sam oh, suzi entrata-abrera and janice de belen: women of substance on tv

Like most couch potatoes, by choice or by consequence, I too have by favorite TV personalities. And they all happen to be women. Now don't go thinking about that L word just because I'm of the fairer sex and about to sing odes to fellow uh, members of the board. Not that I'm closing my door on any possibilities, but for now, I'm quite certain. But back to the business at hand.

She's every call-center agent's dream. Not that kind of a dream, but one would definitely kill for that accent. Specially when you live by the phone which you chose to be your weapon of choice in the dog-eat-cat world of BPOs. Sam Oh's  (left) definitely a talker. But not the emptily chattering kind. Nor the oh puleez shut up you're annoying sort either. She just talks. And entertain of course. And the nice thing about her is that she easily shifts from Korean to American English (with that to-die-for twang) and  Filipino without missing a beat, not even a sense of confusion (put up or otherwise). And she does all that without intimidating the people who hear her, specially the viewers.In other words, she obviously has lots between her ears but not marginalizing or sounding too full of herself. And I guess, more important than anything I have mentioned thus far, Ms Oh is alive and enjoying herself. Miss joie de vivre. Plus class.

Suzi Entrata-Abrera (right) comes across as the favorite friend you'd rather hang around with over coffee. She's thoroughly engaging even if she talks zingingly (read: fast). But the irony is, that trait is what makes her stand heads and shoulders above any other host. Male or female. Yes, she talks like she's on a mission but every word, in Filipino or English, is said decisively. You would understand and eventually appreciate when you realize you're actually getting more in shorter time. And another thing that Suzi's got working for her is that spunk. She's got it by the truckloads and the flat screen is helpless. And did I mention that sunshine-y smile?

And there's Janice de Belen. (left) The seminal soap opera princess turned TV host. And no I'm not referring to that show now in the land of the lost. I'm speaking of Spoon over on Net 25. And thank God for that show, we get a, okay, spoonful of Ms de Belen's chops as a host. Because she's not your typical Ms-Know-It-All, I'm-in-charge, I'm-an-Oprah-wannabe host, what you get instead is a sincere person sincerely wanting and willing to listen to what her guests have to say. She's what you might call a perfect antidote to Boy Abunda's pa-deep crap or Kris Aquino's tendency to pry or expose. I guess what I'm trying to say is, Janice is not all talk but also heart and ears. And her viewers get that. And they prefer her more because of that. In hindsight, I guess I erred when I referred to Janice's qualities as a host as "chops". For it's not some skill or talent, it's just who she is.