Baybayin in Showbiz Industry

 TV SHOWS

Beginning in the late 90s, before the turn of the 21st century, baybayin script started appearing in showbiz industry. It was first appeared as a cover art for the TV drama-action series Pintados (The Painted Ones) broadcast by GMA Network. It premiered on September 4, 1999 and ended on September 2, 2000 with a total of 52 episodes

Pintados; 1999-2000

Followed by Pintados a kid-oriented show was broadcast this time by TV network ABS-CBN from 2000 to 2001.

Pahina; 2000-2001

In March 24 2008, TV network ABS-CBN premiered Matanglawin (ᜋᜆᜅ᜔ᜎᜏᜒᜈ᜔), a weekly science-environmental educational show hosted by Kim Atienza, popularly known as Kuya Kim.

Matanglawin; 2008-Present

In episode 103 of Amaya, a Philippine fictional historical period drama broadcast by GMA Network which premiered on May 30, 2011, the main character named Amaya (portrayed by Marian Rivera) teaches baybayin.

Screenshot from Amaya episode 103

In one of the episode of La Luna Sangre (The Blood Moon), a 2017 Philippine horror-fantasy drama television series broadcast by ABS-CBN, Sandrino (portrayed by Richard Gutierrez) was studying the Book of Gaway which was written in baybayin.

Screenshot from La Luna Sangre

MOVIES

Recently, baybayin was showcased as part of the story in The Day After Valentine's, a romantic movie released in 2018. The plot centered a woman (portrayed by Bela Padilla) that takes the responsibility of helping a brokenhearted and self-destructive man (portrayed by JC Santos) to fix his problems. Being part of the story, baybayin was also featured in the poster written as ᜆᜌᜓ ᜈ ᜊ below the title of the movie.

The Day After Valentine's; 2018

Another movie which will about to release in 2019 titled Indak has a baybayin translation of the title itself. The film stars Nadine Lustre and Sam Concepcion.

Indak; 2019

Printed Baybayin Literature

After the first printed book in the Philippines the Doctrina Cristiana in 1593 where baybayin characters was first printed in paper, not much have been printed since then but by the 20th century up to this day, baybayin literature again resurfaced due to its gaining popularity especially in the digital age.

Pages of the Doctrina showing, from upper left, an archaic wording of the Lord's Prayer in Baybayin, and the Ave Maria in Spanish and Tagalog
©Wikipedia

 

 

In 1963, a baybayin magazine was published titled Panitik Silangan. This was the first magazine which is mostly printed in baybayin.

 

Front cover of Panitik Silangan. Photo by Stanley Baldwin O. See

The latest printed reading baybayin materials include the graphic novel Kalem (Anak Bathala) and a new baybayin magazine titled Surat Magazine which done fully in baybayin, the first magazine in 50 years are currently available and can be purchased online.

Kalem (Anak Bathala Book 1) by Norman de los Santos , Edsel Africa , Bernard Morillo

Surat Magazine