[Rappler Investigates] Who’s behind Teacher Rubilyn?

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'The character of Rubilyn emanated from Alice Guo’s own fertile imagination. She was given life by one of our young and very promising researchers, Ailla dela Cruz.'

If you’re on TikTok, Facebook, or Instagram, surely you must have already encountered our own Teacher Rubilyn. She’s done skits, satire, and educational content — the latest, pertaining to the elections — specifically the tasks and responsibilities of senators. 

If you were following events at the Senate in 2024, even prior to the quad committee hearings at the House of Representatives, the name Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac and the fantastical tales she told senators should jog your memory. 

Remember that in July 2024, senators found that Guo’s claim about being home-schooled by “Teacher Rubilyn” in a farm where she lived was untrue? Almost deadpan while narrating her incredible tales, the mayor who has been removed from office, actually went to a regular school in Quezon City, senators revealed. Later in September, she would tell members of Congress that her “teacher” must have died already.

As executive producer JC Gotinga wrote previously, the character of Rubilyn emanated from Guo’s own fertile imagination. She was given life by one of our young and very promising researchers, Ailla dela Cruz, who gamely co-wrote scripts with JC, and then acted, sang, danced even, just to highlight and make more palatable to a younger audience the country’s socio-political woes. 

Straight news reports are today considered plain and boring, if not unengaging. More demanding audiences want much more creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. 

Ailla, donning a public school teacher’s uniform, presented the ills of our education system, satirized the Vice President’s misuse of confidential funds, part of which supposedly went to a still-could-not-be-located Mary Grace Piattos, and presented tips on how to do premature campaigning during the election season. 

Her latest episode on the duties of senators gives birth to a derivative character, Rubilette. Be sure to watch it and share away!

A summa cum laude Journalism graduate of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, 24-year-old Ailla does fact-checking on a regular basis — on top of Rubilyn episodes and data-related work — to help counter the spread of disinformation. With Rappler for close to three years, she did an episode on AI and disinformation, too.

After doing research and drafting a preliminary script, Ailla brainstorms with JC, who aims to shoot in about an hour a 3-4-minute episode. Editing for him can take as long as five or six hours, on top of his other production tasks. Artists are tapped for their expertise whenever graphics, animation, or special backgrounds are required. 

According to JC, “mental energy” is needed for video edits — music, sound effects, comic timing. Overall, it takes about a week to produce a Teacher Rubilyn episode that, hopefully with your support, can continue to reach a wider audience, especially during this critical election season. Help us spread Teacher Rubilyn’s messages and lessons by sharing past and future episodes.

CAMPAIGN CATCH-UP. Just to bring you up to speed on the latest campaign developments, did you know that the President’s sister Imee Marcos created a stir in Baguio recently during the Panagbenga Flower Festival? How? Guidelines were very clear about the festival’s “politics-free” policy: no shaking of hands and distribution of campaign materials or political paraphernalia, no speeches or campaign messages. Any intelligent person would get the drift.

But what did the aspiring senator do? Producer Cara Oliver, who was there, said Imee got off the Ilocos Norte float, granted interviews to the media, and shook hands with onlookers. She was not alone. Another candidate, Lito Lapid, made his presence felt via cardboard fans that were distributed during the festival — another blatant violation of festival guidelines.

Completely understandable for an exasperated-sounding Baguio Flower Festival Foundation co-chair Anthony de Leon to say: “It’s a question of respect and what they did…was disrespectful. I have no other description. And I even suggest to voters not to vote for these people…. If these people are not able to follow basic rules and cannot respect the wishes of the community, what more if they are in position?” Exactly.

By now, you’ve probably noticed the very confusing presence of the President’s sister in the administration slate’s campaign sorties. Saan ka ba talaga? Her own brother, who does the finale, always ends up with stinging rebukes of the Duterte-endorsed PDP slate, with which she is also oddly associated. 

What does it feel like to be a supposed independent candidate, but in reality riding on the coattails of both the administration and the Dutertes of Davao? Strange and discomfiting, shouldn’t it?

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– Rappler.com

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