From Bamban to showbiz: Mayor Guo now a 'star'

MANILA, Philippines — It seems that Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlacmay have never imagined in her wildest dreams that she would one day be part of show business or at least a character likened after her.

And perhaps the hit GMA afternoon series "Abot Kamay na Pangarap" had the controversial local chief executive in mind when it finally introduced Morgana Go played by actress Pinky Amador.

Morgana made her debut in the July 4 episode as Chantal Dubois' (Pilar Pilapil) estranged daughter who apparently grew up in a farm and has no recollection of her past—a narrative closely similar to Guo's.

The episode drew mixed reactions from netizens as the top-rating show seemingly poked fun at Guo's character.

Wearing a cheongsam, a traditional Chinese dress, and heavy make-up with matching skills in wushu, Morgana appeared before AKNP's other characters, but they were not convinced that she did not share the same identity with Moira, Amador's original character who died in the series.

In a scene, she was interrogated by the characters of Richard Yap, Chuckie Dreyfus, Che Ramos, and Dina Bonnevie to prove that she was indeed not the villainous Moira.

When asked by Giselle (Dina Bonnevie) to talk about her childhood, Morgana answered in the same manner Guo did in a hearing with Sen. Risa Hontiveros.

"Ang maalala ko lang, lumaki kasi ako sa farm. Kasama ko yung papa ko at hindi naging madali yung buhay namin. (What I remember is, I grew up in a farm. I'm with my dad and our life was not easy)," she answered.

Robert (Richard Yap) beckoned her to continue, inquiring about her background but she instead delivered Guo's iconic line: "Wala akong maalala, your honor. (I can't remember, your honor.)"

In addition, Morgana's character was also revealed to be homeschooled by someone called 'Teacher Juvilyn,' making the audience more convinced that this character was heavily inspired by Guo.

"Hahaha, nakakatawa. Naging funny movie na. (Hahaha, hilarious. It became a funny movie already)," wrote a netizen in the comments of the full episode uploaded in YouTube.

"Jusko po, lakas ng influence mo Alice Guo! (My gosh! Your influence is great, Alice Guo!)," added another commenter.

In X (formerly Twitter), some netizens have also called the series "a hilarious parody," saying that the seemingly "unending" show had caught up with current events.

However, a few comments also disapproved how AKNP made use of such a serious case just to "prolong" the story.

"Grabe palabas na ito, walang ending. [And hindi] pa [bumabalik yung memory ni RJ. (This show is too much, there's still no ending. And, RJ's memory is not yet back)," according to one comment.

"Wala na bang maisip ang writer/director at ginaya pa talaga ang senate hearing ni Alice Gou? (Can't the writer/director think of anything else instead of actually imitating Alice Guo became meme-worthy after she claimed at the Senate that she didn't have much memory about her life, making the public suspicious and earning for herself the nickname "Chinese spy." She has also been accused of being involved in POGOs (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators).