Ninascoops: A New Chapter

I will be saying goodbye to this site soon and create a new blog.

I've made the decision to shift from what I know best and that is from showbiz to hard news. I actually started doing hard news and trained under Dindo Amparo who was then the king of the night watch (overnight police reporter) and Tony Velasquez who was then ABS-CBN's Malacanang reporter. After that, I became Studio 23's Malacanang correspondent for News Central. That was when PGMA just came into power and the rest is history.

Covering Malacanang was boring. I hated politics. It's all talk and bickering and unfulfilled promises.

Covering showbiz was another matter. I got to unleash my creative side. Writing showbiz news reports was always a challenge, especially If you work under the legend that is Mario Dumaual. Mario has the gift of writing showbiz and feature reports so effortlessly, like he was born to do it. Mario can write a great showbiz script in seconds! It always left me wondering where the hell he got his idea and how come I didn't think of it?

Mario D., Dindo A., and Tony V. are just some of my heroes in the newsroom. They are the people who can make magic, turn what seems like a non-story into something people should pay attention to and care about. It's all in their writing, not to mention malandi kase silang mag-isip. Ewan ko kung ganun din sila sa tunay na buhay. Haha.

As for me, I would rather cover human interest stories. Stories that tug at your heartstrings. Stories that affect people in the way they think and feel. Stories that can make someone care and hopefully do something about. Stories that make a difference in people's lives. They may not be as big as the President's State of the Nation Address, but I don't think I need to tell big stories to affect people, and hopefully make them care.

Although I am now assigned to the General Assignments beat, which means covering just about anything, yes, including politics.. it's enough for me to know that my story touched someone, even just one person, and then I can sit back, relax and say, I feel just great. :)

Josh Hartnett in Davao

Hollywood heartthrob and Scarlet Johansson's ex, Josh Hartnett, arrived in Manila today and quickly boarded a Philippine Airlines Flight to Davao.

The media wasn't allowed to interview or go near the actor but ABS-CBN Davao was able to take some footages of the actor arriving at the Davao airport. He gamely posed for a picture with an airport security guard. Hartnett kept it simple by wearing a white T-shirt, a black jacket, jeans and sneakers. He also carried a backpack.

Hartnett became famous for films such as "Black Hawk Down" and "Pearl Harbor". He is here to shoot the mystery thriller, "I Come With The Rain", at Mt. Diwalwal.

Prison "Break", Pinoy Style

The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.
-Russian Novelist and Writer

From covering the glitz and glamour, as well as the scandals and controversies of showbiz, it was a complete change of pace for me to be among the so-called “dregs of society” at the Caloocan City Jail. While showbiz is said to be vicious, this was reality. I was there with the Public Attorney’s Office that was giving free medical and legal assistance to the inmates.

It was hot, crowded and smelled of sweat. Tattooed inmates fell in line like obedient children and waited patiently for their turn with the doctors and lawyers. But the lines of prison toughies slowly parted to give way to an elderly man who was being pushed to the front of the line in a wheel chair. He was slumped over and appeared unconscious. The 81-year old Lolo Ildefonso is in jail for attempted rape. According to his records, Lolo Ildefonso was caught giving his neighbor’s 10-year old daughter a bath, without the neighbor’s permission.


Some inmates made fun of Lolo Idelfonso’s interest in the personal hygiene of others, but his offense, if proven guilty is serious. So is his health. The prison warden said he threw up blood earlier that morning. After the free check up, the doctor said his blood pressure was so high he needed to be brought to the hospital. The doctor said that if his health wasn’t monitored, he could die of a stroke or heart attack.

Lolo Ildefonso regained consciousness after they gave him an IV, but he couldn’t even remember his name! He talked gibberish and made faces. For some reason, he could only say his age, “81!”

Atty. Persida Acosta, the P.A.O.’s chief of lawyers said they will file a motion to request that Lolo Ildefonso to be brought to the hospital. She also said they will ask for a plea bargain so he could be released due to old age and for humanitarian reasons.


Minutes later another inmate in a wheel chair was brought to the front of the line. He had a long cut on his stomach, and it wasn’t stitches but STAPLE WIRES that held the wound closed! It was literally stapled shut. It was a fresh wound and pus was coming out.

According to Mr. Staple, he stabbed himself out of guilt after he accidentally killed his brother-in-law. He said he hit his “balae” after they quarreled over who would pay for their electricity bill. He kept saying that he didn’t mean to kill his brother-in-law, which is why he stabbed himself to prove how sorry he was for what he did.

The doctor who performed the check-up was worried that Mr. Staple could die of an infection if he doesn’t take antibiotics and keep the wound clean. The doctor however said that the staple wires were nothing to worry about, as some doctors actually prefer stapling a wound – though with medical staple wire – instead of using stitches that are much more prone to infection.


In another corner of the crowded jail, another doctor was attending to a crying teenager. He looked so young, barely 15. But he was already eighteen years old and no longer a juvenile delinquent, which is why he was thrown in with the men. It was his first few weeks in jail after being caught stealing his neighbors’ water meter. He hardly looked the part of a hardened criminal, just a helpless child shedding tears of pain. The doctor found a big boil near his genitals.

When I was putting together my script in the newsroom, my colleagues and I couldn't help but laugh at how the story came out. It wasn't humorous laughter though, probably more nervous or disturbed. Because what else can you say or do when faced with stories like these? It's either you laugh or you cry or you become very angry.

Portions of my tagalog story read, “Pinaliguan ni lolo ang bata niyang kapitbahay.. tadtad ng stapler ang tiyan, matapos niyang saksakin ang sarili... tumutulo ang nana sa sugat, may pigsa sa singit…”

It’s so surreal. It’s so sad. It’s so true.