MMFF bring along lessons in life. “Sa pelikulang eto, wala kayong ikakapulutan ng aral [In this movie, there are no lessons],” says De Leon, as the Sotto brothers tried to suppress a laugh.

Being part of a generation of kids who grew up watching reruns of Tagalog movies on television, Iskul Bukol offered respite from hours of melodrama during primetime.

Iskul Bukol has created characters like cafeteria operator Mang Temi (Bing Angeles), a name that plays on the word Filipino word “Itim” or dark-complexioned. Of course, who can’t forget Miss Tapia (Mely Tagasa), a professor at the Wanbol University who hates the Escalera brothers? Another is Redford (Redford White) who plays Mang Temi’s houseboy.

Recently, news that Richie D’ Horsie who plays one of the characters in Iskul Bukol, was bailed out from prison to play his old role was revealed. During one television interview, Vic Sotto said the group decided to give D’ Horsie another chance to reform and be part of a reunion of sorts of the original cast of the hit TV sitcom. D’ Horsie has been languishing in prison for an offense related to drugs.

Here’s the sitcom’s theme song, which is actually borrowed from Elvis Presley’s “All Shook Up,” which my dad would often jokingly sing, “Amoy Suka.”

MANILA CITY, Philippines — Christmas will be brighter in Metro Manila figuratively and literally as the Meralco Corp. once again launches the annual ‘Maliwanag ang Pasko’ campaign in Manila Cathedral.

Maliwanag ang Pasko is known to give recognition to the households and churches that embrace the tradition of lighting up every Christmas with their most creative display of lights and decors.

This year, the project is themed as “Campaign of Hope,” as Meralco hopes everyone to share hope and brightness in their communities by lighting up for Christmas.

The word “share” is emphasized since the winners for the best decoration will be given the chance to grant donations to orphans of their choice, allowing the winners to share their blessing to those in need.

Manuel Lopez, chairman and CEO of Meralco, said the company is working with local government units in helping spread the word on the project.

Manila City Mayor Alfredo Lim gave his full support on this project and his administration also plans to add additional lights in some streets for safer and brighter Christmas in Manila.

The chosen beneficiaries of the said project are charitable institution which primarily advocates children’s welfare.

Lopez admits that the children would always have a soft spot in his heart and though it may sound cliché, ‘they are still our future,’ Lopez added.

With this, the supporters of the said project foresee that this Christmas season will definitely be a bright one with everyone lighting up their homes and bring brighter light to the children.

Paco Park is a recognized cultural heritage primarily because this was the place where the remains of our national hero — Dr. Jose Rizal — were first laid to rest. Later on, Rizal’s remains were transferred to Bagumbayan, or what we call today as “Luneta.”

The three martyr priests — Fr. Mariano Gomez, Fr. Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora — were the first men buried in Paco cemetery. Ironically, Rizal dedicated El Filibusterismo to the three martyrs and later on the four of them met each other in death in this same area, but not for long. However, even if their remains were already transferred, there are still markers inside the park to commemorate the four heroes.

It was only in 1948 by virtue of a legislative act that Paco cemetery was transformed into a park in accordance with the guidelines set for all national parks. There was also a need to transfer all other remains to Manila North Cemetery because of cholera epidemic during that time.

“This is a place to reminisce the Spanish era,” says Carlito Fajardo, Executive Director of Paco Park.

The walls and the structure of the park bring flashbacks of what has happened through the years — endless toil are etched in every building block of each wall, marked by the sweat and blood of our ancestors under the unjust hands of the Spaniards during that era.

“Tranquility — how peaceful and quiet,” Fajardo adds when asked what Paco Park offers to the public.

Who would have known that one can find a place such as this in the heart of a busy city like Manila? I was fascinated with the silence of the place — for a moment I even forgot I was still inside the city. All you could hear is the humming of birds and — if you close your eyes — you would feel like you were sitting near a serenely flowing river. In reality, a fountain in the middle of the park is the source of that sound. This is a perfect venue for those in search of peace of mind, away from stress and pollution.

