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| Lima Para sa 2012 led by the five pillars of NEWS5 (from left to right) Cherie Mercado, Paolo Bediones, Luchi Cruz Valdes, Erwin Tulfo and Cheryl Cosim |
As
2012 bids goodbye, another year full of hope awaits optimistic
Filipinos. According to a Pulse Asia survey, nine out of 10 Filipinos
are hopeful about 2013—the survey firm’s highest
recorded number since 2005. On New Year’s Eve, NEWS5 front liners, led
by its chief Luchi Cruz-Valdes and anchors Erwin Tulfo, Cheryl Cosim,
Cherie Mercado and Paolo Bediones, will tell five stories of inspiration
from individuals whose stories may have missed
the limelight in 2012, but certainly deserve to be told.
Take
for example Mang Jun Sapiton, a 51-year-old ex-convict who saw the
light after a series of misfortunes that killed his sibling, child and
wife. As he served his 22-year sentence,
the former pirate and hired killer welcomes his second chance in life
as a dried fish vendor in San Mateo, Rizal.
On the other
hand, Jean Maputi provided for her family by running an illegal logging
business in Malaybalay, Bukidnon for 15 years. But after an onslaught of
typhoons and landslides, she realized
her livelihood is costing thousands of people their very lives. Not
only did she leave her past behind, Jean is now one of nature’s
toughest defenders as a member of the group Bantay Kagubatan and also
operates 50 hectares of mountain land, which she
has dedicated as a nature conservatory and eco-park.
For 20-year old
Elizabeth Ramos, the only way out of poverty is getting into sex trade.
At a tender age of 15, she entered the red light district as a club
dancer without her parents’ knowledge.
A year after, she got pregnant and bore another one just before she got
separated with her children’s father. After five years in the sex
trade, Elizabeth is now ready to tell her family where she gets the
money to put food on table.
Raul Felipe, a
27-year-old doctor, readily shares his story on how he and his
girlfriend in the medical school went on to abort their lovechild. It
took Doc Raul a few years before he finally told
his parents about what happened. He’s ready to share it with everyone
to encourage people not to live a lie.
Arnel is an
amputee who’s been bringing glory to the country by joining the SEA
Games and other international competitions as part of the Philippine
team for the differently-abled. But behind his
successes is a dark past. He was a former jeepney driver who made money
on the sidelines living a life of crime.
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