Rapid antibody testing required for Sarah G infomercial shoot

Sarah Geronimo

Singer-actress Sarah Geronimo had requested to undergo rapid antibody testing, along with all the members of the production team who worked on her newly released infomercial for the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Inquirer Entertainment learned on Tuesday.

Prior to the shoot of her 60-minute infomercial, which is part of the agency’s “Sama Na, Census Na” campaign, Sarah’s team had asked for everyone to be tested, as well as for the studio where she worked in to be disinfected. Fortunately, everyone was cleared.

“We noticed that she had been very warm [to the staff and crew] during the shoot. Although we weren’t there physically because of quarantine restrictions, we were able to watch the whole process on video,” said Minette Esquivias, officer in charge of the Censuses and Technical Coordination Office.

Negotiations with Sarah’s talent management team began in January, while the actual shoot took place in March. “Her call time was 10 a.m., but she arrived before that. We were surprised because she already memorized her entire script—her lines were long and she had to record them without any cuts. She came prepared. She was finished in only a few hours,” said Esquivias.

As to why the agency had asked Sarah to help in urging the public to participate in the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (CPH) starting this September, Esquivias said: “Sarah is supported by people in all forms of media, including social media. Her reach is wide.”

Chief statistical specialist for population and housing statistics Joseph Cajita clarified that there was “nothing political” about commissioning Sarah to be the ambassador of the PSA’s “Sama Na, Census Na” campaign.

He pointed out that the campaign aims “to engage millennials like Sarah to participate in this nationwide activity,” Cajita added. “We wished we could get both Sarah and her husband Matteo Guidicelli to endorse the campaign, but we needed more funds for that.”

“We are aware that Sarah is known in all the social classes. That’s why we think she will be effective in convincing everyone to participate in the census,” said officer in charge for National Censuses Service Florante Varona, who also composed the campaign jingle of the same title.

Aside from the infomercial, launched during the virtual press conference on Tuesday were the CPH dance video and music video, which was shot before the lockdown.

Starting September, members of all households and institutional populations shall be counted to determine their respective demographics and socioeconomic characteristics. Mandated by Executive Order No. 352 and Republic Act. No. 10625, the PSA will undertake this process by collecting, compiling, evaluating, analyzing, publishing and disseminating data through the 2020 Census of Population and Housing. —Marinel Cruz