Every Friday, the park holds a concert called “Paco Park Presents” where cultural organizations are the main performers. It may be the Rondalla concert rendering folk music, a chorale group filling the place with their angelic voices or a dance troupe performing the Tinikling and Pandanggo. The presentations, according to Fajardo, are primarily for the enrichment of our culture in the right place in a new age. The park is also open to wedding receptions and the couple may use the chapel to exchange vows.

During my stay at the park, I saw Aling Remedios, one of the park’s caretakers, and she shared with me some occurrences in the area which she could not explain in her five years of tending the park. She says that, at times, she would hear someone walking behind her, but upon looking back she would discover the place was empty. On one occasion, a group of students took a photograph of themselves at the park, and it came out with a shadow that filled a portion of the picture.

Aling Remedios says these events were creepy but that she did not pay attention to such things and instead focuses on her job.

I also interviewed Angela, a tourist visiting the park with her friends. The peace and tranquility of the place were the main reasons why they stayed in the place, despite the knowledge that the park was a former cemetery. When asked about the feeling of sharing serenity with the dead, Angela says: “I do not want to come here at night. It would be scary so I prefer to come here during the day.”

My short visit to the park gave me a sudden rush of adrenalin, but I was certain it was not because of any paranormal things that might occur while filming the place. It was more because of pride that we managed to preserve our cultural heritage in places such as Paco Park where future generations would get a glimpse of the sacrifices made by our ancestors.

Fajardo later mentioned: “As Filipinos, we should know our culture, values and how we became a nation.”

My short visit to this place made me feel like a brand new citizen — someone who is indebted to our ancestors because of enjoying a life built on the sacrifices of our heroes to preserve our freedom. I hope that in time, more and more Filipinos would appreciate a place like this instead of going to malls or bars where they tend to forget where we really come from.

The transience of the live theater makes it special and unique. Watching a two-and-a half hour stage performance of ‘Ibong Adarna’ at the AFP Theater is an invigorating experience to the senses as actors portray live the triumphs and tribulations of each character, bringing flesh and blood to the story.

All of us are required to read Francisco Baltazar’s ‘korrido’, as it was one of the required readings in the secondary level. Back then, I thumbed back and forth from one chapter of the book to the glossary and back, to work my way with the archaic Filipino ‘korrido’ verses. As I look back, I wished I had watched this kind of performance then. Luckily, I sat with thousands of high schools to watch the play last October 5.

Though I knew how the story would go, I sat expectantly from the start until the show ended. In terms of the technicalities, I would say the performers, stage crew and the director of the play did a good job. While remaining faithful to the material, the play has injected modern elements to appeal to the young audience.

Effective tool

With over thirty years in the industry, the foundation started as Bulwagang Gantimpala at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

“We focus on the educational role that live theater provides to our audience,” said Tony Espejo, founding president and artistic director of Gantimpala Theater Foundation. “We also emphasize the values inherent in the stories such as love for country, honesty, truth and justice.”

Understanding the theater is a good tool to inform, entertain and educate, the Gantimpala Theater Foundation has been producing curriculum-oriented plays to supplement teaching of secondary level literature.

“The ‘Ibong Adarna’ play has been performed for over 15 years and has been proven to cater to the young and the old alike,” said play director Roobak Valle, proving the universality of the theater as medium for expression. Valle added that as part of the group’s commitment to honor artistic legacies, the dance sequences in the play pay tribute to the late National Artisr for Dance Ramon Obusan.

In this generation hooked up with the Internet and television often for leisure, taking a trip to the theater is a good way for this generation to appreciate these classics that are part of our heritage. Think about transporting back in time to watch things unedited — no reshoots, no line editing, no CGI effects — only performance at its finest. That’s how classic entertainment is.

My afternoon stroll last Saturday brought vividly to life personal archives of Sunday family picnics and class field trips for history. The visit breathed life to the sepia prints of my childhood photos and reminded me of my former classmates whom I studied “Kasaysayan” with.

