KDR TV, Year One

I WAS scrolling through my YouTube recommendations list about three months ago when I came across an interesting channel. The host looked familiar, but I never expected him to have his own space on the said platform. I was baffled at first. In a world clad with YouTubers and self-proclaimed ‘Influencers,’ Kuya Daniel Razon has decided to launch “KDR TV.”

I’ve always known Kuya Daniel as a prominent news anchor and tv host. He’s the mind behind Wish 107.5 and the chief executive officer (CEO) of BMPI-UNTV. His integrity is impeccable. In 2017, he was awarded the “Lifetime Achievement Award” in the 25th Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) Golden Dove Awards. But why did he decide to be part of YouTube? For what purpose?

After watching all his uploaded videos, the answer came to me: He wants to share his thoughts, passion, and perspective while conversing with a large audience. Yes, it’s a conversation because he reiterates every time that he also seeks what others have to say.

As of today, KDR TV raked in about two hundred thousand views on YouTube. It has more than 20,000 subscribers and covers fitness, technology, and reflections on life and love.

It’s been an exciting experience for me as one of the channel’s subscribers. And so, to prove this point, here’s KDR TV’s “Best Five” for 2019:

First impression of the Foldable Samsung Galaxy Smartphone

When Samsung Galaxy Fold was first introduced during the first quarter of 2019 and failed to meet the expectations of some tech reviewers around the globe with its problematic plastic screen, it went into a hiatus. The controversy was unlike anything I’ve heard before.

But months later, it was officially released on September 27, 2019. Samsung made some key adjustments. The product recaptured the imagination of the market with its supremely cool form factor, next-level gaming capabilities, enormous battery, and improved nonremovable plastic screen. There was an insurmountable hype. And Kuya Daniel got a hold of one of its commercial units.

Kuya cited his first impressions of the product with his first tech review. A striking feature of the innovative design of the phone is its articulated spine or the hinge. The hinge allows the phone to close and open like a book. Its screen size when unfolded boasts 7.3 inches which is perfect for watching videos on YouTube and Facebook. Because of its enormous overall size, the convenience that a user can experience when typing text or chat messages is commendable. When the phone’s folded, one can still call someone with ease. Naturally, it has its downsides according to Kuya.

Unlike other phones, the Galaxy Fold is fragile; it’s supposed to be handled with great care. Any seasoned device or gadget user can sense by merely holding a product whether or not it can operate solidly in harsh usage environments such as continuous vibrations, harsh temperatures, and wet or dusty conditions. In Kuya’s analysis, the Galaxy Fold can’t be exposed to dusty environments because of the possibility of particles getting into the hinge area which may produce an annoying, creaking sound while being folded. In the long run, the accumulation of dirt and dust can damage the phone.

It’s an honest review. The price is divulged at the end of the video which is about $2,000.00 or Php 100,000.00. It’s equivalent to two Apple Macbook Airs!

So, will you buy one?

A day in a life of a CEO: Kuya Daniel Razon

Who never dreamt of being the Chief Executive Officer of a company someday? I did, and this vlog is a revelation.

As mentioned in the first part of this piece, Kuya Daniel is the CEO of BMPI-UNTV – one of the registered and recognized local television channels in the Philippines. But how does a CEO of a growing media entity spend his day?

Typically, Kuya’s engagements include hosting a morning show, conducting meetings with department supervisors, attending voice-over recordings, and giving instructions to some members of the organization. In his willingness to guide his colleagues on their concerns beyond their jobs, he makes it a point that he’s also available for those valuable occasions. He spends time checking on how they are doing and understanding their situations.

In the video, Kuya subtly reminds his viewers to do good things whenever they have a chance. In handling work, he emphasizes that if you really love what you’re doing, you’ll persevere; you won’t quit easily. Passion for achieving a goal should be present. And if ever there are things that you must do that are not written in your job description, you should see yourself as a learner. That your actions to grow as a person shouldn’t be fueled and defined by money alone.

KDR Says: Bakit hindi ka crush ng crush mo?

Yes, love. The language of the universe. The mothership. The real deal.

Some proclaim that KathNiel still has it while JaDine’s version of it has already expired. But why does the person we like doesn’t like us back?

It’s natural for a person to admire another person. We’re designed to feel a special, alluring type of attraction towards someone. We fall in love in different ways. We can’t fathom its fullness. But what Kuya articulated in this vlog is worth pondering: “Things should come to you naturally; do not pretend to be somebody you are not.”

