August 13, 2008
Interviewers: Therese Regalado and Mara Isabella Lopez Yokohama
US: Good evening we are with Mr. Boy Villasanta. I am Mara Isabella Lopez Yokohama and I am Therese Regalado.
B: Hi! So I am with Mara and Therese.
US: So how was it like working for all of these tabloids and writing papers?
B: Well, of course it is a tough job. But then I still have to manage time properly. I am running a regular column for Bomba and Saksi, meaning daily, daily entertainment column so I normally write my stories as early as 8 in the morning and then send them to the publications through email. For ABS-CBN, I gather materials for the ABS-CBN news online—it’s the news website of ABS-CBN. I gather the materials one day before or, if the story is news breaking, I normally submit it immediately through the help of the internet. ]
US: Oh, because it’s faster…
B: Because it’s faster than print because sa print, kailangan pa i-layout, of course, ni-lalayout ren sa web pero sa web kasi you can place it immediately then people just surf and then access the story or the news. Sa tabloid, sa print media, if you send it through e-mail, idadownload pa nung editor, babasahin niya, ipapaste-up nung artist. Iproproofread pa yun before it is sent to the printing machine.
US: How did you fall into journalism?
B: I graduated AB Literature from UST but I had campus journalism background so as much as I am a literary person, I was really bent on doing entertainment writing because I thought that it was an easier access to popularity, to fame. Unlike literary writing, it would take years to really hone your crop and maybe even receive awards and be recognized in the literary circle which is very tough also because ako, kailangan ko pa marami matutunan to be a hardcore literary person kasi ang daming mas magagaling, ang daming mahasa talaga yung utak nila at marami silang mas background kaysa sa kin pero hindi naman ibig sabihin na yung entertainment writing is lesser intellectual, or lesser celebral. You can treat entertainment stories with intelligence, maybe you can put some insights which are helpful to the readers or you just come out with entertaining stories and then people would just enjoy reading them.
US: So yung major newspaper that you worked for was..?
B: For now, I am concentrating on Bomba and Saksi Tabloid, they are daily tabloid newspapers.
US: So, can you tell us about the newspapers in terms of the location tapos ung facilities?
B: Bomba and Saksi are being published by Success Management Consultancy, it’s the publishing house. It is located at Roberto Oca St. corner Atlanta, Port Area Manila.
US: Oh yeah? We’ve been there.
B: It’s beside Abante.
US: Oh yeah.
B: The two publishing houses are neighbors.
US: Cause most of the companies there are focused on print right?
B: Most, publishing houses are stationed in Port Area. Bomba and Saksi have their own printing machines so right after our stories are laid out; they are ready to be printed downstairs where the machines are located. ]
US: How can you describe the newspaper bosses and your co –workers or colleagues?
B: My boss, my editor-in-chief, is also an entertainment writer but of course he also has the sensibilities and the background of doing national news, provincial news, or editorial writing. Ang pangalan niya ay Art Atalia, siya yung overall editor, siya yung humahawak ng front page. Yung mga malalaking headline tapos siya din yung nageedit ng mga stories from Metro Manila, provincial, national, source from congress, from senate, from many areas, yung mga beats na tinatawag. So si Art Atalia is the editor-in-chief, meron siyang assistant dahil kung ang ineedit ni Art Atalia dalawang tabloid—yung Saksi at tsaka Bomba, eh 24 pages lahat yun kasi bawat isang tabloid is composed of 12 pages so kung dalawa yung tabloid na ineedit niya, 24 pages lahat yun so lahat kailangan punan niya at makumpleto ung 24 pages na iyon sa kanyang mga materials so kailangan niya ng assistant.
US: So your co-workers? How do you..
B: My co-workers? As much as I am an entertainment columnist, I just send in my stories but I would want to mingle with them, with the staff, the editorial staff including the editor-in-chief, the associate editor, yung mga encoders dun sa computer na ‘pag nagpadala ng storya ang reporter tinatype nila dun sa computer so those are also employees, workers. So as much as I would want to build rapport with them, I go to the office personally and then interact with them, develop personal and professional relationship with them, siguro yung kwentuhan kung ano yung storya ngayon, ano mga balita tapos kamustahan pag personal.
