Charo Santos-Concio and the different hats she wears

Charo Santos-Concio is one of our entertainment industry’s most inspiring success stories. Her stellar rise from consultant and production manager of ABS-CBN in 1987 to its president in 2008 is the stuff that dreams are made of. When she retired from ABS-CBN Corporation on Dec.  31, 2015, she was not just the media company’s president, but its chief executive officer (CEO) as well.

But for millions of Filipinos here and abroad, I suspect that Charo is a household name not because she is a peerless network executive, but because she was the host of Maalaala Mo Kaya (MMK), the Philippines’ longest-running drama anthology program. MMK ran for 31 years and aired its series finale on Dec. 10.

When news broke last month that MMK was ending its run, I sent Charo a text message inviting her to lunch just to catch up. After all, she was my immediate boss in ABS-CBN from 2003 to 2005. In fact, it was because of Charo that I debuted as an on-camera talent in DZMM TeleRadyo in 2013. According to Peter Musñgi, my former co-anchor, I wasn’t the original choice for the program, Teka Muna. Peter’s co-host was supposed to be Robert Labayen, head of ABS-CBN Creative Communication Management (CCM). But since Robert was a member of the company’s executive committee, he was discouraged from taking on the teleradyo offer. It was then that Charo recommended me to be Peter’s co-anchor to Marah Capuyan, head of DZMM, and to Peter himself.

After our lunch catchup was confirmed, I asked Charo to choose the restaurant. Right away, she asked if we could lunch at a Korean place because she had not had Korean food for over a year because of the pandemic.

Though our lunch chat lasted nearly three hours, the time just flew. We talked about showbiz, her new business venture, how she felt about MMK signing off, what brings her “so much joy,” and a whole lot more. Here are a few excerpts from our chat.

You retired in 2016 as president and CEO of ABS-CBN. How did you transition from being a TV network executive and entertainment industry power player to a retiree?

“I would like to believe my transition was smooth and gracious mainly because for me, it has never been about power. I framed everything as service. The leadership role was a form of stewardship, until I passed the baton to the next generation.”

If you were to make a movie of your life story, who would you want to play the young Charo and CEO Charo?

“Yung young Charo, pwede bang Kathryn (Bernardo), Liza (Soberano) or Belle (Mariano)? (laughter) Since we are fantasizing, why not the best, right? As for the mature Charo, I can play myself; may asim pa naman ako! (laughter)”

How did you feel when you were told that MMK was going to end? And why did it have to end?

“Of course, I was shocked and saddened but not surprised. After 31 years, being the longest running TV program in Philippine media history, I think we have had more than our share of blessings. To be so lucky as to be given the chance to touch people’s lives every week for 31 years, I can only feel gratitude and appreciation to my audience, the network, and to God. It was a miracle to have lasted that long.

“According to our head of TV Production, Laurenti Dyogi, the impact of both the pandemic and our shutdown has limited our resources, especially for the weekend programs. We are doing more replays than original episodes. We feel it’s best to protect the equity of the program and not compromise the production value, so management put it on a hiatus until the time we are able to produce more original episodes again.”

Are you still open to doing TV and movie projects?

“Yes, I am open. I am still the same actress who performed in Itim nearly a lifetime ago. I will always be in front of my first love, the camera.”

(Days after our lunch, Charo announced that she will be joining Coco Martin in FPJ’s Batang Quiapo, his follow-up serye after Probinsyano and an upcoming project with Dingdong Dantes).

If you had a magic wand, what would you change in the movie and TV industry?

“We all know that the local media industry is brimming with the most talented creatives and artists in the world, but we need government support. I would knock on the doors of Congress and the Senate to plead for us to usher a new Golden Age for media. I also dream of Educational TV, a platform to teach people to love our rich history and culture. Lastly, I will wave my magic wand to accomplish what we all dream of: Internationalizing our shows and movies in the mainstream, showing the world what wonderful storytellers we are. All we need is to be united and supported.”

How did you keep your sanity during the lockdown?

“I like to believe I am a perpetual student. During the lockdown, I dove deep into learning Jungian Psychology. I am proud to say that I have a certificate in Applied Jungian Psychology, and I continue further studies and sharing my life insights to others in the framework of the psychology of Carl Jung. Believe me, it is a soul-opener.”

Is Chammie, your restaurant venture, a product of the COVID-19 lockdown?

“Not at all! We were planning Chammie way before the pandemic. But in Jungian terms, it was sheer synchronicity that the lockdown happened, and so, people’s craving for comfort food intensified. After all, don’t we Filipinos always think of pancit as the go-to fare for fiestas and celebrations? Chammie made people feel that despite being sheltered in place, they can feel the celebratory spirit through Chammie, delivered to them fast, delicious, and reasonably priced. Chammie was the surprise winner.”

Why did you choose a short order restaurant? Is it open for franchising?

“As in cinema and television, you get your first taste of acting in an introductory role before biting into big leading parts. So a specialized outfit like Chammie’s pancit is our introductory role into the food business. Its boutique menu allows us to make our recipes excellent and responsive to our community. It was wonderful listening to customers and giving them what they want. From the typical palabok-bihon-canton classics, we have innovated such exciting breakthroughs as Pancit Longanisa, Pancit Adobo, Pancit Paella, Pancit Lechon and even a chili hot pancit called Pancit Palaban. Food we can proudly declare as gourmet, but is still, at heart, very masa and authentic.”

Among the many hats you wore/wear, what is the most difficult, the easiest, the most challenging, and the most rewarding?

“Every hat I wear has its most difficult parts. As a wife to Cesar, who is in his 90s, it is a complex challenge to attend to his special needs, but I will not have it any other way. We do anything for the one we love.

“During my time as producer, I have seen it all, like counting spent blank bullets after every action scene to make sure we are not overspending on blanks. I always tell that to new employees, so they can appreciate how difficult it is to be a producer.

“As CEO — oh dear — a day without difficulty does not exist. The CEO is a servant. You attend to talents and employees, then shift to appeasing cost-conscious finance guys, then charm investors, then get down to the trenches, checking edits and scores, then monitor the industry on six television screens I watch simultaneously. But the most challenging moments are also the most rewarding. They are sides of the same coin. They show to us what we are made of, how much we can do to succeed.

“Easiest hats? Well, jamming a story with like-minded creatives is the purest joy for me. Imagining a narrative from start to finish — crafting the travails of the heroine, the life-and-death adventures of the hero, the redemption of the villain — those are the moments when I feel most alive.

“And yes, off-work, the easiest, most fun, lightest hat I wear is being a grandmother. My grandchildren bring me so much joy.”