Weekend Fun 56: Some Photos at Sic O'clock News

With endless corruption and other political scandals on-going in the Philippines today, the public would have great fun if the political satire program on tv more than two decades ago, Sic O'Clock News, is still around. The program ran from around early 1987 to late 1990. I joined its last 10 or 12 months shows, late 1989 to late 1990, as among the minor comedians :-).

In this photo,  I was the one standing. Others from left): Direk Marilou in action (facing us), Wilson Go, Dina Padilla, Khryss Adalia (RIP) and Celeste Bueno.  See Weekend fun 19: Sic o Clock News.

From left: Errol Dionisio (partly hidden, RIP), Wilson Go, Jimmy Fabregas, Ching Arellano (RIP), Manny Castaneda, Noni Buencamino, me, and Khyss (partly hidden). See Weekend Fun 55: Sic O'Clock News, Again.

Yesterday, a friend, Rommel Banlaoi, posted this in my fb wall. I don't know where he got it, but thanks a lot, Rommel.

Some photos in September 2011, at an event for Direk Marilou at the Yuchengco Museum, RCBC Plaza, Makati City. Direk was undergoing chemo treatment then. From top left clockwise: with Jimmy Fabregas, Noni Buencamino and his wife Sharmaine, with Direk Marilou, Direk in earlier years, and with Ces Quesada. See Transitions 4: Direk Marilou Diaz-Abaya.

Is it possible to bring back Sic and its key actors and actresses? No. Many have migrated to the after life already.  I miss those who have departed -- Direk Marilou, main scriptwriter Mads Lacuesta, actors Khryss, Ching and Errol, our producer then Gus, and so on. The living ones, we still "see" each other in facebook. We have a close fb page, "Sic O'Clockers".

Fun days then. We were young, wild and free. Now, we are old, wild and free.
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See also:

Weekend Fun 52: Nixon had Watergate, Binay has Dasma Gate, December 20, 2013 

Weekend Fun 53: Mayor Days be Merry and Binays, December 22, 2013

Weekend Fun 54: World Map of Country Images, January 11, 2014

Weekend Fun 55: Sic O'Clock News, Again., June 15, 2014

Weekend Fun 55: Sic O'Clock News, Again

It's "Father's Day" today, our day, cool. And two friends, Jimmy Fabregas and Ces Quesada, the wacky anchor news guys of the old Sic O'Clock News, have a photo of the gang in their facebook walls, so I thought of producing Part 2 of the Sic gang Part 1 which I wrote three years ago.

There is one youtube clip of Sic O'Clock. It should have been shown sometime in 1990, when the Senate was debating whether to renew the stay of American military forces in Subic Naval Base. The Americans voluntarily left and abandoned Clark Air Base after a very strong Mt. Pinatubo volcanic eruption. The entire base was covered by thick layers of ashfall, several meters thick of soil and rocks, and later, became mud and lahar.

Below, Jon Achaval acting as Uncle Sam, and Ces Quesada acting as Presidentita Cory Aquino, talking about the negotiations about Subic base renewal.

The photo posted at Jimmy and Ces' fb walls today.

 

In another episode from the same youtube clip, it featured a rally by some guys asking for rice price hike. Yes, price hike, not price cut. Jimmy was the reporter, the cast as the rallyists, in front of Malakanyakanyang (Malacanang) pala. The cast would laugh whenever Jimmy would say "comprador" or rice traders, and they would look somewhere else when Jimmy would say "rice farmers". All along, the reporter was thinking that he was interviewing farmers. The guys were actually compradors. Very wacky story, from wacky script writers Mads Lacuesta and Jobart.

From left: Errol Dionisio (partly hidden, RIP), Wilson Go, Jimmy, Ching Arellano (RIP), Manny Castaneda, Noni Buencamino, me, and Khryss Adalia (partly hidden, RIP). Although Sic started in late 1986, I joined the cast only around October 1989 to October 1990, about one year.

Another episode, still on the bases retention debate. Wilson Go and Manny Castaneda.

