Going for the satirical and political jugular

TOMAS (LEFT) AND MARTINEZ. Their rom-com imparts loopy yet pertinent lessons.

LAST April 25, GMA 7 scored the most telling programming point of the month when it started telecasting the two-weeks-only “political rom-com,” “Naku, Boss Ko!”

However, the sizzling and saucy satirical show’s impact, coming as it did only a couple of weeks before the May 9 polls, was diminished by the decision to air it after 10 p.m.

An earlier, more prime-time screening schedule would have broadened and deepened its effect, potentially making it the “in” thing to talk about the following day among students and office workers.

Despite this self-limiting decision, the show still had some loopy yet pertinent lessons to impart, as it started telling its satirical and cautionary story about politics, Philippine-style. It taught viewers and voters how not to be seduced, bought, used and abused by sweet-talking candidates with too few qualifications and too many hidden motives in the May 9 elections.

The tittle-tattling storytelling zeroes in on a totally corrupt politico played by Leo Martinez, who keeps losing elections despite his shady shenanigans—until his son, portrayed by Ruru Madrid, becomes a viral sensation after he saves a dog from a fire, and looms as the far more “winnable” candidate for mayor.

To further assure his victory at all costs, an image magician (Tessie Tomas) is hired to transform the already attractive young bet into the perfect, most idealized and “enhanced” candidate.

What finally emerges is a veritable ghost of his former self—but, it’s the ghost with the most!

The show’s first telecast also spent a lot of time detailing its rom-com subplot, a romance between Ruru and a poor but lovely girl (Gabbie Garcia), who resists his ardent advances due to his phony ways.

We trust that the mini series will focus less on this trite subplot and more on political and electoral satire in succeeding telecasts. There’s much more to be pertinently and pithily exploited and exposed in that area.

We hope, too, that Tessie will be given more to do just frenetically fussing over Ruru’s “total” makeover.

As she showed in the political satire sitcom in the ’80s, “Abangan ang Susunod na Kabanata,” she’s a past master at going for the satirical and political jugular, drawing cautionary blood, and yet also eliciting “learning laughter” from her willing “viewer-victims.”

Finally, we trust that voter-viewers will go out of their way to watch this new political satire, despite its relatively late time slot, because it’ll be over and done with before we know it.

There are electoral lessons that we urgently need to learn, or be reminded of, before we elect our next leaders. Let’s not allow ourselves to be seduced, used and abused—and shoot ourselves in the foot again by choosing cluelessly, cynically and wrongly.

“Naku, Boss Ko!” is a timely reminder that—it can really hurt!

P.S. We hear that GMA 7’s “Amboy” series ended last Friday, so for this coming week, can the second and final week of “Naku, Boss Ko!” be aired on the earlier time slot it’s just vacated?

This will motivate more viewers to catch the instructive “political rom-com” before it concludes its all too brief run on the boob tube.