Actor Angelica Jones is chair of Project WATCH

Jones is only the second woman and JCI Senate member to be elected chair of Project WATCH. The acronym stands for “We Advocate Time Consciousness and Honesty,” a project that aims to strengthen the values of punctuality and honesty among Filipinos. The campaign began during the Arroyo administration.

Jones says Project WATCH is actually a movement to stamp out the so-called “Filipino time” mentality for which we have become infamous to Americans and other Westerns who are habitually on time, if not ahead, in turning up for their appointments. 

“As for honesty, all of us always say it is the best policy but many hardly implement the policy in their lives and in their professions,” she says.

The actor-civic leader-politician (she’s a board member in Laguna) has been a member of JCI (and eventually of JCI Senate) since 2015. She was among the organizers of JCI Hijasde San Pablo (city), an all-female JCI chapter attached to Jaycees San Pablo City, since 2015. 

She eventually became president of Hijas de San Pablo and became widely known in JCI Philippines for her projects in Laguna. Her dynamic reputation prompted elders of the JCI Senate to invite her to join the group in which membership is considered a “lifetime privilege.” Membership in JCI Senate is by invitation only.

The JCI remains largely a male-dominated worldwide organization even in the Philippines, a country that has had two woman presidents.

“I was surprised that I won the chairmanship of Project WATCH in February this year. I am only the second woman to win the post,” says a thrilled Jones, who has taken the Project to a number of schools in the country. 

“Teaching Filipinos about being punctual and honest even when no one is looking is best done among the young who are in school and who are open-minded about life. 

“Besides, students will become the next generation of adults who will run this country. What has been ingrained in their minds and in their hearts, they are likely to apply in their adult lives and in their professions or occupations,” Jones rationalized, revealing her serious side as a civic and political leader.

She goes on to confide how her being Project WATCH chairperson has affected her day-to-day life.

“Partly with the influence of my mother (known in showbiz as “Mommy Beth Jones” though her real name is Beth Alarva), I’ve become punctual myself since I was made Project WATCH chairman. I don’t want to embarrass myself by being castigated jokingly or seriously for showing up late in my commitments. As the saying goes, I now do my best to walk my talk,” she reveals.

She recently opened up about her strained relationship with the father of her only child, a boy who is now 11 years old. This is part of her renewed honesty to herself and to the world.

Jones has also bared to the media during huddles for her movies (When Magic Hurts and Imelda Papin: The Untold Story(formerly Loyalista) that there had been times that she felt distraught because of her son’s pleadings for his father to attend school activities that encourage the presence of both parents. 

Jones’ ex-partner (a doctor-politician in Batangas) has been ignoring his son and Jones herself.

Her being Project WATCH chair makes her interact with fellow members more frequently and for multiple hours so they can schedule interactions with teachers and students and get them familiar with the vision and mission of Project WATCH, prompting her to declare that the new love of her life is Project WATCH.

“Taken na ako ng Project Watch!” she blurts out.

She has also presented Project WATCH to some members of the cabinet of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. But she does have time for her business, namely, Ms. Flawless Skin Clinic and Flawless Fresh Fragrances, both based in San Pablo City. 

She and her son Angelo are now also together in the cast of Neophyte 24, which is now filming with GMA 7 stars Derrick Monasterio and Elle Villanueva on lead roles.

Meanwhile, the Project WATCH chair announces her gratitude to stalwarts of JCI Philippines, JCI Senate, and Project WATCH including JCI Senate National President Eduardo Echem, Project WATCH founding chairman Cesar S. Ochoa, JCI National Executive Vice President Herbert Tang.

Are the young singer-songwriters of today, who enjoy viewership and play songs by the millions in the free digital platforms, familiar with the songs of highly-esteemed composers and composer-singers Cecile Azarcon, George Canseco, Willy Cruz, Odette Quesada, Gary Granada, Danny Javier, Jim Paredes, Jose Mari Chan and Levi Celerio?  The songs of the aforementioned are so melodious, so well-worded they will be sung and remembered forever. People familiar with the songs of yesteryears are actually disgusted with the atonal and pedestrian lyrics of songs patronized by the young in those digital platforms.  Do you now that the country’s top singers from the 70s till the early 2000s avoid performing with the products of the digital platforms? No one from the list of top singers had ever bothered to sing the songs of today’s songwriter-singers that have amassed hundred of millions of views and plays. The songwriter-singers of the free digital platforms perform all by themselves their atonal songs with pedestrian lyrics. Well, the young digital tribes flock to those concerts, so their producers are thankful. We doubt that the compositions of the digital songwriters-singers would ever be materials for a well-meaning musicals. The stark difference between the digital effluvia and the well-conceived songs of the decades before 2000 must be the reasonthe 45th anniversary tribute to Azarcon produced by Viva Live will be held for two nights at The Theater at Solaire: 24 to 25 May. It’s the authentic singers of the country who will give life to the compositions of Azarcon since the 70s. Kuh Ledesma, Janno Gibbs, Jam Morales, Fe de los Reyes, Jackie Lou Blanco, Mark Bautista, Timmy Pavino, and Isabella Gonzales will join Cecil to in her concert. Martin Nievera, Iwi Laurel and Nicole Asensio will also participate in the celebration on 24 May, and Ogie Alcasid, ZsaZsa Padilla, and Katrina Velarde on 25 May. Among Cecil’s other big hits are Reaching Out by Gary Valenciano and Special Memory by Iwi Laurel from the soundtrack of the movie Hotshots, So It’s You by Raymond Lauchengco from the Bagets soundtrack; I Think I’m in Love, and One More Try by Kuh Ledesma; How Did You Know? by Chiqui Pineda and Valenciano; Even If by Jam Morales, Sana ay Ikaw Na Nga also by Valdez; Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin by Martin Nievera and others.  If there could be a “Dean of Pinoy Pop Music,” Azarcon could be it. Her having lived in the US since 1984 did not stop Pinoy pop singers from hounding her there for a composition they could wax and which could be identified with them for decades. Azarcon herself never thought she would still be asked for her songs once she lived in the US.  In a recent Zoom media conference with her, Azarcon stressed that her migration had nothing to do with political developments in the country.  “It was just that the whole family were already there. I was the only one left here. So, I eventually followed thinking that my musical career, once I get there, would be limited to mentoringand directing church choirs,” she recalled. But the sensible, superb Pinoy pop singers hounded her relentlessly.