ONE who follows the news may conclude that 2018 was a bloody year for Cebu.
This could be because of the series of killings mostly related to the government’s anti-illegal drugs war and at times involving high-profile personalities like mayors and vice mayors, drug traders and police officials.
But analytics or data used to measure online performance show a mixture of popular stories not all related to the killings, at least on the SunStar website at www.sunstar.com.ph.
A check on Google Analytics from Jan. 1 to Dec. 29, 2018 on the SunStar website’s performance showed that among the top stories in terms of number of views on the article showed a mix of crime, accidents, intrigue and youthful folly.
Among the popular online reports in 2018 were titled, “Chiong movie to clarify ‘rumors, false reports,’” “Official: Metro Ayala fire may last for 2 days,” “A medal does not define you,” “Girl fakes own abduction, faces charges,” and “Car crash fatalities now in Cebu City funeral home.”
The Chiong story was on the showing of the movie “Jacqueline Comes Home” on the celebrated murder case of the Chiong sisters; next was on the Metro Ayala Center Cebu fire last Jan. 5; the medal item was a SunStar Cagayan de Oro lifestyle article; the fake victim was about a woman arrested for a ludicrous tale; and the car crash was the one that claimed the lives of seven Filipino-American doctors and nurses last Jan. 20 in an accident.
That was how the year was. My hope is that 2019, with elections scheduled in May, would be less eventful than those of past election years. Good luck to us in 2019!
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The Metro Manila Film Festival winner “Rainbow’s Sunset” was shown again in Cebu after it was pulled out from local cinemas after one day of showing last Dec. 25 because of lack of audience interest.
After the film won the festival’s top prize, cinemas of SM Cebu, SM Seaside Cebu and Robinsons Galleria Cebu started showing it again last Saturday.
There’s no telling how long the movie will run here so I urge Cebuanos to catch it for its touching story on the coming out of an elderly gay couple, their unique love affair, and for the award-worthy performance of its actors.
Eddie Garcia deserved the Special Jury Prize while Gloria Romero earned the Best Actress trophy for her performance as Garcia’s wife, and Tony Mabesa and Aiko Melendez, the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress awards, respectively.
Watch it now for its beautiful message and while it is still being shown in Cebu. When I bought my ticket Sunday night, I asked the ticket seller if I should choose my seat. She replied there were plenty of seats with only a few viewers. When I went in, we were less than 10 viewers total, then our number rose to close to 20 as the movie started.
Watch it before it gets pulled out again.