The park offers locals and foreigners a refuge. The green expanse of Rizal Park is a relief from the toxic environment of the city — 24/7 air mixed with carbon monoxide and other pollutants, noisy, traffic streets and the like. The free benches, open spaces and shade entice visits from families and lovers, tai-chi practitioners, chess players, photographers and bikers. Away from the mall shops that lure us to buy more than what is needed, the park brings simplicity on spending quality time with those dear to us. To top this all, a stroll at the park is a good way to learn and teach history. The last I think is an important take-away when visiting the park.

Bagumbayan, as it was called in the Spanish era around 1800s, is witness to significant moments in the Filipino history, such as the execution of national hero Jose Rizal and the Gomburza as well as the 1995 World Youth Day mass.

During my walk, I wondered if the vagrants at the park knew who Rizal was or the events that happened in the park. It led me to thinking if all the people visiting the area knew the flagpole west of the Rizal monument is the starting point of Kilometer Zero for measuring road distances in the country. As they eat the contents of their picnic baskets, have parents tried teaching their kids about Jose Rizal and the busts of national heroes erected on both sides of the Luneta pond?

National parks such as the Rizal Park are a great venue for building memories and teaching history. There is so much to learn from the National Museum, National Library and other centers located in the area. Think of it as an adventure: all it takes is an inquisitive mind and a healthy spirit as you embark on an afternoon journey to ask questions, discover and learn insights about our heritage from these historic sites.

WHEN you hear bells ringing in summer, it means Mamang Sorbetero is just a few meters away selling his dirty ice cream. But when the bell rings in June, it may be a wedding bell for couples or a school bell for elementary and high school students.

As June marks its start on the calendar, you bid goodbye to your companions — pillow and bed. And, even if it is not music, your ears have to get used to hearing the alarm clock.

Hearing the school bell ring makes you run so as not to be late for the morning assembly. But when the clock strikes past 7 a.m., it means that you would be falling in line at the back of your tallest classmate. And as you walk toward the end of the line, the teacher’s eyes follow you. And if those eyes can talk, it would be saying, “You’re late!”

That’s why waking up when the rooster crows at the break of dawn is like eating ampalaya. It is good to eat but hard to chew.

Listening to a long lecture makes you sleepy. But then the teacher knows the best alarm clock. “Get one whole sheet of paper, long quiz!” Surely, you will become as alert as a military man. And if you have no paper or ballpen, you will then smile at your seatmate and say, “Pahingi naman ng papel.” If you are like a snail in answering, you will again here the familiar line, “Finished or not finished, pass your papers!”

In the middle of the day, you are again waiting for the bell to ring for your stomach to be filled with a sumptuous meal. The bell rings again ending your out-of-the-blue chat with your classmates and friends. Then you will again be waiting for the clock to strike at 5 p.m. and for the bell to ring. You will then hear what you have been waiting to hear, “Class dismissed!”

When June approaches, it is like the familiar bell that you don’t want to hear when you are thinking that you will become a busy bee again. You will once again say hello to cups of coffee to keep you going while finishing a project to be submitted the following day. You will once again be best friends with your books and handouts while cramming for a mind-boggling exam. You will once again rush assignments before the deadline.

Stress and pressure will be once again be your breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

But when you think of school as a beehive of honey, you will then be looking forward to your weekly allowance, your timeless chats with your classmates, your perky teacher, and thought-provoking discussions inside and outside the classroom.

Though school may sharpen you like a pencil, it is where you learn not only the theoretical but also the practical aspects of life.

MY dad, then a young doctor who had just started practicing surgery, would jump at the sound of his pager. It could be the hospital, telling him that an emergency case was brought in or that his patient lost blood or something.

His pager would beep and the message read: “Hi Papa. Please buy pizza.”

Every time that happened, he probably regretted teaching his four-year-old daughter how to page him.

Remember how pagers (sometimes called beepers) were the surest way to contact someone in case of an emergency? I grew up in a family of doctors who all had pagers, and they would all stop in their tracks every time a page comes in. Of course there’s the occasional pizza emergency, but most of the time they got messages from patients and hospitals and operating rooms.

