More than a decade of making wishes come true

Hope is available to everyone who dares to dream. People, after all, are by nature hopeful. And to hope for a better world to live in can make a big difference.

These words may well be what occupied the thoughts of GMA News’ John Manalastas during a brainstorming session more than a decade ago. His ideas on wish-granting, then casually written on a paper napkin, signaled the creation of a landmark program on Philippine television: Wish Ko Lang, the country’s first and longest-running wish-granting program that features inspiring stories of ordinary Filipinos as they struggle to overcome extraordinary situations.

In 2002, at a time when dramas, situational comedies and game shows were the trend, Wish Ko Lang aired its pilot episode. The first of its kind on Philippine TV to date, Wish Ko Lang continues to feature real-life situations of people dealing with different crises — a long-lost loved one waiting to be reunited with family, a physically-challenged person seeking love and acceptance, a remorseful woman praying for forgiveness, a sickly man whose every waking hour might be his last or a child whose simple wish is to own her own pair of school shoes.

These are just some stories documented by the program from thousands of letters sent via snail mail and e-mail, each with its own story to tell but is bound by a unifying thought: Hope.

And as real as the stories are, so is the fuel that drives the program — the commitment to prove that as long as hope remains, nothing is impossible.

For the team behind Wish Ko Lang, it is more than simply making dreams come true. After 11 long years, Wish Ko Lang continues to turn dispiriting situations into inspiring ones. “It is often termed as a â€˜reality-wish-granting show,’” says program manager Joy Marcelo. “But having worked with the show for a decade, it is every inch a public service program,” she stresses.

“Since 2002, the show has been granting wishes,” adds Marcelo. “Content-wise, we have grown. At the start, we granted simple wishes. But as we grew so did our audience, thus our desire to reach out and help in a bigger way. We started doing community wishes. From plain, small-scale wishes, Wish Ko Lang has since built bridges, schools, libraries, clinics, pig pens, houses and many more. The program is also proud to have education scholars and success stories of major medical grants.”

Over the years, a number of shows mimicking the format were mounted yet none of them outlasted Wish Ko Lang. Marcelo credits the show’s longevity to the dedication and effort exerted by the Wish Ko Lang team for every episode, attesting that â€œit’s the credibility of the story, the very good presentation of the cases’ profile, and the sincerity of the program to help” that help make the show a TV landmark.

For the Wish Ko Lang team, granting wishes is more than giving material gifts. “Wish Ko Lang gives them what they really need and what will really make them happy,” says Marcelo. “By talking to the case study, we do not just stop at her wish of going home to the province. We ask ourselves, what will she need after that? Will she need a new pangkabuhayan to sustain her? Are there people whom she needs to be reunited with or ask forgiveness from? Ayaw namin silang pabayaan.”

And by “we,” Marcelo meant every single member of the team — from the camera crew to the production staff, and most importantly, the face which viewers have long associated Wish Ko Lang with — its host Vicky Morales.

“I have met, mingled, and worked with a lot of people from all walks of life, yet she remains to be one of the most, if not the most, sincere and kind people you will ever meet,” says Marcelo of Vicky. â€œIt is easy to be kind and generous, especially if you have the means, but Vicky is more than that. She is sincere in what she does. The honesty is so transparent there is no acting, no need for projecting.”

She is one of the pillars of the country’s most formidable broadcast news organization. And as Wish Ko Lang’s bearer of hope and positivity, Vicky came to be known as the face that thawed more than a thousand hearts.

When the show was pitched to her, Vicky says she was quick to jump at the offer. Back then, she was already the anchor of GMA’s late-night newscast Saksi and writing documentaries for the network’s flagship documentary program I-Witness. But “the kind of positive energy attached to Wish Ko Lang” was more than enough to completely win her over. Not long after, she was granting wishes and making dreams come true as TV’s “fairy godmother.”

“Wish Ko Lang took me out of my comfort zone at first,” she says of her first Wish Ko Lang experience.

“It got me out of bed at 5 a.m. and brought me to many corners of the country I would never have visited. The show has taken me to the humble homes of those who had sent us letters, it has treated me to some of the brightest smiles I had ever seen, and it has given me a front-row seat to lives that have been transformed because of the help extended by the show,” she says, casually adding that she religiously stuffs her pockets with tissue in case she couldn’t hold back the tears during shoots.

