Filipino Kids: Come Sing and Dance with "The Dadadoos"

There certainly is a huge lack of children's shows in the Philippines. In the past, there's always something that you could watch on TV that teaches not just English, Math or Science, but Filipino custom + good manners which has honed a generation. This has taught them how to count, speak, learn a language and these days, there certainly a few online, but not a full show that does that in 2023.

The folks at FEAST Foundation knew it was time to come out with "The Dadadoos". It's a music and dance group aimed to entertain and teach more about culture, and Filipino values. Kids and Adults alike would be able to see episodes at the FEAST Foundation YouTube channel featuring 9 songs in their first season. Much of these will be based on Filipino nursery rhymes so if you do hear and see something familiar, it'll really be something you can bond on with your kids and whole family. 

 

This is one of the pet productions of FEAST Foundation and the late Shandii Bacolod+ which was conceptualized in 2020. Leading them in this project is Writer and Director Joseph Abello and auditions have been held twice in the same year. During the sessions, they asked the cast to learn a new dance, to see how fast they would be able to pick up the choreography. Aside from that, they needed to see if the cast had chemistry. It was then when they chose Yam Mercado, Iyo Canlas, Maxinne Ignacio, Fiona Sarte, John Arcenas and Vic Robinson to form the group. A special character called "Dada Diwata" will be performed by Rissey Reyes (who's a real deal Disney Princess in HK Disneyland).

There have been several delays in the creation of this show, including Ms. Bacolod's+ passing and actor schedules, but they pulled through. The show will be having their own theme song, something that you and your kids could pick up and enjoy. Aside from that, they will showcase a throng of favorite Filipino children songs like "Pakitong Kitong", "Penpen de Sarapen", among others. It'll surely be a grand time to see kids sing along and play tons of games which they will also do on the show.  This is officially their second project after doing the film "Call Me Papi" which stars Albie Casino, Enzo Pineda, Lharby Policarpio, Royce Cabrera and Aaron Concepcion. 

Here's Episode 1, they also released Episode 2 so make sure you go and subscribe and see them sing and dance on their YouTube Channel!

We also got word that they are working on their third one called "TALAHIB" that will be made by Director Alvin Yapan. This will be done by Joem Bascon, Gillian Vicencio, Kristof Garcia, Jess Mendoza, Dax Alejandro, Kate Alejandrino, Timothy Castillo, Yam Mercado and Iyo Canlas (the last two of whom are also part of The Dadadoos). They are also in the process of doing a modern day take of Florante at Laura. There's certainly more to look forward to in this production company, go follow FEAST Foundation's social channels, meanwhile make sure you subscribe first to the FEAST Foundation YouTube channel so you could watch "The Dadadoos" when more episodes come out!

Share the Love and Give Back with AIA Philam Life

2020 is about to end and hopefully, nothing bad will happen from hereon. We remain good, hopeful, we learned a lot, and lucky to still have our time with family and friends at the comforts of our home this Christmas. But think about it, not everyone is actually lucky. There are folks who lost their jobs, families who got hungry, even organizations, foundations and charitable institutions who lost funding because everyone is in dire straights when the lock down happened. I just hope they're not suffering, especially the people, the children who they are taking care of.

Anyway, we still have a lot to be thankful for. The question I always ask my interviewees when I end a session is "What are you thankful for?", I guess in the months we've been locked in on our homes, it still brought something good with humanity. People have sought and helped family, other folks, relative or not, just pretty much our fellow Filipino. It's also the right thing to do.

AIA Philam Life is doing the same. They're giving back to one of these charities:

SOS Children’s Village -  An NGO focused on fostering care for children.

Haribon Foundation - All for biodiversity and conservation.

Leonard Cheshire Foundation - A health and welfare charity organization.

Anawin Home for the Elderly - A care center for the abandoned and elderly.