A pager is a small box-like device used for delivering short (usually one- to two-liner) messages. It was invented in the mid-50s precisely for alerting doctors in a London hospital. It usually can only receive messages one-way and the paged person is expected to call up whoever it is that paged him.

The early pagers were called tone pagers. It had programmed tones that the owner could pre-assign to mean something. (One beep could mean call the office; two beeps, call the house.) The numeric pagers, on the other hand, had a small screen that showed the telephone number to be called. The more advanced pagers were the alphanumeric pagers that display text.

It was really easy to page someone. You just called up the subscription service (if I remember correctly, the two large companies then were EasyCall and Pocketbell) and gave them the number or code assigned to a pager. And then the operator asked for your message and sent it to the pager. Then you would hang up and wait for the paged person to call or fetch you or whatever.

The numbers assigned to a pager were usually just random numbers, and as a kid I carried around a small phonebook (a real one, not the one that comes with cellular phones) that contained family members’ pager numbers. I remember watching a really old Jolina Magdangal movie where her pager number was customized. I don’t remember what exactly, but I did hear that you can customize it to 6-LOVE or something, for easy recall.

Going back to the Jolina Magdangal movie (don’t ask why I saw that), I also remember how awkward it was when she was trying to leave a mushy message, mainly because there was an operator taking the message. While the pager was convenient for leaving emergency messages, it might not be the best idea to leave a “night night, sweet dreams, mwah mwah” message, unless you can tolerate the snickering operator on the other end of the line.

When I was in fourth grade, a pink Hello Kitty pager went in the market, and my parents promised that they’d get me one when I graduated from grade school. Shortly after that, cellular phones came out and pagers were out of the picture. While pagers were a convenient way to relay short messages, the SMS came in handy because it was easier to reply back.

And as with all other technology, the pager died a natural death. As of 2007, pagers have become completely obsolete, but two-way pagers (one that can send and receive messages, very similar to SMS phones) are still used by emergency service personnel and information technology staff. The only time I see pagers now is when I watch “Grey’s Anatomy” and they all jump when Bailey pages them. Or when Meredith Grey is paged to the on-call room for a different emergency altogether.

I wonder what McDreamy’s pager number is.

THE VALLEY Girl look of the 80s (think mini skirt over leggings, headbands, doll shoes) is slowly dying a natural death, and if the fashion cycle is chronological, then the 90s is due for a comeback right about now.

And while some people are excited to see what fashion icons and designers plan to do with the mixture of grunge, hip-hop and Britpop style of that decade, most people seem to cringe at the thought of 90s fashion. Why don’t we look back at the key trends of that decade, and see which ones are worth bringing back and which trends are better off forgotten.

Remember baggy pants? The 90s was all about hip-hop, and jeans had to be three sizes too big — the baggier, the better. It gave a whole new definition to low-rise jeans; guys would wear them so low that their underwear would show. Yes, this gave birth to fancy printed boxers that guys would intentionally show.

Another variation of baggy pants were cargo pants. The new rule was: more pockets, much cooler. It came in a less baggy, more flared version for the ladies, but otherwise it was best worn loose.

Denim took different forms in the 90s. The early years saw the rise of denim overalls (sometimes called jumpers). Originally meant to be like long pants, overalls also came in short pants and even skirts. The straps can be worn in different ways: some people let down one or both straps so that the front and back flaps sort of hang, while others prefer unhooking just one side.

The effects of global warming were probably not as bad then, because denim head to foot was the way to go. Denim jackets, skirts and vests were all the rage. These came in different colors and with different embellishments — patches, pins, even beadwork.

“Clueless,” the movie that set the cutesy-patootsie image of the 90s, introduced baby doll dresses. Girls were going for the schoolgirl look — pastel-colored dresses with puffed sleeves and stockings became popular because of the movie. Another alternative was the skort, a skirt that had shorts underneath. It was the perfect solution for girls who were not allowed to wear short skirts.

For guys, layering was the in thing — unbuttoned polo shirt over a round neck T-shirt. Levi’s, Guess and Tommy Hilfiger were the huge brands that made this “boy next door” look famous.

