De La Salle University’s (DLSU) Department of Communication, founded by screenwriter and Professor Emeritus Dr. Clodualdo “Doy” del Mundo, Jr., recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. Former CEO of ABS-CBN Corporation, actress, and TikToker Charo Santos-Concio delivered the keynote address entitled “The Power of Responsible Storytelling” last Oct. 1, 2025.

It was a mini reunion of sorts for ComArts alumni, students, and school officials. “Naging part-time La Sallista rin ako (I once became a part-time La Sallista),” reveals Charo. As a young colegiala of St. Paul University, she cross-enrolled at the Taft Ave. campus to catch up on some units.

Before that, she took up three and a half years of nursing because her father was a doctor. “When I started doing hospital work, that’s when I realized hindi ako pang ospital… Talagang gusto ko maging storyteller (I am not fit for hospital work… I wanted to be a storyteller),” she mused.

The demure lady had the blaring and fun Jose Javier Reyes and Manny Castañeda as classmates. “I was very lucky then because my teacher was a young man named Clodualdo del Mundo, Jr,” the “Itim” actress shares. “Even at that time, sikat na siya (he was popular), a brilliant educator, the famous screenwriter of Lino Brocka’s ‘Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag,’ and the campus crush ng bayan.”

Charo didn’t know it then, but one day, she would be the lead actress in a movie Doy also wrote, entitled “Itim,” which gave her her first international award and put her on the map as a respected actress.

Doy also wrote Charo’s two other films with the late Mike de Leon, “Kakabakaba Ka Ba?” and “Kisapmata.” According to her, Del Mundo’s greatest creation aside from his films is the Communication Arts program of De La Salle University. “His baby turns 50 years old this 2025,” she said with a smile.

“I come to you today as a mother, a grandmother of four, an actress, a program host, and an occasional TikTokker,” cited the host of “Maalaala Mo Kaya.” She even did a TikTok video with the students and broadcast journalist Rico Hizon before the event. Nowadays, there is a need to aspire for more power and less importance on being a responsible citizen. “We think of using our personal stories in the service of clout.”

As we all know, clout is power. “Views, likes, shares, comments, followers, engagements, mentions—they are all power,” said the former Miss Calapan title holder. “But in order to go viral, in the cluttered media environment, we are often forced to do what every storyteller has to do: increase the drama, the conflict, the sex, the violence, the humiliation, the envy, the anger.”

Known as the Baron Travel Girl, she explained, “Our idols and icons represent our own personal shadows—the self that we hide, the instincts we keep secret.”

This may result in the loss of critical thinking, to blind loyalty, to the countless problematic figures today. “They are not the root of the problem, they are symptoms of the problem,” she stressed. “And the problem is we have been irresponsible with the stories we accept as truth and the stories we tell ourselves and others as truth.”

Why do we tell stories at all? Charo gave three reasons. “We tell stories for love. We tell stories to teach how to live. We tell stories for legacy. Love, life, legacy.” Her final shot, “Stories are more powerful when they are instruments of saving and healing us.”