Kahit walang degree, Janno magaling na teacher

It’s a typical classroom ambience: May chalkboard, books on the shelves, and just about any educational device you can find. Ito ang imposing set ng the returning Kakasa Ka Ba sa Grade 5? on GMA 7 with host Janno Gibbs acting as a teacher.

Oo naman dahil admittedly, he cannot be a student. Like a guinea pig in a science lab, nagkaroon ako ng tsansang maging kalahok sa dry-run ng nasabing educational game show patterned after Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

Off-cam, hindi ikinahihiya ni Janno that he, as well as his wife Bing Loyzaga, never went to college. Malakas daw kasi ang kaway ng showbiz, but he would have pursued masscom (he graduated high school from Lourdes School). Kaya raw gano’n na lang ang ibinibigay nilang suporta sa panganay nilang anak, si Alyssa, now in third year college taking up a pre-med course.

Despite Janno being a non-college degree holder, nakakabilib that he’s a learned man judging even from the casual talks that he engages in. Via his returning show, ginagamit ito ni Janno as a refreshing back-to-school experience, re-learning his grade school lessons already relegated to his academic past.

I, too, had so much fun during the dry-run. Feeling ko, I rode a time machine that transported me back to 1973 noong Grade V ako at the Sta. Clara Parish School, with such honors, modesty aside, that I received.

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For sure neither Edna Luna nor Barbara Luna, at lalong hindi naman si Mystica ang naging inspirasyon ng GMA 7 sa panibago nitong teleserye na Luna Mystika, ’no!

Hindi pa malinaw sa akin what the plot of Luna Mystika is all about, but the invitation design on the card na aligaga pang ipina-DHL ng GMA CorpComm readily suggests na isa itong mamisteryong kuwento: Mala-gubat ang setting with a lunar symbol. Huwag na tayong lumayo, the title speaks for itself. Behind the moon lurks a mystery, as simple as that, na kung ano pa ang nasa likod ng “mystic moon” na ’yon is left to the imagination of the viewers.

One thing’s for sure, kasama sa cast ng Luna Mystika si Pauleen Luna who had to tape for a few episodes sa kabila ng kanyang pagdadalamhati sa pinaslang niyang Lola Baby. To this day, marami pa ring tanong si Pauleen tungkol sa kaso.

Fortunately for Pauleen, who celebrated her birthday three days ago, she was not in a state of lunacy over the mystery-shrouded death of her dear lola.