Cathy Yang: Balik-Kapamilya

Curtain-raisers:

* Will these former teen lovers, both from showbiz families, enjoy a second time around? The actor is separated from his actress-wife with whom he has four grown-up children (a daughter is making a name as an actress); and the singer-actress is also separated from her non-showbiz husband by whom she has a daughter. They have been dating lately, with the blessing of their moms.

* An actor (who does mostly supporting roles) broke up with his non-showbiz wife after he caught her with another man in a hotel. The fistfight between the two men turned so violent that the hotel manager had to call the police. The couple’s children are with the wife. One of these days, the trauma might be reflected in one of the actor’s paintings.

* Up to now, the overnight sensation continues to keep secret his romance (never confirmed for understandable reason) with a singer-actress. The girl’s mother frowned on the relationship because the actor was a “nobody” (according to the mom)…at that time. Now that the actor is very popular (seen every day by the whole world, no kidding!), is the girl’s mother having regrets (or hiding her face in shame)?

***

Yesterday, Cathy Yang took a bow as host of Market Edge With Cathy Yang, a new business show on ANC airing at 3 p.m. Monday thru Friday and Business Nightly at 10 p.m. Because she has been away for almost 10 years (more than four in Japan and more than five in Hong Kong) hosting also a business show on Bloomberg, perhaps some people may be wondering, “Cathy Young who?” You see, in showbiz, absence doesn’t really make the heart grow fonder. The memory span is very brief.

A re-introduction: Cathy Yang was a host/reporter at ABS-CBN for eight years (1992-1999) until she moved abroad. I’m sure that businessmen (maybe not the entertainment-oriented masa) have been following Cathy on Bloomberg as she monitored the rise and fall of stocks not just around Asia but worldwide and they should be glad that Cathy is back for good — that is, after shuttling on weekends between first Japan and Manila and later Hong Kong and Manila to be with her Manila-based family (her husband and two daughters would visit her abroad very now and them).

“They were both made in the Philippines,” Cathy good-humoredly said about their daughters. “Like me, they were also residents (in both foreign countries). They enjoyed that privilege because of my work there.”

While with Bloomberg, Cathy studied Mandarin under a tutor but when she would report partly in Nippongo, according to Cathy with a laugh, “I used to have kodigo.” A pure Chinese, Cathy could easily pass for a Japanese.

“Nahasa talaga ako sa Bloomberg when it comes to monitoring stocks,” said Cathy.

Asked what she has learned out there that she could use on her ANC show, Cathy said a lot, a lot!

“One is being punctual,” explained Cathy. “Iba ‘yung kultura nila. Ang talagang natutunan ko ‘yung pagiging on time. I do appreciate our own culture even if we are used to not being always on time. Iba ang attitude ng Japanese toward their work. I also learned how to walk fast, really fast! Iba ang pace doon. My kids would say, ‘Mama, you are walking Hong Kong style!’ I had to reverse cultural shock every time I came home. Now it’s the permanent culture shock na.”

What made her come back?

“It’s about time. I’ve always been in touch with old friends at ABS-CBN, so it wasn’t like I was gone for years.”

In a prepared statement distributed among the media guys invited to the mini-presscon, Ging Reyes, head of the Integrated News & Current Affairs of ABS-CBN Corp and managing director of ANC, said, “When we brainstormed on new approaches to delivering business news, I thought that Cathy, an old colleague and friend, would be a perfect fit for ANC. Her years of experience in business journalism here and abroad, have given her an edge and a global perspective that I thought would benefit ANC’s audience. Cathy and I never really lost touch, even when both of us were covering news from different continents. (Ging was in the USA. -— RFL) But it was only this year that we both felt the time was right for her to return home. I am very proud that Cathy shares our vision and is once again a Kapamilya.”

There have been so many changes since Cathy left, but she’s fast catching up, especially on the local business scene.

“The casino industry, for instance. It’s booming. It’s good for OFWs. I have it on record that several OFWs have come home from Macau and other casinos around Asia to work permanently here. Expats, including bankers, have also been coming back, a sign that our economy is doing well.”

As you can see, with her experience in Japan and Hong Kong, Cathy does have a safe edge in her field.

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