The Philippine Online Chronicles

“Don’t feel guilty. Ginusto ko ito. Hindi ko kailanman pinagsisihan ang lahat ng namagitan sa atin. Naging maligaya ako sa piling mo kahit sandali lang. Mahal kita, Carlo. Ang lahat ay gagawin ko para sa kaligayahan mo.” – Sa Ngalan Ng Dakilang Pag-ibig, Mariz Crisostomo

My first lessons in love I learned from the likes of Helen Meriz, Gilda Olivadado, Maia Jose, Mariz Crisostomo, Arlene de Guzman and Arielle, thanks or no thanks to the Pinoy romance novels they wrote. It is to their credit (or discredit) that I have become a hopeless romantic and cock-eyed optimist.

The early 90s was the glory days of Filipino-language pocketbooks. I had my own collection. Although, I preferred the novels of Valentine Romances, I did read and enjoy a few published by Queen of Hearts, Hearts of Passion and Love and Romance Stories.

Valentine Romances pocketbooks were published by Books for Pleasure, Inc. and it housed most of the authors mentioned. They crowded the shelves of National Bookstore until the publishing house closed shop in 2002.

While it is true that most Filipinos are not inclined to reading, they do love to listen to happy-ending stories. They can relate to true-to-life experiences of others. This is partly why Filipino story magazines like Liwayway” was popular reading fare for decades. The 20^th century version of it is the Tagalog romance pocketbooks.

The best-selling stories of all are those romantic, love stories, which made many Pinays love-struck and dreamy-eyed. Like their western counterparts, Pinays dream of their Prince Charming and knights in shining armor who will sweep them off their feet. And Filipino romance novels, like the Mills and Boons and Harlequin Romances of the West, are their love gurus.

According to one editor, Malou Medina, My Special Valentine pocketbooks under Bookware Publishing Corporation follow a strict romance formula. This means that all their romance stories have happy endings as this guarantees big sales. Ninety percent of their readers are between 13 to 50 year-old females belonging to the C, D and E markets.

Medina said that for these avid readers, the Filipino pocketbook is a form of escape. Since most of the readers are poor, they tend to project their hopes and dreams onto the protagonists in the novels they read. This is why the main protagonists of the pocketbooks are oftentimes good-looking, rich, smart and, lately, feisty and courageous as well. Like in the Philippine movies, the bida should be kept alive, no matter what sickness or affliction befalls him or her.  The bida should hurdle all adversities including the machinations of the kontrabida.  

Small but terrible, you might describe these books -- only 10 cms x 16 cms in size, 120 pages long, very handy. Written in Filipino, each will cost only about Php 40 to 50 depending on the book’s released date. The genre has also evolved into an online player. Yes, readers and fans can now get these pocketbooks via the Net. This is especially advantageous to Filipino communities in other parts of the world.

The storylines have also changed with the times. No longer are the stories about the same damsel-in-distress and knights to the rescue or rags-to-riches plots. According to Medina, what they did was to create conflicts between characters, which stirs up the ”kilig” factor and inject innovative treatments, dialogs, scenes and angles to the old plot.  Many of the stories also uphold good old Filipino values like patience, hard work, compassion, respect for parents, camaraderie, and faith in the Almighty. This may counter the criticism these books contain little more than mush.

These types of storylines have become so popular that some have been produced for television. One of the most successful pocketbook series which has seen the light of TV is “Kristine” series penned by the famous Martha Cecilia (Babes Cajayon in real life) for Precious Hearts Romance. It has over 50 books and more volumes are on the way.

Like movies and music, the romance pocketbook genre is also plagued by book piracy. Scanned copies of pocketbooks concealed in disguised covers, titles and authors are being sold in Divisoria. The legitimate publishers are planning to take up arms against the practice.

Maia Jose and Tisha Nicole (Maria Teresa “Tessa” Cruz San Diego in real life) wrote exclusively for Valentine Romances before it closed down. Tisha’s novel, “Ayoko nang Maglaro” was one of my favorites. The challenge she poses for wannabe romance writers is how to make novels accessible, understandable and enjoyable to both a high school graduate and a doctorate degree holder.

According to her, very few Filipinos read literary books. “If good writers stick to writing high literature, what will be left to the mass market readers but junk?” – she asks. It is the responsibility of writers to give the people choices.

The success of the Tagalog romance pocketbooks has crossed the seas to where our overseas workers are. Many Filipina domestic helpers in Hong Kong have found reading romance pocketbooks a good diversion. This is especially true among those who do not sing and frequent videoke bars and those who have no access to the internet to chat with loved ones.

Romance novel authors will argue that happy endings are not an impossibility in real life. Thus they have tried to come up with meaningful plots that are neither unrealistic nor illogical.

Many may not understand why people go head over heels over Filipino romance novels but lovelorn Pinays would insist they should not be denied the right to dream that one day their dream boats will finally come to make them forever in love and happy.

And they continue to hold on to that dream…