Where Kids Rule
by Data Tolentino (a.k.a. Artoo-Data)

Eight-year old Zak Yuson was a fan and regular viewer of the investigative news program, The Probe Team.  In fact, he was such a fan that he got his classmates to form a club they called, The Probe Team Club.  "We would meet in school once a week and talk about the last show we watched," says Zak, "We didn't have much of a nightlife then, that's why we stayed home and watched the show."

One night, Zak did more than just watch: he actually called up Probe Team headquarters and proudly told the show's producers of their unique little club.  "I couldn't believe than an eight-year-old boy like Zak could sit through an hour of news features," says Probe Team host and executive producer, Cheche Lazaro, recalling that call they got almost a decade ago.  Well, maybe it helped that Mrs. Lazaro was also his aunt. "He was asking us for t-shirts for their club.  And I thought, a Probe Team club?  Made up of eight-year-olds?  And that's when he started telling me about it."

What could he have told them?  Well, whatever it was, must have been enough to switch on a light bulb of ideas in the producers' minds.  Why, eight years later, new batches of kids are still talking about and experiencing that light!

Welcome to the world of 5 and Up!

The sun shines at its brightest Sunday mornings at 9:30 am on GMA-7.  Thirteen smart, energetic, and inquisitive 9 to 14-year-olds take over national television for thirty minutes and bring their viewers to different parts of the country, travel back to different points in time, introduce them to many interesting people, and even conquer countries abroad.  But, most of all, it's about kids being kids in a big, grown-up world, telling their stories, making sure they are heard.

"The very first 5 and Up episode appeared as a special edition of the Probe Team, where we had the kids as reporters," says Mrs. Lazaro.  And the rest is...well, you know the rest.  "We wanted to give kids an intelligent alternative to the cartoons that were all over television then; well, even today.  That's why I think there should be more programs that not only entertain kids, but instruct and impart values as well."

This is not your ordinary children's show.  5 and Up is for kids who have graduated from their ABC's but still have a world to discover, that's why every week, the show's reporters go out and do something new, and share these experiences with their viewers the way they would share them with their friends.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," says 14-year-old senior reporter Justine de Jesus.  Justine has been with the show since she was 9 years old.  Being with the show for almost six years, Justine has met so many people and experienced so many things.  In 1998, she got to travel to one of the most beautiful countries in Europe:  Italy!

"I couldn't believe it until I was really there.  I got to see the historical buildings like the Coloseo, the Parthenon, and I even saw Pope John Paul II.  That was really exciting."  Justine also got to visit the different saintly shrines in Sienna, Cascia, Loreto, and Rome.  The best part for her, though?  "The sunflower fields, the pasta, and the yummy gelati (Italian ice cream)!  Mmmmm!"

These kdis have been all over the Philippines, literally.  They've experienced the crashing waves of Batanes and have seen the mystical mosques of Jolo.  They've been to beautiful Boracay, enchanting Palawan, the bustling metropolis of Cebu.  They've been all over the province of Luzon, and even to little-known islands like Siargao and Busuanga.  The 5 and Up reporters get to do things they may not have otherwise dreamed of ever doing.  And more often than not, the kids come away with some very treasured memories.

"It's not every day you get to climb the Cordillera," remembers Joshua Matic, 13.  "It was hard because of all the tall, thin blades of grass that would cut my skin.  But, that was okay, because I got to meet the Dumagat tribe that lived there."  Joshua spent a couple of days with the Dumagat people and experienced what their life was like.

Chiyomi Rances experienced the same thing, but perhaps on a bigger scale.  On a month-long sojourn to Mindanao, she got to live with three cultural communities:  The Bagobos, the Mansakas, and the Muslim Sangil.  "This is no joke: we had to trek up and down 27 mountains, cross a number of rivers, travel for one day by truck to get to these tribes," says 12-year-old Chiyomi.  "But it was all worth it.  It was such an honor for me to witness and be part of their customs!"

More than just travelling, these kids have engaged in sports like parasailing, in-line hockey, spelunking, and rapelling off a 50-foot bridge!  But, perhaps their biggest achievement in the sports world so far is their recognition as licensed scuba divers!  And because of this, they have not only seen the breathtaking underwater world, but have participated in coastal clean-ups to help keep it in its pristine condition.  "We see over a hundred different kinds of fish!" says Oly Fernando, 13.  And on every trip, they're glad to see that they collect less and less trash from the sea.  "Everyone just has to put in a little effort for everybody's good," says Josh.

With all these adventures and travels, the 5 and Up reporters have definitely met many interesting people.  Did you know they were the first kid reporters to interview a Philippine president?  Former President Fidel Ramos had Zak, Chuck Grey, and Phoebe Cabaluna as his special guests at Malacanang back in 1996.  The 5 and Up reporters have met Secretary Juan Flavier, Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.  They've jammed with The Eraserheads, Moonpools and Caterpillars, Gary Valenciano, and Kulay.  They've met sports idols like Efren "Bata" Reyes, Onyok Velasco, and Alvin Patrimonio, and a host of other well-known personalities.

And yet there are those who have touched them:  kids their age out on the streets, kids recovering from very serious illnesses.  They've seen how their fellow kids live in the dumps of Payatas.  They have done stories on kids who have been abused and treated unfairly.  One of the show's former reporters, Enzo Marcos, met HIV-positive patient Kathy Sway, "At first I was scared to even shake her hand.  But, when I did, and when she started talking to me, I listened.  She's a very strong woman. She knows what's going to happen to her but she's not scared."  Kathy devoted herself to educating people about AIDS.

Learning to rise above problems and adversity has always inspired these kids.  And i has taught them to speak up and share such experiences with kids like them.  That's why they decided to form a club. The 5 and Up Club was formed in 1997 to give their viewers a chance to do what they're doing.  To date the club has 2,000 members, and has sponsored video and photography workshops, culinary and craft workshops, and outreach programs.  They even have a newsletter where members themselves write about their experiences in the club activities.  They submit poems, stories, drawings, and even letters.  Really, 5 and Up is where kids rule.

And it's nice to know that these efforts have not gone unnoticed.  There have been awards from the Star Awards for TV for Best Children's Show and Best Children's Show Hosts.  5 and Up has also been awarded by the Gawad CCP as one of the Ten Best Programs.  It has also received the KBP Golden Dove Award,  KBP Children's Television Award, and one from the Philippine Board on Books for Young Children.  It has even received finalist status in several International award-giving bodies like the Prix Jeunesse, the Japan Prize, and the Emmy Awards.  The show's program opener won the World Gold Medal in the 1995 New York Festival.

Now, who wouldn't want to be part of such a winning team--or should we say, barkada?  Because, according to the kids, being on the show means more than just being co-reporters.  "5 and Up is about friends," says 14-year-old Jessica Gallegos.  "It's different with 5 and Up," says Enzo.  "You can always go to Boracay, you can always go to Palawan, but it's not the same if it isn't with 5 and Up."

"That's because you're with friends," says former reporter Jolly Estaris, "And that makes it more special."

All these experiences, born from the idea of one eight year old, eight years ago.  Imagine what could happen eight years from now, if every eight year old had the same inquisitiveness and eagerness to explore their world.

Well, on 5 and Up, they believe, anything is possible.