Vicky says that her parents have raised her and her siblings to be grounded, and working for Wish Ko Lang has sustained her values and principles. “When you come face to face with people in dire need, you start thinking less of what else you’d like to buy for yourself, and more of what you can give back,” says Vicky. “You become appreciative of the little things and of the people around you who work hard regardless of stature.”

Vicky has long been associated with positive energy, owing to her decade-long stint in Wish Ko Lang, and her current involvement with GMA News TV 11’s Good News, a newscast that focuses on positive events in the country.

Dreams do come true

For more than a decade, Wish Ko Lang has been a source of hope and happiness for those whose lives have been derailed by unfortunate circumstances.

“It feels great to be the bearer of good news, but it feels even greater when you do a follow-up and find out that the people helped by the show had been able to sustain whatever was given by Wish Ko Lang,” Vicky says.

She adds that there have been countless episodes that moved her, but certain episodes have gained a place in her heart.

She highlighted the story of an Amerasian boy, Kevin Powell, who was sent by Wish Ko Lang to the US to meet his American father. Kevin has since joined the US Army and has developed a good relationship with his dad and half-sisters.

Vicky also included the story of Leomeo, a popular French disc jockey whom Wish Ko Lang reunited with his Filipino father. Wish Ko Lang flew Leomeo’s father from Manila to Paris to meet Leomeo for the first time. She says it was “one of the first stories (I) did for Wish Ko Lang, and one of the most touching.”

But above all, she looks forward to Wish Ko Lang’s Good Samaritan episodes. In search of a “Good Samaritan,” the production creates a real-life situation and films the varied responses of bystanders and passers-by through a hidden camera.

“It was an idea I pitched during one of our brainstorming sessions and it has turned out to be a very effective device to reward kindness,” shares Vicky, saying that “it’s the little surprises that we happily stumble upon whenever we go on our Good Samaritan missions” that inspire her to believe in the kindness and goodness present in every Filipino.

Apart from changing the lives of regular citizens, Wish Ko Lang likewise helps some celebrities get back on their feet. Some of the memorable celebrities featured by the show include Brandy Ayala, Metring David, Katherine Luna, Palito, Eddie Mercado, Carmen Ronda and Sammy Lagmay.

“Perhaps in all these stories of fallen celebrities,” begins Vicky, “the lesson that keeps repeating itself is the importance of setting aside money for a rainy day. When the going is good, many celebrities get accustomed to their steady income stream until one day they realize they’re down to their last few pesos. It’s always a good practice to save, regardless of how successful we are in what we do.”

Happy endings

Wish Ko Lang continues to overcome the challenges of time and competition in an industry where the tastes and preferences of audiences evolve quickly.

“I knew it would last a long time, but you know, it doesn’t feel like it’s been more than 10 years,” says Vicky of the show’s sturdy ratings. “I remember that on the show’s first year, one of the staff went to a manghuhula who predicted that the show would last for seven years — and even that seemed a long time. But here we are, still reading letters, still giving out scholarship grants, pangkabuhayan showcases and medical grants, and still reuniting families. The fact that we’ve been around this long is a testament to the many compassionate people in the country.”

What keeps the show one of the longest-running TV programs, shares Vicky, is the weekly dose of good vibes. “I think after every episode, our viewers walk away feeling more appreciative of what they have, with a kinder perception of the world around them, and a greater desire to share what they can afford,” she enthuses.

“But over and above that, I must credit our staff for the show’s longevity. I have always been proud of our team. All young, vibrant, hardworking individuals who work many hours a day, even during weekends, who travel far distances and who bring their innate compassion and sincerity to each story. It’s a great feeling to be part of the Wish Ko Lang family, which is what we’ve become after 11 years.”

Marcelo supports this, saying that in each episode, they always search for something. “Kailangan may kurot. Sabi nga nila, kung gusto mo umiyak, manood ka ng Wish Ko Lang. And the show is lucky to have producers who have stayed with the show since the beginning. Kinikilala nila nang husto ang bawat case study to make a sincere and meaningful presentation of their story.”

Wish Ko Lang owes its success to the viewers, who, like the team, are fans of happy endings. Marcelo explains, “Pagkatapos ng problema, we present a solution. Pagkatapos ng mga luha, may ngiti. We feature the poorest of the poor, the neglected, the sick, but in the end, this is what we give them — hope.”