US: And how are the working conditions?
B: Of course the working conditions in these two tabloids, kasi publishing in this business is not really lucrative in as much as working for bigger publications kasi I can see that Bomba and Saksi are not really funded well unlike some other major tabloids and newspapers which have mother publications and they are fueled up in terms of resources like funding, ang laki nung funding nila, samantalang yung Saksi, Bomba talagang yung competition kasi renders tough realities so yung kailangan yung pambili ng papel, yung pambili ng tinta, yung pambayad sa mga tao, hindi ma-sustain ng Bomba at Saksi so kailangan gumawa ng paraan para ma-sustain yung operations nila araw-araw kasi nga for business ren yun first and foremost, kailangan din tumubo nung mga publishers, so yun yung sad condition ng Bomba at Saksi. I cannot talk about other publications because all for one, I don’t do work with them, I don’t run columns, I don’t write for them. I can only say about Saksi, Bomba.
US: How are the work days, like your hours, or do you have holidays?
Like the salary and the deadlines?
B: Ako as entertainment columnist, we are supposedly paid per article, per story, per column. But because the publication is very hard up, we are hardly paid. The other workers, like the editor, the associate editor, they also have to subsist on some minimal payment like cash advance. The monthly salary is staggered, so that is the very sad condition of publishing in the Philippines especially in Bomba and Saksi.
US: So, were you ever a cub reporter and what was it like?
B: I used to be a cub reporter when I was just starting so I was assigned (this is not for Bomba/Saksi ‘no), I was a cub reporter in my initial venture to entertainment reporting. I was assigned by my editor to cover such and such event to interview a particular celebrity and then you know, I go around and come back to the office and write a story or at home I write it and then I send them personally because when I was just starting, there was no internet yet, so I would type it in a typewriter and then send them personally to the publication.
US: So now everything’s just online with Bomba and Saksi?
B: Yes, it’s online now, the cub reporters from other beats, from other areas like mga sports, senate, crime reporters, police reporters—yung mga cub reporters na ‘to they are spread around, they go around and then look for stories they are stationed in one beat, like for instance, they go around police precincts and then look for stories. For now, because the internet is involved so isusulat nila ‘yun siguro sa internet shop or kung sa typewriter man, sa typewriter nang kunwari sa police station or kung merong computer ang police station, ‘dun nila ginagawa ‘yun tapos padala nalang nila.
Mara: Which makes things very easy and more convenient, don’t you think Therese?
Therese: Yes
B: Yes, at this point
US: So you were saying that you would also work at home and all around like you were saying sa internet café. How would you describe your work in terms of the hours is it more like a 24/7 job? Are you always on-call?
B: Yes, I was on-call for both Saksi and Bomba and then the ABS-CBN news online it’s also that kind of arrangement, they would assign me a story or I would look for my own story but if they want to assign me, of course I would follow their instructions.
US: So it’s a 24/7 job but you also get holidays right?
B: No, for daily newspapers? No.
US: You don’t get holidays even if it’s Christmas, because you can e-mail it?
B: Yeah, you can e-mail a story, you can pay a visit to a friend if its holidays or on Christmas day, you send all your stories and then go back to your home or if you’re in an internet café you can go back home after and then celebrate with your family.
US: So, how about the deadline, how does it work?
B: The daily grind of deadlines is really, mechanical na sa’kin. Especially for Bomba and Saksi kasi it’s in Filipino. I am more adept in Filipino, it’s my tongue, and it’s my first language. In ABS-CBN news online, it’s English and I am not an English writer primarily so, I really have to learn a lot of things in English writing.
US: So, what was your first beat?
B: My first beat was sports. In 1975.
Mara: Wow, 1975…that’s a long time ago
B: Napapaghalata ba?
US: Hindi!
B: That was my first beat, it was sports.
US: So, which sport?
B: Ah, I was assigned to cover campus sports but on the side, I was also covering PBA during that time and then NCAA and then some other sports. I was assigned to cover baseball events and then other sports aside from the usual, ordinary basketball.
US: So what was it like, and what did you learn from it?