There are more. If you become the winner, you can get to choose a partner charity organization. They will receive Php 100,000 from AIA Philam life, which I'm sure they need right now. This is the AIA Philam Life Share the Love and Give Back Promo. You may check the whole mechanics here https://bit.ly/PALSignUpForACauseMechanics. You can also sign up for it here https://bit.ly/PALSignUpForACause so you can help them help others. Check out the hashtag #TuloyAngBuhay on social channels to see more of it.

That's a good thing.

FamiLIGTAS: Stand Against Gender-Based Violence

Speaking out and speaking your mind these days can get you red tagged, abused, violated, which is such a sad state in the country.

They can either be women, children, the elderly or part of the LGBTQ community, but they all experience supposed violence in one form or another. The problem is, most of these incidents come unreported or never gets surfaced more so during the pandemic. The psycho social, economic and mental state attribute to its worsening, but is should never be a reason or excuse ro why it should happen.

This afternoon, I got to join a press conference hosted by the one and onlyMs. Karen Davila about “FamiLIGTAS” which is a campaign against Gender-Based Violence spearheaded by RTI International, USAID Philippines and supported by government and NGO’s, as to also learn more about the situation in the country. 

Ms. Michelle Lang Alli the Director of US AID Philippines says “Your support against Gender violence requires more. It has affected 2.5 Million people nationwide including women, children, the elderly and LGBTQ sector. The pandemic has affected us all, but there is no excuse for gender based violence. We need to make available our programs for equality, to reduce GBV and its harmful effects socially and the marginalized. Recent surveys 2 in 5 women never sought help from violence, and the PNP has recorded 19.5 incidents per day in the Philippines. By forming new and enriching existing partnerships, we can help change policies, raise the volume with GBV so they can have better options now, to keep our homes and community safe, thank you!”

Lolito Tacardon of POPCOM says “This is an important campaign and it currently, homes are places for perpetrators for violence, in imbalance for the basis of gender, it affects the victim, the children, even in this pandemic. The good news is we can break that, take it out of our culture, save people from oppressive violence. We have a joint statement to support vigilance and protect families from any forms of violence. We harness our website, to encourage our followers about GBV. We recognize the raise in pregnancies of minors, to move institutions and have access to facilities of care. Our strongest weapon is our belief that we can break this cycle of violence, we will provide the platform for every Filipino woman and child, Popcom will support to further empower families.”

Dr. Carolyn of UP adds  “We commit to explain and carry out this campaign effectively. You can call on us anytime, even if we are bashed right now.”

Dana Aduna from Luna’s Collective says “Quarantine data shows Violence against Women and Children have gone down, but this doesn’t mean it is happening. It has been difficult to report crimes since everyone is in isolation. Gender inequality exists, between intimate partners, and inequalities can be related to social class, religion, women can be oppressed, some interlocking forms of violence. Seeking help, it shows 34%  do not seek help or talk to anyone at all. Luna’s Collective wants to be involved to make people talk about psychosocial support, legal, health services and is volunteer powered. Our core belief is that everyone should be comfortable about our bodies, make the community informed and live fully. We understand that gender and power relations should not dictate class and importance in society. We are at our homes with a huge amount of time and if is in a violent setup, we have women come to us, not just first timers, even repeat instances. We remind them it is not their fault, but again this is not an excuse for violence. Similar with men, women or children, even LGBTQ experience it. We need to build a support system in order to stop this.“

Patrizia Garcia adds “GBV happens and so does its effects on mental health. This cause is very close to my heart, we can encourage them to help, our communities.”

Our share of the burden is to support victims of violence, help them get the help they need, and give them access so they won’t experience this at all.  Even at these times, there should not be any instance where GBV Is justified. The state also has a role to protect these rights, which is the right thing to do. Economic, Physical, Psychological, all Gender Based violence should have no place in a progressive society. 

To know more about the cause or if you need help, visit their Facebook page at Familigtas PH as everything is there.