Military men on ‘Tayong Dalawa’
Angela Casauay ( SunStar ) 09.16.09

If the lives of David “JR” D. Garcia Jr. (Gerald Anderson) and David “Dave” M. Garcia Jr. (Jake Cuenca) won’t revolve around the love of their lives Audrey King-Garcia (Kim Chiu), it will revolve around the military.

The three are the main characters of ABS-CBN teleserye “Tayong Dalawa.” And because of its theme, military men themselves cultivated an interest to watch the primetime series.

As Tayong Dalawa nears its end, Sun.Star asked members of the military who are avid viewers about their thoughts on the show.

For retired General Santiago Casauay Jr., the show is a reflection of the typical Filipino family that can always work out problems no matter what happens.

He also appreciated the resemblance of the show to “life in the military.”

"I just watched it because I had nothing to do but eventually the plot thickened. At first I liked the way they promoted the academy, that if you put your mind and heart into it, you can achieve your dream," he said.

"It's also nice to watch how art imitates life when it comes to the military," he added.

The show featured JR and Dave in actual training inside the Philippine Military Academy (PMA). Scenes showing military in operatives made up most of the action in the teleserye.

Colonel Ariel Felicidario, for his part, watches the show because of his wife, who is an avid viewer. He said he liked the first part of the characters’ lives as a soldier because it was closer to real life.

"Of course, I have no choice but to watch it sometimes, right? I like the first part of the two soldier's story when they were still training in the PMA. Those scenes were accurate since it was shot in the academy," he said.

"But what happened after the academy was not that accurate anymore. The soldiers were involved in crime operatives, which the military rarely gets involve in unless in very special cases. That one, I didn't like so much because it's not that true," he added.

First Lieutenant Ron Borras appreciates the way “Tayong Dalawa” lets everyone see how life is in the military but like Colonel Felicidario, he also thinks the series didn't really show everything.

"They weren't able to show everything because Tayong Dalawa is really more concerned with the lives of the characters outside the military," he said.

As a subordinate, Private First Class Bobby Rotor said the show reflected the duality of the kind of leaders they have in the military.

"There are leaders who are straight-up. There are leaders who are not. And there are also leaders who are siblings," he said.

But all of them share a certain feeling of regret that the show is about to end.

They wish that more shows like “Tayong Dalawa” can be shown in the future, one which shows the complexities of army life in a deeper sense.