Platform footwear was a much-welcomed trend, especially in this country where a lot of people are sort of vertically challenged. It was all about the chunky shoes — girls wore 5-inch high wedges and sneakers while guys donned Doc Martens and combat boots.

And of course, who would forget the arrival of the Spice Girls? With them came loud Brit fashion that definitely screamed “Girl Power!” Neon colors made a comeback, and the mid-90s had a short revival of psychedelic fashion — bootleg pants, loud prints and funky accessories. The mid-90s was also the height of navel piercing, which brought in midrib shirts that showed off the belly button.

Fast forward to 2008, and we see that the schoolgirl look is making a comeback, but the trend is now preppy chic. I’m all for bringing back the girly vibe, although I’m not so hot about the bright orange and lime green outfits. If I had to pick something that I never want to see ever again, it would have to be baggy pants. They were called “broom pants” because they were usually worn so low that the hem would practically sweep the floor. And please, no more unnecessary underwear exposure.

Do you think we’re ready for another 90s explosion?

PARDON the bias, but I think kids who grew up in the 90s (myself included) were pretty lucky with toys. It was sort of a transition year, and we had the best of both worlds — dolls and robots were still in, while video game consoles were introduced. And because computer games were slowly becoming popular, toymakers had to be innovative with their traditional plastic toys.

Here are five toys that were pretty big in the 90s. I’m not going to include the remote-controlled cars and the Barbie dolls because these weren’t really introduced then (much earlier, I believe) and, well, they’ll ruin the title. Here are some toys I remember enjoying when I was growing up:

1. Pogs. Remember those colorful cardboard discs that you stack? Pog is actually an old Hawaiian game that was first introduced in Canada in 1991. Here in the Philippines, it came free with bottled softfdrink crowns, and you claimed your free “pog pack” from your neighborhood sari-sari store. You needed a slammer to hit the stack of pogs, and all the discs that flip will automatically be your playmate’s property — or at least that’s how we played it. I don’t think anybody knows exactly how to play them. They don’t come with instructions, so the rules vary per barangay, I guess.

2. Power Rangers action figures. When you’re seven and gap-toothed, nothing is cooler than a bunch of teenagers who are also masked superheroes. I think every 90s kid can tell you which Power Ranger they were, and the fact that there were only five characters (three boys and two girls) made picking some sort of a first-come-first-served challenge. Anyway, good thing they came up with six-inch action figures. These were plastic models of the five Power Rangers, and the cool thing about them was a little button at the back that made them morph from their “ordinary” faces to their masked superhero counterparts. Talk about some mighty morphin’.

3. Polly Pocket. Polly Pockets are dolls less than an inch tall, with miniature accessories that come in rectangular or circular cases. The furniture is usually fixed, except in the later versions where you can rearrange the furniture in the house- or castle-shaped cases. In 1999, Mattel purchased Polly Pocket from Bluebird Toys and made them bigger and plastic jointed. This new generation Polly Pocket is more child-friendly; the original ones were so small that they could easily fit inside a child’s nostril and get stuck there (er, not that I would know). Of course I still prefer the original small ones that actually fit your pocket.

4. Pound Puppies and Pound Purries. Not everyone was allowed to have a pet as a kid, so plush stuffed dogs and cats came to the rescue. Pound Puppies and Pound Purries had cute droopy eyes and floppy ears that had hair you can brush (and yes, the brush comes with the toy, too!). Every dog or cat had its own carrying case, and each one came with an adoption certificate. Naming the dog or cat and and signing the adoption certificate were actually the pretty exciting parts of having a Pound Puppy or Purry. After that, they’re great at collecting dust. Still, very cute and adorable nevertheless.

5. Power Penz. Now this one’s really cool. Every second grade kid wants to sneak in a toy in school without getting caught, and Power Penz allowed us to do so. It looked like your average pen, except a game (or something cooler) was attached at one end. One pen came with a racecar that you released at a push of a button, and another one came with a small basketball and a hoop. The cooler versions were the ones that came with invisible ink and the Yak Bak, a mini voice recorder. The only thing that wasn’t cool about Power Penz was the teacher who confiscated them in the middle of class.