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sunday, January 27, 2013

MByouthsection@gmail.com

Ramon Bautista
Yung pagkakaroon ng maraming followers hindi para ipagmayabang yan. May responsibility ka kasi ang daming nakikinig sayo.
Interview by ANGELO G. GARCIA, RONALd s. LIm, and JAsER A. mARAsIGAN Photos by ChARI VILLEGAs
OU wouldnt know it if you just passed him by on the street, but Ramon Bautista is most definitely a man with a following most especially on social media. On Twitter, he has more than 400,000 followers, ranging from ordinary netizens to fellow celebrities like Lourd de Veyra and Jade Castro. On Formspring, he dishes out wry but sagely advice to his thousands and thousands of lovelorn followers, helping them figure out the twist and turns of falling in and out of love. And on YouTube, Bautista is a consistent viewer draw. His show, Tales from the Friend Zone, is eagerly anticipated by social media savvy young Filipinos, who further spread his hilarious relationship advice on their own social media accounts. At present, all seven episodes of Tales from the Friendzone have a combined number of 2,295,105 views, as of this writing. If these facts and figures are surprising to those unfamiliar with Bautista, it is even more so for the man himself, who started out playing bit parts on UNTVs Strangebrew and in various Radioactive Sago Project music videos. Pinanindigan ko na lang, tulad nung campaign ng Nivea, Like A Pogi. Yung image na feeling pogi, sinakyan ko na lang siya. Feel na feel ko yung kaguwapuhan ko, he says of his sudden popularity. Coming to terms with how guwapo he is has certainly worked out well for Bautista. He and his comedic stylings have now successfully transitioned into the mainstream, with Bautista headlining GMA News TVs May Tamang Balita and

Tales from

RAmON BAUTIsTA plays main anchor in GmA News TVs satirical newscast may Tamang Balita.

even putting out a bestselling book Bakit Hindi Ka Crush ng Crush Mo that drew one of the biggest crowds at last years Manila International Book Fair. With more eyes on him now than ever before, the UP professor is looking to parlay his popularity into advocacy. Yes, young Filipinos may find his Formspring replies and his YouTube advice hilarious and relatable, but he also hopes that it also clear to these young minds that there is more to life than problems of the heart. Gusto kong palabasin na nai-in love tayong lahat, pero kailangan nating mag-aral at mag-trabaho. There is more to life. Isa lang siyang module sa buhay natin, hindi ka dapat sumesentro diyan, he says. Siyempre magiging taong grasa ka kapag hindi ka nagtrabaho. Kailangan mo pa ring kumain. Bautista is even looking to direct and star in his pet project, a film on national hero Jose Rizal and his life. His goal, he says, is to inspire young Filipinos. Tingnan mo yung mga pulitiko natin, mandarambong. Pero hayaan mo na sila, made-deads din naman sila someday. Yung mga kabataan ang papalit, he explains. Nagta-tr y ako na impluwensiyahan ang mga kabataan. Maging idol niyo si Rizal, para kapag naging pulitiko kayo, puwede kayong maging dakila. In this rollicking 60 Minutes conversation peppered with punchlines delivered in Bautistas matter-of-fact tone, the Students and Campuses Bulletin wasnt just rolling with laughter Bautista riffs on anything and everything, from Anne Curtis to Michael Jackson but was also impressed by his wit and wisdom. The jury may be out on how guwapo he is, but Baustistas popularity and notoriety is certainly deserved. (RONALD S. LIM)