Filipina Soul

The Singkil dance is the most difficult of the Philippine traditional dances. It requires skill to navigate the bamboo poles while gracefully dancing with a fan, an umbrella or ones bare hands. The dance is native to the Maguindanao people, and is performed alone by a woman of royal blood who is advertising herself to suitors. With the modernized steps of folk dance companies, singkil now includes an entourage of dancers. Tinikling is nothing compared to Singkil, although both use bamboo poles.
A group of my friends attempted to perform the Singkil and I can’t tell you how many times …read more

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Before leaving the island of Koh Tarutao on Survivor Philippines, the 8 members of the Jury cast their votes about who they thought deserved the title of Pinoy Sole Survivor.
Jace voted first. Vern was next, and she voted for Rob. She congratulated him, and said that regardless of what the others said about him, she agreed with Marlon that there was something in him that the others haven’t seen. Zita was next to vote, followed by Charisse. Kiko then voted for JC, addin an exclamation point to his vote. Kiko told JC that he made him proud and that he …read more

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Episode 64 of Survivor Philippines is the last one before the winner is revealed!
The Final Two castaways, JC and Rob, go to the Tribal Council. Host Paolo Bediones was shown arriving in a speed boat. He called in the members of the Jury – Jace, Kiko, Vern, Marlon, Kaye, Zita, Cris and Charisse.
It seemed fitting that the last night on the island was stormy, with lightning often illuminating the ocean and the Tribal Council.
Day 39 was when the power to vote was transferred from the castaways to the Jury. Paolo said that the Jury members were witnesses to how …read more

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The fate of the Final Two castaways on Survivor Philippines is now in the hands of the 8-member Jury.
In the last episode before the live finale on December 12, 2008, JC and Rob will each get a last chance to convince the Jury that he deserves to be the first Pinoy Sole Survivor.
How will the Jury vote?
Based on what I have seen on the 63 episodes, here’s who I predict the Jury members will choose to be the winner of Survivor Philippines, and why:

Jace – Jace believed that he had a strong alliance with JC, even after …read more

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We are nearing the finale of  Survivor Philippines! Out of the original 18 castaways, only two, bosom buddies JC and Rob, are left.
Farewell to Camp Chalam
Day 39 came. JC and Rob relaxed on their last day on the island. They got their treemail, which seemed to indicate that the end would come for the camp in the form of fire. JC and Rob cleaned up their home for 39 days, before they took their torches and set fire to it. They also burned the Chalam flag.
JC said that the memories of their days on the island with the …read more

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Survivor Philippines is getting more and more nerve-wracking, as the live finale on Friday nears. In the previous episode, the Final Three – JC, Rob and Charisse – battled it out to win the Immunity Necklace for the last time. Rob was victorious, gaining his first immunity win.
Now, we find out who Rob will choose to go on with him to the Final Two and the chance to win P3 million and the title of first Pinoy Sole Survivor.
The last three castaways made the long treck to their 8th Tribal Council. Host Paolo Bediones called in the members of the …read more

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Despite all the scheming and voting off that goes on in Survivor Philippines, the castaways have forged friendships out of their days of being isolated on the island.
On the day before our interview, Marlon Carmen, the undisputed grand schemer of Survivor Philippines, had partied with some his fellow castaways. It may come as a surprise to some of you, but Marlon is now good friends with the others. The ladies, especially, have even told him their secrets (no, he didn’t tell me what kind of secrets). Everything that happened on the island is in the past, and the castaways …read more

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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 …read more

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Last week on Survivor Philippines, we saw Cris voted off, leaving the Final Three – JC, Rob and Charisse – on the island of Koh Tarutao.
Day 38 brought the final Immunity Challenge. The winner of this challenge will be sure to be one of the Final Two and will choose the other castaway to go with him/her. Host Paolo Bediones welcomed the three to the site of the castaways’ original landing on the island.
The challenge was simple but difficult. Each of them would lie down on an angled platform and hold on to a wooden handle. Every 15 minutes, …read more

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After 60 episodes of Survivor Philippines, we are now down to the Final Three – JC, Rob and Charisse.
SP is the biggest reality series to have hit the Philippines, and this coming week is the most exciting yet. Here’s a glimpse of what’s going to happen:
Immunity Challenge – the last three castaways will call on every vestige of strength, endurance and determination to win the Immunity Necklace
Tribal Council – the winner of the Immunity Necklace will choose who will be with him/her in the Final Two
The Jury Votes – the members of the Jury, including the last one …read more

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