The first point that Kuya raised is that we should be as accurate as we can possibly be when we meet someone. If you’re fond of the arts and music – show it; if you’re into fitness – embrace it; if you’re sweet, jolly, and caring – express it. You shouldn’t do something because somebody you like likes it. Do it because it’s good and beautiful and pure. Don’t live on the expectations of someone you like. Strive to be a better person in how you deal with others.

The second one? We can’t control the emotions of other people. Sometimes, in our objective of getting someone’s attention, we change ourselves to the extreme that we could no longer apprehend the person we have become. It’s not sustainable.

Because unrequited love doesn’t dictate who we are as a person. The governing principle in life is not for someone you like to like you back. If in the process of improving yourself you meet someone who appreciates you, then cling to it. Never let go. Stay sincere.

Benefits of daily 25 push-ups by Kuya Daniel Razon

Indubitably, daily exercise is good for the health. Science supports it. Substantial studies have been made about it. So, do it. Now. 25 push-ups for the soul and body!

True Love na ba ito? KDR Says

Again, love.

This must be the most striking vlog for me by KDR TV for 2019 because of the new insights I obtained.

In this vlog, Kuya said: “It’s love if you still like the person over time.” Time reveals a man’s character, and it goes the same way to the one we truly love. But when can we say if the love is true? Here are the following steps he shared:

• Conduct some research or investigation on the person.

No, he doesn’t ask us to hire an investigator to observe the person we’re fond of 24/7. We must do it by ourselves. But how? Instead of directly scrutinizing the person to know what their ideas, thought processes or values are, we can ask those who are close to them. We can formulate questions about the person and indirectly inquire about these to their friends, family members, or peers. As we go through this process, we’ll be more equipped. We must learn how to listen. Our interactions with the person and those around them can reveal salient details we’ve never imagined before. We just have to be patient.

• Put yourself to the test as well.

Do you exclusively love the person? Is there still a niggling fact that you’re juggling two names in your heart? Do you like the person because of a particular trait that they possess? Is it because they’re good at singing? In dancing? In playing the guitars? We have to test ourselves as well. As what Kuya Daniel uttered: ”Kasi yung ‘mahal’, nand’yan man yung hinangaan mo dati sa kanya and then later on nawala, yung pagmamahal natitira ‘yon. Nandodo’n pa rin. Nararamdaman mo pa rin.”

Because in the end, we can’t romantically love two people at the same time. To do so is against sanity.

We fall in love with one.

This Time Around, Trust That It Will Get Better

IF YOU’RE reading this now, it means you’re coping. That stage of your life where you found yourself locked inside your room for days or weeks or months is gone. By “room,” I’m not just talking about the physical one with four corners and a bed and a lamp and a shelf. I’m talking about the untouchable, secret bulwark inside you that nobody else has a key to but you and God.

The well of your tears has dried up. And for an unknown reason, a new source of strength and hope showed itself to you. It could be your faith, your love, your family. Whatever it is, embrace it, cling to it, and never let go.

I understand that sometimes this world is just too much. There are failures, betrayals, isolation, frustrations, expectations. Some of your friends vanish from your side like a bubble popping aimlessly under the summer sun. They leave without any trace or explanation. And in those moments, you question your worth. Know that your value isn’t dependent on how they see you, how they treat you, or how they perceive you. Go on. Keep walking. Reach for your dreams.

Do you remember that bucket list of yours that you’ve been keeping for a long time now? Revisit it. Think it through. And one by one, with all the energy and optimism and drive left in your tank, do everything in your power to turn each of them into a reality. To shift your gears one more time.

I know that it’s easier said than done. You’ve probably heard these same words from your core acquaintances before, or maybe you’ve read it in a book. But what are our choices, really? Here we are in a world currently being shared by about 7.7 billion people — living, breathing, walking, waking up, eating, talking. We’re in this puzzle of existence reaching out to the unknown, figuring out what makes sense, doing what’s good as dictated organically by our hearts.

Every day, new innovations in technology and engineering are being introduced that had been curated inside laboratories or research facilities somewhere by the nerdiest and most creative among us. New celebrities are being born on YouTube and Facebook and Instagram. Their motivation may include fame, power, prestige, or for their names to be etched in history. These are debatable reasons, but you don’t have to compare yourself to them. Don’t scroll if you sense that you have the slightest tendency of feeling despair, jealousy, or the never-ending stream of doubts of who you could be. Not everything that you see – the glossy photos, edited videos, and perfect moments – are real. Aim for specificity and learn to decipher the real ones.

