an excerpt from xian mercado’s autobiography, chapter 2, the real xander ford

THE DATE 50 years ago, I posted two videos of our late great president ng Republic of the Panis at ang aking super close beshie- friend na si Xander Ford. Not bragging, but many would agree that those videos were the catalysts kung paano nagbago yung tingin ng mga tao kay Xander, which led him to become the people’s champion later on.

Naaalala ko like it was yesterday. There were Christmas puno ng mistletoes yung kwarto ni Xander, and gifts from prepubescent fangirls were abundant. We were chillin’ like villains sa nag- aya si Xander bumaba bigla from our comfortable, air- conditioned rooms to make salamuha with the lesser beings of the streets. I was hesitant dirty, and of not knowing why he was so eager to go, but I eventually gave in to Xander’s puppy dog eyes.

We made our way to the quaint karinderya downstairs where they served local holiday delicacies like ispagheti and hambergers Bes, bilhan natin ng pagkain yung mga bata. Naaawa ako pag nanlilimos sila. Nakikita ko yung sarili ko sa kanila. Gusto ko sila tulungan kahit sa maliit na bagay lang, tutal malapit na naman ang Pasko grabe, so nice naman niya. That’s when I decided to take the video even Wag mo akong kuhanan ng video, ha. As in, wag mo akong kuhanan ng video nang patago para i- post sa social media at maging viral ’tong ginagawa kong kabutihan I posted the video online and the world was shookt because of Xander’s kindness. They couldn’t believe the Many people think that I changed the game of hidden camera videos that day, with my raw, genuine, and in-your-face style of stalker videography (which I did naman talaga), but we can never forget the boy that started it all.

After that, I consistently posted the secret videos of Xander’s good deeds on my social media page against his will. He was truly the Christmas savior we never had. I may have an amazing subject. Sleep, my little prince, fall asleep.