Former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador "Sal" Panelo may not yet be senator, but at least he's now a bona fide recording artist.
This, after Viva Records released the official music video of Panelo’s version of “Sana’y wala nang wakas” via its YouTube channel on the evening of Easter Sunday, April 17. The video states that it is “(d)edicated to all children with disabilities (CWD) and their heroic parents and guardians".
The original version of the song was popularized by "Megastar" Sharon Cuneta back in 1986.
Just a few days after the start of the campaign period last February, Panelo, a Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) stalwart, "debuted" his version of the song during a campaign sortie in Quezon City for Vice Presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
A statement from the Panelo camp cited this as the reason why the song "returned to prominence". Cuneta, however, chastised Panelo on social media for “ruining a classic" and singing the song without permission from her and the late composer Willy Cruz.
Panelo subsequently apologized to the Megastar for taking offense to his performance. The former Palace has since made the song part of his repertoire whenever he's on the campaign trail.
But Panelo didn't randomly pick Sana'y wala nang wakas from an old songbook; he said he chose the song because the lyrics reminds him of the great lengths he took to care for his late son Carlo, who had Down syndrome.
The senatorial aspirant said that he sings the song to honor his son. He also clarified that he had permission of Viva Records, the copyright owner, to sing the song.
The music video features pictures of CWDs with their parents selected from over 500 photos submitted to Panelo’s camp. It ends with pictures of Panelo and his son Carlo, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 27 years old due to heart complications.
A statement at the end of the video highlights the plight of CWDs in the country.
“In 2018, Philhealth estimated that 1 out of 7 or 5.1 million Filipino children are living with disabilities. Special education and therapy for CWDs are costly and inaccessible... If CWD parents passes away or lose the ability to provide care for their children, there are no public nursing homes or facilities dedicated to the care of orphaned or abandoned CWDs," it read.
Should he become senator, Panelo vowed to focus on improved social services for CWDs and their families. He is also advocating for free special education and therapy for CWDs, and the establishment of nursing homes for orphaned or abandoned CWDs.
"It’s about time for the government to prioritize CWDs and their families, and give them the service and support they so desperately need," he said.
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