Ogie Alcasid stands by P-Noy
Singer-songwriter Ogie Alcasid is still supporting President Noynoy (P-Noy) Aquino despite the backlash he is getting from the controversial Development Acceleration Program (DAP).
“So, parang ngayon na binabatikos siya, ngayon pa ba kami titiwalag? Hindi dapat ganoon. So we want to support him,” Ogie said during the pocket interview for his upcoming concert “TBT with Mr. A” on Monday, August 4.
The president of the Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-Aawit (OPM), was surprised P-Noy himself thanked him and singer-songwriter Noel Cabangon during his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) for supporting the local music industry.
Presidential prerogative
“Nashock ako ng 1 million percent. Napanuod ko siya (the SONA) sa Youtube. Hindi pala talaga siya part ng speech niya. And I think he mentioned us just before nag-goodbye siya. I texted him, ‘Thank you for mentioning us.’ He even apologized, saying ‘I'm sorry hindi ako nagpaalam,’” Ogie explained.
He adds, “I think kasi kami ni Noel since we supported him, wala naman kaming ginawa kundi tulungan siya eh. Lahat ng okasyon na kailangan niya kami, andoon kami.”
And although he believes Nora Aunor deserves to become a National Artist, Ogie says it is the President’s prerogative to choose who will get the said honor.
“Dapat si Nora ang national artist eh. But hindi mo maitatanggal na presidential award iyon eh. Prerogative niya iyon. Sabi ko nga baka naman pwedeng madaan sa pakiusap. Ewan ko kung anong nangyayari. Sa akin lang, karapat-dapat si Ate Guy (Nora). Tsaka may committee din kasi iyon eh. So, nasa kanya iyon.”
TV5 direction
Aside from promoting his birthday concert at the Music Museum on August 28, Ogie is busy with TV5’s game show “Let’s Ask Pilipinas” and gag show “Tropa Mo Ko Unli.”
Ogie understands the direction TV5 is taking.
“It seems the priority of the network is sports, game shows and comedy, kaya "Happy Ka Dito." I think okay iyon kasi admittedly, hindi kaya ng TV5 yung drama dahil ang laki ng advantage ng channels 2 and 7 because they have a large pool of talents. Iilan lang kami. And where do we get the other talents? There's also a question of patronage. Ang TV kasi ganoon, sanay ka na nanunuod sa 2, sa 7, hindi ka na lilipat eh. So you have to create your market, and if you're gonna market yourself that way, sports, comedy, it might just work. So okay ako doon. Some sort of alternate programming.”
Nostalgic concert
Ogie will take fans down Memory Lane as he sings hits from the ‘80s in “TBT with Mr. A.”
“Yung ‘80s ang daming kanta. Parang every week may bagong kanta, ganoon katindi noon. It was really a fun time. Yung suot namin ang kukulay, yung buhok namin ang tataas. Iba na eh. Kasi noon ang daming ibang-iba, pop, rock, MJ (Michael Jackson), European, ang daming solo acts na sikat. Music ni Sharon (Cuneta), Zsa Zsa (Padilla), Pops (Fernandez). It was a fun time.”
