(ANALYSIS): Most Valuable Stars in the Philippines/Television (2010-2011)

1. MIKE ENRIQUEZ and MEL TIANGCO (24 Oras): The formidable duo is GMA 7’s frontliner in the now generally seen three-way cut-throat battle (along with ABS-CBN & TV5) for Philippine television’s primetime ratings supremacy. And as far as Megamanila (the biggest segment of the Philippine tv audience) is concerned, Mel and Mike are on top of their must-watch list. An enviable perception of Credibility, Fairness and Reachability from the public makes this tandem a consistently strong magnet that never fails to attract initial primetime tv viewers to the obvious benefit of the succeeding shows headlined by more ‘popular stars’ in the Kapuso network.

2. KATHRYN BERNARDO and JULIA MONTES (Mara Clara): Up until recently, Kathryn and Julia were just among ABS-CBN’s countless aspiring talents until the Kapamilya network gambled on the pair by casting them in the much coveted and now iconic characters of Mara (Kathryn) and Clara (Julia), the same roles that launched the careers of now top female star Judy Ann Santos and noted character actress Gladys Reyes about two decades ago. The task couldn’t have been more daunting for these two young rising stars and the fate of the remake really could have gone either way. But Kathryn and Julia met the challenge head-on like seasoned professionals and with the help of an updated, albeit more domestically violent material, that sadly and alarmingly seem to reflect a reality that a majority of Filipino viewers could relate to (as its incredible ratings suggest) and a nearly perfect powerhouse acting ensemble, history did repeat itself-if not surpassed its predecessor.

Kathryn and Julia. The new ‘Mara’ and ‘Clara.’ Fast rising stars. But why? Did they just provide young, fresh faces to the age-old, deplorable plight of abused women and neglected children in Philippine society?

3. NOLI DE CASTRO, KORINA SANCHEZ and TED FAILON (TV Patrol): The current TV Patrol triumvirate is hands down Philippine television’s most ‘star-studded’ line-up for any news program bar none. And on the nationwide front, Noli, Korina and Ted are the top, if not the only names of choice for Filipino viewers as far as delivering the news is concerned. However, if one is to be truly objective about this trio’s star value, it has to be noted that save for Mr. Failon, the two other anchors’ strengths could also be their weakness if only because of the innate ‘Caesar’s wife’ requirements of the news program as a genre.

In pedestrian terms, Kabayan Noli was just very recently the Philippines’ Vice President under the much maligned (rightly or wrongly) administration of Gloria Arroyo, while Ms. Sanchez is in fact now Mrs. Sanchez-Roxas to Mar Roxas, who even more recently was a Vice Presidential candidate and now Pres. Noynoy’s newly appointed Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communications.

All these names and titles of politicians and agencies that easily come together once the names of Noli and Korina are mentioned could work both ways in the psyche of the Filipino viewers.

Many most likely find reassurance if not solace in knowing that these newscasters aren’t just ‘news readers’ but truly knowledgeable and informed professionals who could be relied upon to deliver them not only the ‘news’ as it happens but more importantly on how to view and assess each and every information that come their way. In short, Kabayan Noli and Korina truly know what they are talking about.

But then again, strictly speaking ‘news’ analyzed is no longer the ‘news’ but an editorial.

And for the other segment of Filipino news program viewers, they who are probably less ‘star struck’ by names and circumstance, they just might, at the very least, find the ‘casting coup’ itself as a source of potential hindrance in getting just the news, no more, no less.