We have a facebook group, Sic O'Clockers. It's a close group, composed of the surviving cast and support team of Sic. Main writer, very wacky Mads Lacuesta (RIP) is represented in the gang by his son, Sarge. Nonong Buencamino was our ever-reliable musical director. Vincy Lirios was our wacky video researcher, he and his buddy, Jun Segovia (RIP) would find video clips from different movies or cartoons and put them as spoilers in the news clips. Vinch and Jun would spend many hours looking for the most appropriate video clips.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya of course was our Director and gang mother. While Mads Lacuesta and Jobart Bartolome would write the script, it was Direk Marilou who would think how to make the acting wacky, errr, wild. RIP Direk. Anthony "Noni" Buencamino also belatedly joined me in Sic; he's the younger brother of Nonong. I was not able to join the early cast with Pen Media, Rene Requiestas and Junix.

Direk is gone, other friends were also gone -- Ching, Errol, Khryss, Jun, etc. I hope we can have a reunion soon.
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See also:
Transitions 4: Direk Marilou Diaz-Abaya, October 09, 2012

Weekend Fun 51: Martilyo Gang Jokes, December 20, 2013 

Weekend Fun 52: Nixon had Watergate, Binay has Dasma Gate, December 20, 2013 

Weekend Fun 53: Mayor Days be Merry and Binays, December 22, 2013

Weekend Fun 54: World Map of Country Images, January 11, 2014

Transitions 4: Direk Marilou Diaz-Abaya

Another sad day in this world... Another good friend taken by cancer....

This is my last photo with Direk one year ago, September 08, 2011. Her friend, Ms. Yuchengco, showed a docu film about Direk at RCBC Plaza auditorium. Direk's musical director in many of her movies and tv programs including Sic o Clock, Nonong Buencamino, invited me in facebook, that's how I learned about the event and I went there.

The room was full of soooo many fans and supporters of Direk, her students at her film school, former actors and actresses of her movies, fellow cancer warriors, other friends Sad but happy moments that day. I gave her a copy of my book and when I asked her to have a photo with her, she gladly displayed it.

She was undergoing chemo treatment that time. She sat beside her physician at the auditorium, who blushed when Ms. Yuchengco called on him and introduced him to the crowd.

Other Sic o Clockers who came that day, photos below, were Jimmy Fabregas, Noni Buencamino (younger brother of Nonong) who came with his wife Sharmaine, and Ces Quesada.  Lower right, some nice photos of Direk.

I was among the last addition to the cast of Sic o Clock News in 1990, was with the gang for about 10 months, before Direk decided to discontinue the show sometime in September or October 1990. The IBC 13 management, being a bunch of government appointed bureaucrats during President Cory's time, did not like the satire of the program of the "Kamag-anak Inc." and other policies of the government then, they kept changing the day and time slot of Sic. The fans and followers of the program got confused with frequent changes in the time slot. Direk knew that it was an implicit signal that the management was not happy with the program, so she pulled out and discontinued Sic.

Direk was not exactly a partisan person, she was simply aware of things that were not done right by the political leadership. Instead of supporting street demonstrators, or writing political commentaries, she preferred to do a political satire program that was Sic O'Clock. Very funny and informative at the same time.

Some friends asked me of any "secret" by Sic at that time. I think it was simply a perfect mixture of really wacky guys -- Direk Marilou, chief writer Mads Lacuesta plus assistant writer Jobart,  program hosts Jimmy Fabregas and Ces Quesada. Then wild cast like Manny Castaneda, Wilson Go, Ching Arellano, Rene Requiestas, Khryss Adalia, Errol Dionisio, Joji Isla, Jon Achaval, Dyna Padilla, Celeste Bueno, Noni Buencamino, a few others.  Video researchers Vinchy Lirios and Jun Segovia were equally cool guys. See my previous post about the group,
Weekend fun 19: Sic o Clock News.

Weekend fun 19: Sic o Clock News

In the late 80s, there was a very popular political satire program on tv, the first of its kind in the Philippines I think. It was the Sic O'Clock News. It was shown on IBC Channel 13, then a government-sequestered tv network from the deposed dictatorship, starting 1987 or 1988.

This is the original cast -- so wild, so wacky, so funny. It was led by high-powered brains in movie and comedy, like Director Marilou Diaz-Abaya, chief writer Amado Lacuesta (+), news anchors Ces Quesada and Jimmy Fabregas. This picture includes the production and support staff, not just the cast.

This and next two photos came from Dina Padilla's camera, posted in our Sic O Clockers facebook group. Thanks Dins,

The program has produced some of the best natural comedians during that time, like Rene Requestas, Joji Isla, Manny Castaneda, Ching Arellano, Jon Achaval, Wilson Go, Khryss Adalia, Errol Dionisio, etc.

Another wacky pose by the group. Talagang wild ang mga ito, hahaha!

The men, from left to right: Manny, Joji, Wilson, Jimmy, Errol, Khryss, Ching, and Jon (kneeling, front). The ladies, from left, were Dina Padilla, Ces Quesada and Celeste Bueno.

Santa banana que barbaridad! I was also part of the gang! (standing, in shades) hehehe. Yep, I was drawn to the gang by Direk Marilou herself, but towards the latter part of the show, sometime in late 1989.

I was working with Prof. Randy David as one of his researchers-talent coordinators in his tv program, Public Forum, also shown in IBC-13 then. Direk Marilou was also the show's director. The Public Forum staff and Sic O'Clock would often have joint parties and planning because of Direk Marilou. Direk thought that I could be one of the cannon fodders in the political satire against the corrupt and thieves in the Cory Aquino government then.

Former dictator Marcos was referred by the show as "Marcurakus", President Cory was called "PresidenTita", her younger brother Peping Cojuangco was called "Peping Kuhako", the IMF was called "International Mother Effers", hahaha!

When there was a coup d'etat, led again by Gringo Honasan I think, in 1990, December that year, we sang this in one of the program's episodes:

Nag coup na naman, o kay tulin ng araw
Ang coup nagdaan, tila ba kung kailan lang... :-)

Here are some of the guys now in their facebook profile. From top left, clockwise: Direk Marilou, Ces, Manny, Jimmy, Jon, Joji. The cartoon in the middle is the profile picture of Wilson Go, hohoho.

Joji created the Sic O'Clockers group in facebook only recently, and that's how I got reconnected with some of the gang. Sad to hear that about 12 of our friends in the cast and support staff have already met our creator. Many of us now are also working abroad.

Direk Marilou is a good friend in fb. She has the big C though, a breast C, discovered in 2007. She gives regular update about her chemo and related treatment. Haaaa, Direk is a cheerful and brave warrior. She goes scuba diving in between her treatment :-) and I think also has some teaching load on acting and directing. Her latest movie directed is "Ikaw ang Pag-ibig" shown January this year. See what kind of a warrior she is?

Cheers Direk. Cheers to the Sic gang. Olrayt!
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Update, 22 June 2011

I posted this story in my facebook wall, here are the comments from some friends:

Eddie de Vega: My favorite was the episode about the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and you were pretending to be a Kuwaiti sheik distressed over the burning of your oil fields, and then these English, French and US arms dealers were playing payabang as to which country sold the weapons which Iraq was using to invade Kuwait. And then you were mad at them, and they asked, "sino ba ang nagpareham ng pera sa Iraq para makabili sila ng weapons?!" HAHAHAHAHA.

I was also amazed with Jaime Fabregas' excellent Tagalog. Tisoy na tisoy but 100% Filipino in spirit.

Luie Guia: My favorite when I was still in UP

Elizabeth Cueva: Sumikat si Rene Requiestas dahil sa Si O'Clock News and because of dat, siya ang naging first screen kiss of Kristeta in Fido Dida. :)
Was Manny Castaneda also in Sic O'Clock news? He is also funny.

Claire Pinawin: Noy, tagal na nun pero pinapanood ka namin talaga.

Nonoy Oplas: @Ed, hahaha, nice Ed. I dont remember that episode anymore. Jimmy is half Pinoy, half mestizo. Si Erap, half Pinoy, half alcohol. Si Gloria, half lang.
@Beth, yep, Sic din si Manny C. That guy is really crazy, in the positive sense of the word.
@Tita Claire, ayoko nga ng image ko ngayon, kontrabida na di nakakatawa. Sa Sic, kontrabida pero nakakatawa, haha.

Sic created a small storm in showbiz during that time because of guys like Rene, Ces, Jimmy, Joji, ang dami talaga. Pero ako +1 or 2 others, nasali ng Sic when Rene was no longer showing up in Sic shooting.

Eddie: You mean they thought you resembled Rene Requiestas?!?!

Nonoy: No. They wanted someone to be worse-looking than Rene R! :-)

Eddie: Don't know about that, but funnier, yes! :)
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Related stories:

1. Weekend fun 12: Marcos corruption, February 25, 2011
2. Weekend fun 22: Gloria Arroyo cartoons, June 11, 2011