B: The first beat, the sports events?I learned how to adjust to the jargon of sports writing kasi it’s different altogether, the jargon it’s should be verbal, meaning it should be verbose—mas effective kung ang language mo ay laging yung may verb kasi parang action words kasi sa sports laging action words pero ‘yun nga parang hindi ko masyadong kamay yung sports writing so I really had to fulfill my long time, my dream of being a movie reporter so after my sports writing I went into my movie reporting which is also entertainment writing.
US: So who did you work with in the sports beat?
B: During that time I was working with the more copular and the more respected sports writers like Al Mendoza, Fred Luarca, Eddie Almea those were, mga hanggang ngayon sila parin yung mga—but of course Luarca, wala na ‘yan namatay na siya ‘no but yung iba pang mga sports writer na magagaling nun noon nakasama ko na
US: Do you have any memorable editors during that time?
B: Sa mga magazines naming yung mga fan magazines, I had wonderful, intelligent, innovative editors na sila yung, they started the hip and the more intelligent entertainment reporting, meaning more intelligent because they wanted to infuse other disciplines—the multi-disciplinary approach to movie reporting like when “Jingle Extra Hot”, the fan magazine came out it was kind of different kasi it had an assorted kind of entertainment writing ah yung magaganda tapos merong talagang pang-fans lang, merong parang nagaanalytical, merong featurized na talagang very colorful yung kanilang exposition and explanation about a certain topic.
US: Going back to the beat, who were the other people involved?
B: Of course you meet other writers of the same beat from other publications like for instance, reporters from other outlets from other tabloids, other broadsheets, other magazines.
US: From all the fields po talaga?
B: You run around with them, you compare notes, you discuss things and you come out with what is the best angle that you can tackle for the day.
US: Going back to the memorable editors, how are they like in terms of accuracy with your report?
B: I had editors who were really particular to details, one of my editors that I really admire was also a fellow entertainment writer who still writes good stories, fascinating stories and he was my editor for so many years. He was very particular about accuracy, about a style, about grammar, about the main core of the story.
US: Did you ever have an article that was sent back to you so you could fix further?
B: Yeah, there were instances especially when I was just starting. There were rejections
US: How were your editors in terms of ethics, like work ethics?
B: Of course, each of them differs from one another in terms of ethics, journalism ethics.
US: That includes deadlines na din diba?
B: And maybe the question of “envelopmental” journalism like, there are some quarters or there are some subjects who would dole out money for fares or for tokens, it’s a very complicated issue but of course the editors, then and now differ from their points of view
US: How about the grammar aspects of writing?
B: It’s a question of language, like what I said, I am more comfortable with Filipino but of course once in a while I get to produce good English stories or written in English.
US: So, these editors, how are they with deadlines? Are they strict?
B: Of course they are very strict kasi they are also conscious about time constraints like they have to beat a particular deadline to close the page because the printing machine is waiting for the first run of the page so, it’s really a time conscious effort from the editors to come out with a regular deadline.
US: And so, to achieve that goal to be able for the writers during the deadline, how would they show na ‘kailangan magawa niyo ‘to’? How would they express?
B: Some of the editors would instruct their secretaries, their assistants or their staff to call the columnist, to text the columnist or to personally approach a writer so that an easier facilitation of deadlines would be met.
US: What are your best memories as a young reporter?
B: The fear of being rejected by a certain group. You want to be friendly to all of them, but of course it’s not really an ideal start because most of the people who are ahead or have started earlier than you have, they would size you up (down). They would doubt your capacity, your talents. But, of course they are also friendly and accommodating people in the industry that you can always depend on.
Us: They were sort of like your mentors?
B: Yes, But they are also tormentors!
Us: (Laughs)
B: Diba? Yung mga umiisnob.
Us: Is there a significant event you covered? Like Martial Law or Edsa revolution.
B: In relation to entertainment reporting, the Martial Law era was also as colorful as the Edsa revolution coverage because during the Martial Law era there were movie stars who were identified with the Marcos’ who were really pro-administration. And then during the Edsa revolution the opposition stars started to gather also to join the remote forces.
