Hi Papa Boyet…(2022 edition)

Photo by Boyet Sison

In 2008, I wrote an article expressing my admiration for the late Boyet Sison for the sake of it. I was trying to establish myself as a 12-year old who took his writing talent to WordPress to show how excellent of a writer he can be. At least that’s what I thought at the time. A million things have happened since and my writing style evolved significantly as well. With his sudden passing, I thought about paying tribute to his legacy as an underrated icon in Philippine sports and music by rewriting the article I wrote with better insights and additional information about the Boyet Sison. Here it is:

Do you know who I’m talking about today? Indeed. His name is Boyet Sison. He has worn many hats in the public sphere but he was most notably known for his stint as an ABS-CBN sports and news talent from 2006 to 2022.

Boyet primarily worked as a sports talk show host on ANC’s “Hardball” together with Bill Velasco, Jinno Rufino, and Boom Gonzales and on DZMM 630-AM’s “Fastbreak” with Freddie Webb. He also contributed in NCAA Philippines’ Studio 23 coverage as a play-by-play commentator. Aside from that, he delivered hard-hitting news and weather updates on other ANC shows such as “Prime News”, “The Rundown”, “Mornings @ ANC”, and “Game Time”. His final assignment with the network was to report mind-blown trivia and information through a weekly news segment called “Alam Nyo Ba?” for ABS-CBN’s “TV Patrol”. It was a non-sporting assignment but it was still rewarding for Boyet to be given an opportunity like that given his strong loyalty to the network despite the network going through extremely challenging times due to the effects of COVID-19 pandemic and non-renewal of franchise to operate.

Boyet did not only work for ABS-CBN as a sportscaster. He covered other events for different TV networks such as the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) and the 2005 SEA Games in Manila. He also ventured the world of radio by hosting “Saturday Night Live” on 99.5 RT-FM and “Gametime” on DWRT 990-AM and demonstrating play-by-play coverage for PBA games from 2001 to 2011. He also mixed and played music as a disc jockey (DJ) in popular Metro Manila clubs like Euphoria and Stargazer. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he returned to his music DJ roots and played music in the form of public live streams on Facebook and on Twitch. He also voiced over several commercials and promotions and hosted events of any kind. Lastly, he also provided in-game arena announcing for Sunday PBA games from 2005 to 2012. Boyet sure lived an entertaining and fantastic life through the many jobs he took on.

Known by close friends as “Papa Boyet”, Boyet was remembered as somebody who was magnetic to his family, friends, and colleagues. He also performed whatever job he did with passion and with grace. He showed so much passion and grace that even his fashion statements reflected those qualities through his constant wearing of bow ties while on the job. Some people thought he made an uncommon choice to wear them instead of neckties but it sure worked out for him very well. Right, Ernie Johnson Jr.?

I’ve been touched by Boyet himself even though we never had any kind of run-ins nor conversations. We were friends in one of my Facebook accounts but that was about it. I have long adored the many awesome things he did in sports but my level of adoration for him raised further when I discovered his music DJ roots. Earlier this year, while looking through my feed on that account, I stumbled upon one of his live streams and I was blown away with the songs he played and remixed. He mostly played club, R&B, and OPM songs that I never listened to before until I watched him play them. I loved some of the songs he played so much that I added them on my Spotify account. An example of a song I discovered through his streams was “Puso’t Pag-Ibig” by former Pinoy Dream Academy coach Monet Silvestre. I’m basically glad I was introduced to a different kind of music through his streams. I looked forward to every succeeding live stream he had since then. Drawing on my experience, perhaps he touched even strangers’ lives, too.

And with that, thank you Boyet for touching many lives like myself by spreading your way of “loving life” by having fun and appreciating even the littlest moments that scream “I love this life. ‘Nuff said!”. We are sad that you suddenly left us but nevertheless, we will forever remember you for sure.

Until we meet you again, Boyet, Papa B, Mr. Sison.