Focus on your abilities and talents and don’t live to impress the world. Explore at your own pace and rhythm and earnestly prepare your backpack. Leave behind the unwanted baggage. Go out into the unknown. Because to achieve peace and contentment in one’s skin is one of the travails that humanity is facing today more than ever. Don’t give up now.

Trust that you’ll feel lighter; yes, it’ll get better.

(This piece has been published by Thought Catalog on January 31, 2019.)

Grappling Rappler

IT’S FRIDAY and the company where I was working was on dress down. I chose to wear a pair of jeans and a black shirt. But as I was riding the northbound MRT-3 train, I looked around and wondered if there were other passengers wearing the same colour of shirt as I do. There were few of them and I sensed that they were also curious. Yes, curious if my wearing black is a form of support on the Black Friday Protest for Freedom action organised by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP). The NUJP earlier severely criticized the Securites and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision revoking the registration of the leading news website Rappler. 

In their website, it’s indicated that Rappler comes from the root words “rap” (to discuss) and “ripple” (to make waves). Without a doubt, they are making waves these days not of stories of various personalities they cover, or of news reports about other entities, but the legality of their existence. When the SEC and Rappler issue broke, I sulked. I couldn’t believe that such incident can happen to one of the media organisations I look up to. Some of the most respected, prominent, and award-winning journalists and writers I know work for or are connected with Rappler. Maria Ressa. Marites Vitug. Chay Hofileña. Glenda Gloria. Patricia Evangelista. 

The question then is: Will they let their names be dragged into a pit of shame by illegally operating or by cheating the Filipino public? Will they directly sell their integrity to foreign influence? Is it worth the risk after their years of “bar none” services? 

While the SEC decision was not final and executory, with the political climate the Philippines has, the possibility for the case to reach the halls of the Supreme Court is not startling. But online forums and the comments section have been filled with opinions. For them, Rappler has reached its final destination.

“Maria Ressa is wearing a victim’s cloak” a netizen commented. “In need of attention just like the previous president.” Some of my Facebook friends also despised Rappler for their alleged violation. Suddenly, constitutional experts rose on the occasion. They are doomed, one added. But did they first read the 21-page decision of the SEC before expressing their thoughts online? Did they examine the facts before judging those who side and believe in Rappler as ‘Yellowtards’ and fools?

I’ve seen it before and I am seeing it again. In our attempt to simplify things, we resort to one-liners, labels, and generalizations. These do not accomplish anything but create more divisions. 

In his book Blink, renowned journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell wrote: “We have, as human beings, a storytelling problem. We’re a bit too quick to come up with explanations for things we don’t really have an explanation for.”

When Rappler published my opinion piece about the subpar MRT-3 train services, some of the commenters were quick to assume that I was a paid writer whose objective was to discredit the actions of the government in addressing the transport system issue. They even judged me as just another Rappler writer who doesn’t see the good in the current administration, its achievements. Without conducting a simple Google search or patiently reading the whole piece, they came up with their own conclusions. These are classic examples of false and uninformed accusations online. 

Because the truth is I care about my country. We write because we believe that something can be done, that there’s still hope, and that those in power didn’t fully shut their ears to listen to another point of view, to fresh perspectives. For a democracy to work, there should be checks and balances and the media play a valuable role in guarding and being the platform for people to practice their right to speech and expression. Yes, they put their lives, their principles on the line. 

With everything’s that’s going on, it’s easy to be swayed by the popular, the majority opinion. Some choose to stay silent because of fear and inconvenience. If indeed Rappler intentionally committed grave contraventions against the provisions of the constitution and that they should be held liable, let the courts decide about it. If they published malicious articles beyond the ethical standards of journalism, which are meant to degrade or disparage a public official and put him or her in bad light, file cases. Let’s recognise the proper forums backed by existing laws and give emphasis on due process. 

Opposing opinions can coexist without us losing our humanity in the process with respect. It can be done without grappling the pens and the mouths of our fellowmen who cry for truth, freedom and justice whether we agree with them or not. Because in the end, while we are busy figuring out how others are different from us with all their ideals and perspectives, we forget to listen, to read, to research, and ultimately, to convince ourselves that in times like this, it’s best to pause and pray for our country with a black shirt on or whatever colour we believe we represent. 

Finding Ica and the search for online delicadeza

AS THE missing posters of 17-year-old Ica Policarpio with the hashtag #FindIca went viral on social media sites, speculations ruled the public’s consciousness. Sympathy poured for Ica’s family, which has been magnified and deemed serious with the participation of some celebrities in search of a teenager they do not know personally. But with it were excruciating judgments.

