Filipina Soul

In his time on the island of Koh Tarutao, Marlon Carmen made himself famous as the ‘bad boy’ of Survivor Philippines. Before he was voted out, he got into the good graces of his tribe mates by cooking for them and doing other chores. But he was also the most scheming, most calculating player in the game, seemingly able to turn other castaways from their alliances at will. Unfortunately for Marlon, the others saw through his schemes and sent him packing.

Was the Marlon we saw onscreen the real Marlon? Find out what Marlon said in an exclusive interview I had with him last week:

Dangers on the Island

Before we talked about the schemes that made him a household name, Marlon described the fear he experienced on the island. He told me of three dangers that the castaways faced: food shortage, animal attack, and the challenges.

As the self-designated cook for his tribe, Marlon was acutely aware of the issues they had to face regarding their food supply. The castaways had to make do with whatever they could gather or catch on the island and the surrounding waters. Sometimes, they only had rice for their meal. Since they did not know the terrain, the castaways wisely chose to stick to the types of food that they were perfectly sure were edible, like clams and snails.

“So talagang yung food, in-experiment din namin kung talagang edible ba siya o hindi. Ilang beses kami nagtatalo-talo, lalo na yung sa mushrooms, siyempre puwedeng poisonous siya … yung mga common na nandoon sa atin, tulad ng halaan, suso, di ba  kinakain naman ng mga Pilipino yan? So yun na lang ang kinakain namin, kesa yung hindi namin kakilala.”

The challenges that they had to perform posed some physical dangers as well. On the first day, the castaways were told to jump from their boat and swim one kilometer over open water toward the island that was to be their home. “Talagang delikado siya talaga, masasabi ko. Kahit na show siya, puwedeng-puwede ka talagang mamatay.”

There was another fearsome element that wasn’t quite emphasized on the show but was real enough for the castaways. Marlon told me that there was always the possibility of an animal attack on the island. King cobras, wild boars (at least one of which they saw from their camp), and other wild animals roamed the uninhabited terrain. The wild boar would have made a good meal. But they didn’t dare attack it because it could fight back, and someone could get hurt, or worse, die.

“Siyempre di ba parang island siya tapos walang  katao-tao doon,” Marlon explained. “Talagang may mga wild animals, pagala-gala. Actually nga,  natutulog kami, natakot kami nila Jace. Wild boar, nakatingin kami  lahat. Siyempre hindi kami gagalaw. Baka mamaya matakot yung hayop,  atakihin kami bigla. And, kahit wild boar yun, puwedeng kainin pero  hindi naman siya basta-basta madaling mapatay di ba? Baka ikaw pa patayin nun. Tapos yung mga king cobra…. Kaya talagang pag kumikilos ako palagi kong hindi pinapabayaang mawala yung bonfire.”

On top of fearing for one’s life, each castaway had to think of the strategy that they would use to keep from being voted off. For Marlon, his plan started simply enough.

Marlon’s Strategy

Marlon’s strategy in the game involved using his considerable skills in preparing food for the tribe. And, he really does know about food. He told me that early on, his plan was simply to cook for the tribe, hunt for food, take care of the girls, things that the good guys do. But as the days wore on, he found that he had to employ the “dirty tactics” that we saw onscreen.

“Tiningnan ko lang po kung ano talaga yung nararapat na gagawin ko. Puwede akong magpaka-good boy doon kaya lang talagang yun nga. Siyempre, medyo mainit tayo sa mga castaway. So, ayon, nilabas ko na lang yung sungay ko. Tapos, ayon, dirty tactics. Imbes na mag-paawa effect ako saka magpa-good boy doon…. dirty tactics at saka psych-war ang ginamit ko sa kanila.”

One of the unintended effects of these dirty tactics was the varied reactions of viewers to what they saw on TV. Marlon’s schemes caused some people to hate him, misunderstand him, refuse to shake his hand and even threaten him with physical harm!

For Marlon, Survivor Philippines is just a game, and that’s what he wants people to remember. Though he understands the importance of palabra de honor and good Filipino values, he asks that viewers use not only their hearts but also their reason when they watch the show.

Marlon clarified that what we saw on TV is not the real Marlon. In his own words, the real Marlon is not as bad.

Hindi ko naman po puwedeng gawin sa tunay na mundo yung pinag-gagawa ko doon. Mapapatay po ako ng maaga, ano? Siyempre ikaw ba naman, siraan mo lahat ng mga tao. Ako po, siyempre, ma-diskarte lang po talaga ako ….

Flexible po kasi ako, kaya kung sino yung kaharap ko, yun na yung pinapakita ko. Kung ano yung binibigay mo, yun na yung ibibigay ko sa kanila. Alangan namang sinisipa na nila ako, ibibigay ko sa kanila kabaitan pa, siyempre eh di laglag po ako. Yan lang po … sasabay lang ako sa alon. Kung ano yung nararapat, yun lang ang ginagawa ko. Pero hindi ako ganon kasama.

After all the scheming that went on in the island, it seems obvious that the castaways will be leery of one another after the show. Contrary to what’s expected, their shared experiences have forged friendships among the castaways that go beyond Survivor Philippines. All his fellow castaways have good relationships with Marlon now, all except for one. Find out which castaway refused to shake Marlon’s hand, tomorrow at the conclusion of this interview.

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