P-Noy trumps Vice

Last Sunday, January 4, we stayed up past our bedtime to watch “Gandang Gabi, Vice,” because the show’s host was scheduled to interview a very special guest—no less than President Noynoy Aquino.

It was a daring move on Vice’s part, but what was even more noteworthy about the special gabfest was that P-Noy had agreed to do it. After all, Vice is notorious for being “brutally” frank and outspoken—why would our honorable leader put himself at risk on national TV in this “dangerous” way?

It suggests that P-Noy has become so confident about his “powers” to take on all comers, and still come out on top.

Aquino has become confident about his “powers” to take on all comers.

—Well, he was right. The bright idea for the interview may have been intended to further shine up Vice’s star as a TV host. But, it was P-Noy who benefited most from the televised encounter, because it showed that he was “just folks,” and knew how to have a good time!

P-Noy’s “pole” position in the one-on-one “confrontation” was evident from the start, when Vice confessed that he was experiencing an attack of nerves!

Well, who wouldn’t be stressed by the testy task of interviewing the Prez himself? We remember doing an hour-long one-on-one with Fidel V. Ramos on “Two for the Road” decades ago (Elvira was indisposed), and it took hours after that assignment for the “buzz” to wear off.

Hapless host

Vice was able to relax after a while, but he didn’t do himself any favors when he kept saying that interviewing P-Noy right there in Malacañang was “dangerous” because the interviewee was powerful and could inflict harm on the hapless host if he wasn’t happy with the interview.

It was just a joke, of course, but a heavy one, and Vice’s too frequent use of it ended up as an early drag on the otherwise fun proceedings.

For his part, P-Noy impressed viewers with his willingness to be asked candid questions about his personal life—and his ability to answer them directly, with humor and good comedic “timing.”

In fact, he was really funny when Vice asked him to share his favorite joke, and he cracked one about a student complaining about being overloaded with school assignments—and the kid turned out to be only in kindergarten!

Now, we aren’t saying that the Prez should quit his day job, but he did make viewers (and Vice) laugh!

Reading list

The interview was also a good view because it included questions and answers about not very well-known aspects of P-Noy’s life, like Gloria Arroyo’s once being his teacher (her reading list for his class was three pages long!); his penchant for dating female news reporters and anchors, and the fact that he still had a bullet and its jacket lodged in his neck area, courtesy of a rebel gunman.

At that point, Vice asked why the bullet had a jacket—was it feeling cold?—and P-Noy grinned widely at the droll query. Clearly, by that time, they were feeling quite copacetic with one another.

Despite this, however, Vice couldn’t “force” his guest to compliment him for his “beauty.” —Well, there are limits!

The hottest “scoop” of the evening was P-Noy’s perhaps inadvertent revelation that his last romance ended “just a few months ago.” —Huh? Most people didn’t even know he’d been dating somebody of late!

—But the biggest “revelation” last January 4 was Vice’s and viewers’ discovery that, in a “fun” interview, P-Noy can— more than hold his own!