A dramatic ‘save’

So dramatic was the “save” of Filipino-Mexican-American Jessica Sanchez by the judges of the singing contest “American Idol” that some suspect it was all part of a ploy for better ratings.

If you’ve been in Timbuktu or some other remote place, then you’ll need an update. Jessica Sanchez is one of the “final seven” in the hugely popular talent competition and deemed by judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler as one of the more talented contestants. But in Friday’s show where the votes of the public are announced, Jessica landed in the bottom three, along with Joshua Ledet and Elise Testone, both of whom, like Jessica, have received plaudits from the judges and mentors, consistently winning standing ovations.

Then came the most shocking moment of all, when Ryan Seacrest announced that receiving the least amount of votes was Jessica, whose rendition of “Stuttering” I thought was the best of her performances all season.

Just as Jessica was starting to sing in her bid for a judges’ “save,” all three judges trooped to the stage to declare that they were “100 percent saving” Jessica. Jackson even chided the American audience, declaring that the 16-year-old “is one of the best singers in America!”

Even if we were watching it “live” on TV, my family and I couldn’t believe our eyes and ears.

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There have been many theories and explanations propounded to explain Jessica’s near-elimination, despite her obvious talent and supremacy over the other finalists.

Pop culture theorists say the overwhelming majority of viewers (and voters) of AI are teenage white girls, who tend to vote for good-looking young men, which explains why a shifting cast of so-so male singers have tended to win the vote the last few years. There’s also the so-called “redneck vote,” which may explain why Scotty Macreery, the gravelly-voiced one-dimensional cowboy, was last year’s champion, and why a country singer like Skylar Laine is proving such a durable contestant.

Have you also noticed how any contestant with even just a hint of ethnicity is almost always eliminated in the early post-Hollywood stages? The farthest any Filipino-American came in AI was Jasmine Trias, who finished third overall but only after coming under fire from the judges who made her sing ballads far beyond her age or experience.

Hopes rode high for Jessica, especially when the judges, including acerbic record producer and coach Jimmy Ivine, were unanimous in their praise for her voice and technique. But I guess there’s no accounting for taste, and we will see this week if, after the scolding it got, the voting public will choose talent over personality—or color. But another “tweeter” offered a more innocuous explanation. Maybe Fil-Ams and Chicanos were still on a Holy Week-Easter break and so forgot to vote for Jessica. Maybe her near-elimination will serve as a wake-up call, for as host Seacrest keeps reminding viewers: “No one’s safe and you have to keep voting for your favorite.”

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Family, friends and colleagues of Dr. Lorna Labayen mourn her passing last April 10 in Independence, Missouri, after succumbing to cancer.

A write-up by Outreach International, the Missouri-based global NGO where she served as a senior field consultant, described her as a “physician and humanitarian” with many years’ experience in development work and in the “empowerment of people living in poverty,” including Filipinos who were among those benefiting from Outreach International’s projects around the world.

“Lorns,” as she was known to friends and colleagues, earned her degree in medicine at UP Manila in 1972, but chose to work in poor rural communities with the UP Comprehensive Community Health Program until 1978.

She then joined the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) in Silang, Cavite, where she worked in field operations until her retirement in 1998.

She became a freelance consultant with Asian Development Bank, the Philippine Department of Health and National Economic and Development Authority, Catholic Relief Services, IIRR, Plan International, and Outreach International on evaluation and training in social and health development programs.

In this capacity, she embarked on a distinguished career in global development, which took her to places like Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, El Salvador, Paraguay, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

In 1997, the UP medical alumni honored Lorna (along with her husband, Dr. Dennis Labayen, who is currently director of field operations with Outreach International) with its Community Service Award. In 2010, Community of Christ honored the couple with its International Human Rights Award for Service, citing Lorna’s “compassion, generosity and deep intellectual curiosity.”

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“We are so deeply saddened by the loss of Lorna Labayen, our colleague and friend,” said Kevin Prine, Outreach International president and CEO. “Lorna’s unswerving commitment to impoverished communities—especially women and children—has helped transform lives, systems and organizations worldwide.” Aside from Dennis, Lorna is survived by her daughters, Kweet, Yllah and Lea. She was 65 at the time of her passing.

Lorna is also a relative of mine, being the daughter-in-law of Ben and Norma Labayen of Alaminos, Pangasinan, cousins of my mother and close family friends. May I also request readers for prayers for Tito Ben, who is now hospitalized at Veterans Memorial Medical Center after hip surgery. A former undersecretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform, Tito Ben gained a place in our family lore for introducing my parents to each other, for which we all are eternally grateful.