She surely eloped with her boyfriend, one declared. Worse, another one added, she’s been kidnapped, raped, killed and then dumped in a creek or river somewhere just like the others. 

When I read these pronouncements, I sulked. I linked my hands at the back of my head with disgust and my appetite to finish reading Miguel Syjuco’s book titled Ilustrado during the holidays has been halted. I went into a familiar state nowadays of those who consume social media for entertainment, news, and expression. It’s the state of puzzlement with the current condition of human behavior, motivations, and values tainted by indifference, insensitivity and lack of natural affection that we witness online. And then, questions arose out of nowhere. 

How did some of us become this harsh online? When did some of us start fashioning careless, lethargic comments to our fellowmen without having full knowledge of the context, the background, and the facts of the trending topic? Why didn’t we consider the subject herself, of her possible reaction after the smoke vanished and the stream of emotions died down? Why did we forget the cinch fact that Ica is a minor and must be given special care and treatment? 

Days after interviews with some of the members of her family have been conducted and the online world still starving with answers, a netizen’s tweet helped find her. 

It’s the 23rd of December. A selfie captured her sitting behind a group of girls while reading a book just outside a coffee shop in a mall. She was all by herself and was later found crying at a carinderia in San Pablo City. Evidently, she’s lost and was going through a “deep emotional distress”.

It was a sweet, mirthful news which ended her more than 60-kilometer journey from Muntinlupa City to Laguna province. Her father immediately asked for understanding and appealed for privacy. But it wasn’t a fairy tale that saw its conclusion with a simple “happily ever after.” No, not when your sympathizers at one point have been fed with fake news and lies in the past. 

Reactions surfaced on my feed. Triumph. Empathy. Tears. Smileys. Doubt. Demands. Closure. 

From a beloved figure, some people described Ica as “papansin,” “bratinella,” and “spoiled brat” among others. Her name has been ridiculed and dragged to the pit of shame online. We deserve an explanation, one of my Facebook friends posted with a hint that Ica probably had taken on a dare called ‘Game of 72’ which involves challenging a friend to go missing for 72 hours without providing any information or update to the family and make certain they panic. 

Have you ever wondered about it? 

As we welcomed the new year based on Gregorian calendar, an opinion poll conducted by Gallup International ranked the Philippines as the third-happiest country in the world. This reaffirmed our optimism and belief that there are still millions of reasons to cheer for. But this is being overshadowed by those moments when we find ourselves actively bullying and ridiculing an individual online. 

Yes, there are hardships all around us. Yes, we face multisectoral challenges that can never be solved by the strongman in Malacañang alone. Yes, our patience is on the brink of exploding brought by the inefficient services we experience everyday of our lives. Yes, we’re tired. But these do not give us the license to be rude to a stranger online. These do not warrant us to be unfair, to be blinded to reason and justice. 

The comments section and our “What’s on your mind” space became our modern day diaries: personal yet at times destructive. We saw avenues for our frustrations, rants, and uninformed opinions to exist. We freely share, post, and treat them as mere constellation of “words” which do not have the capacity to kill someone. But no, we unknowingly commit an unspeakable heinous crime every time we forget that behind each name or photo or poster is a person who just like us has dreams, aspirations, and identity; that similarly, that person has vulnerabilities and is facing battles deep within him or her. 

In every interaction, online or not, politeness, respect and delicadeza are valuable. Before we post or comment, we should first pause and ask ourselves: Can I tell these to him or her in person?

Ica made us realize how limited our grasp is of the reality, of our understanding of the mental health in our country, and how some of us lose ourselves believing that we are entitled for a clamant, elaborate, and intricate explanation on what really had transpired on a trending topic even if the party we cared for asked for space and privacy.

In the future, God willing, when she’s ready and the pain no longer rests in her heart and soul, Ica may go back and choose to have a glimpse at the news reports, the articles, and the posts with hashtag #FindIca on her disappearance. And on that day, at that moment, I would like to tell her that even if I’m a stranger to her, I would like her to remember that she’s not alone. ‘Every teenager is both a hero and a failure,’ Syjuco said in Ilustrado. ‘When we become adults we have to choose where in the middle we’ll be.’ No matter what, she should never give up. Instead, she should be a hero to herself and those around her. I’m glad she found her way back home. Every time, she should remind herself that with God’s help and mercy, she can.