At least for a few hours, OFWs in Abu Dhabi felt “at home” when Willie Revillame and company mounted Wowowin shows last month. The event was marked by tears and cheers.

“I was touched by the stories of some of our kababayan there,” said Willie who was bringing his GMA show abroad for the first time. The last time he did so was for the same show with a different title on another channel. “I talked to Lina Villalon, a widow, who worked as a master cutter in Abu Dhabi. She had no choice but to work abroad to be able to send her four children to school, all of them now professional. Nakakaiyak when her daughter greeted her through video, saying how grateful she and her siblings were to their mom.”

Another OFW, Simonette Prendol, told Willie that she could not come home because she had spent her savings on chemotherapy when she was diagnosed to have stage-four colon cancer. Holding back tears, Willie gave her $500 for plane ticket so she could reunite with her family back home, while somebody from the audience went onstage and gave her money. To cheer up the woman some more, Willie gave her his signature jacket.

As it is at home, that jacket was a big hit out there, distributed during the Bigyan ng Jacket segment that also included Hephep Hooray and Putukan Na.

Fondly called Kuya Wil, Willie and co-hosts Donita Nose, Super Tekla and Ariella Arida, with director Randy Santiago, were warmly welcomed as soon as they arrived at the airport. Thousands of fans arrived at the venue in rented buses and cars, not complaining even if they had to line up for more than an hour, some of them wearing Encantadia costumes. Some students from Abu Dhabi entertained the Wowowin entourage at the lobby of the Abu Dhabi National Theater. The OFWs are Middle East subscribers to GMA Pinoy TV that sponsored the show in partnership with OSN (a leading pay-for-TV carrier) and Cebu Pacific.

OFW Razel Policarpio summed it all up: “Nakabawas ng pagka-homesick!”

45th Daily Express reunion

The 45th annual reunion of the Philippine Daily Express “alumni” will be held on May 7 at the Aristocrat restaurant on Roxas Blvd. This was announced by the executive committee composed of Mary Jane Ortega (former DE comptroller and now mayor of San Fernando, La Union) and Enrique Romualdez (former DE executive editor and now Malaya executive editor).

The alumni are requested to contact the following: Jojo at 0932-5355403; Alice at 0908-3164574; Charlie at 0998-9954321; Marlyn at 0922-8302412; or Ella at 0917-8501158.

(E-mail reactions at entphilstar@yahoo.com. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)