Us: Did you write during the Martial Law?
B: Yeah, I was already a writer during the Martial Law era.
Us: So you were published during that time?
B: Yes
Us: So, what did you write about?
B: I also wrote about the entertainment and on the side there were publications who sought me to write stories other than entertainment, like feature stories about public servants; but mostly, I wrote about entertainment personalities.
Us: In which publication did you write for?
B: During that time, the Martial Law, for fan magazines, I was writing for ‘Jingle Extra Hot’, for ‘Modern Masses and True Confessions’ magazine, for ‘Bulaklak’ magazine. For tabloids, I was writing for ‘Balita’ tabloids and there were other publications which of course, weren’t censored. They were toying the line of the government policy, like for instance, you have to be kind to Imee Marcos if you write about her as the head of the experimental cinema of the Philippines. You were supposed to be toying the line also of censorship if you were writing about Guillermo de Vega or Roseo de Vega or about those military men who were chairmen of the board of censors for motion pictures.
Us: So during the Edsa revolution I, II, and III, did you write anything?
B: During Edsa 1, I wrote about Marilou Diaz- Abaya who was one of the participants in the Edsa revolt. Edu Manzano was also there, Nora Aunor was there, Chris Gillian and so many other entertainment personalities. In Edsa 2, there were also movie stars, like Jackie Aquino, Dulce, and Kuh Ledesma was there. Edsa 3, I also wrote about it because, of course Jinggoy was part of it. Of course, when Bong Revilla vacillated from his former party then he joined the administration. That was depended to Jinggoy Estrada; their friendship was severed because of the vacillation from the party affiliation.
Us: How about during the coup attempts?
B: The coup attempts? Of course I was writing about Kris Aquino, because she was the daughter of Cory Aquino who was present during the series of coups that occurred during the rallies station right?
Us: And the Abu Sayyaf?
B: The Abu Sayyaf, of course, there were bold stars who were mouthing that they would want to be kidnapped by the Abu Sayaff. Yes, that’s also part of entertainment reporting. Kaya lang compartmentalized nga siya so, entertainment siya, but you also tackle about Abu Sayaff.
Us: So you can tackle both in an article?
B: Yeah in an article. You can tackle the subject well-roundedly
Us: So you can always tackle public issues in relation to entertainment.
Us: So how about the NPA and MILF campaigns?
B: Of course for the NPA, there were also progressive artists from the entertainment industry like PETA (Philippine Educational Theatre Association) is left leaning. There are many stars like Nora Aunor is associated with Migrante which is an NGO for overseas Filipino workers who are more or less left leaning.
Us: How about the during Oakwood mutiny?
B: Oakwood mutiny, there were movie stars who were held in diba?
Us: Really?
B: At the Oakwood tower? May mga artista din tapos after that there were female stars who were named after the Oakwood rebel soldiers like Tanya Trillianes and Kuhdet Honassan. It is entertainment related to rebel stories.
Us: And last, the Manila Pen siege?
B: Manila Pen? There was Elizabeth Orteza who is a scriptwriter for T.V. and the movies. Of course the T.V. broadcasters like Ces Drilon who is also aside from a public affairs personality is also a showbiz personality, because news shows are identified with entertainment also. Because if you noticed, newscast are published in the entertainment page of a magazine, of a newspaper, of a tabloid except perhaps if the story has a hardcore slant on it like yung pag-kidnap kay Ces Drilon it’s entertainment at the same time it’s political.
Us: So, did you write about that?
B: Yeah, I also wrote about it. I commented about it. I was not able to interview Ces, but I was able to put in my ten cents worth of ideas about the topic.
Us: Okay, that’s it I guess. Any last words about journalism?
B: Journalism, of course this is a free country. We are free to express our opinions but of course that freedom entails responsibility. If you are free, you also are responsible to face up with the consequences of being free to express your sentiments or your opinions.
Us: Thank you so much
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Boy Villasanta, born on October 18, 1954, in Lopez, Quezon, and has bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Santo Tomas, the University of the Philippines and the Philippine Normal University. During the time of this interview, he was an entertainment journalist for Bomba, Saksi, and ABS-CBN news online.
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