A former presidential speechwriter teams up with two college friends to produce T-shirts that feature witticisms that Filipinos can relate to in these tense and challenging times.
Creative Director
Linya-Linya Corp.
“We have come some way from the toilet humor of the 80s…That said, our humor is still unique because we relate it to what we experience every day.”
In September 2010, Ali Sangalang found himself working at the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) in Malacañang as senior speechwriter to then-president Benigno Aquino 3rd. “I was practically fresh out of college, having worked briefly as an accounts executive of a small ad agency,” he recalls. There he was, he says, surrounded by other young writers, all fueled by their idealism and passion for public service, making sure that the president’s messages came out loud and clear.
The work was satisfying, albeit grueling, and by 2012 Ali and his close friend and workmate Panch Alvarez felt they needed a creative outlet. He says: “I would write one-liners, and he would accompany them with doodles. We started with a notebook, and soon started posting online.” Friends, who appreciated the humor, began sharing their content and soon, they had built up a hefty fan base. “Hindi pa uso ang term na content at the time, pero yun na pala ang ginagawa namin, [No one was using the term ‘content’ at the time, but that was what we were already doing.]”
Connecting the dots
Asked how they were able to translate the past time into a business, Ali quotes Apple founder Steve Jobs, who said: “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”
“I was such a fan of local documentaries when I was growing up,” he says. “As a kid, I stayed up late to watch programs like “The Probe Team,” and I wanted to become a journalist. I wanted to take up broadcast communication at the Ateneo de Manila University, where I studied since grade school, but I did not meet the quota. Instead, I enrolled in AB Interdisciplinary Studies, Communication and Creative Writing. There, I learned to write poetry, and I was also part of our college’s literary publication.”
The documentaries he avidly consumed lit a fire in him, raising his awareness of social causes. He says: “When I was looking for a topic for my thesis, I looked for a cause to support. I found a group called Yabang Pinoy (Pinoy Pride) online.” Set up by Patrick and Maricris Joson, the company was dedicated to promoting Filipino pride by encouraging consumers to buy Filipino products and reliving traditional values.
Ali got in touch with them, and discovered a community he could relate to. He became a volunteer, taking on the role of campus spokesperson and head writer of their publication. “What I really liked about Yabang Pinoy was that it made being Filipino and locally made products cool,” he says. “Before that, everyone was looking for imported brands. Nobody was talking to the youth and inspiring them to be proud of our heritage and culture.” Yabang Pinoy also sponsored Christmas bazaars, providing young Filipino entrepreneurs a space to promote their wares.
The Joson couple encouraged Ali to sell his witty T-shirts at these festive fairs. “There I was, looking rugged from work and from my commute, going to Power Plant at Rockwell to sell amid all the well-dressed clientele,” Ali says. “I doubted if anyone would take us seriously.” He was proven wrong. His stand drew a large amount of interest, including from celebrities.
Ali was entrepreneurial from a young age. “I grew up in Novaliches in a middle-class family in a small subdivision. When I was in Grade 2 at the Ateneo, while waiting for the school bus to go home, I would pick up empty soft drink bottles and sell these back to the canteen to retrieve their deposit, which was about P2 per bottle. The money I got from this was enough for chips and a softdrink.
“Sometimes, I would even stand by the students drinking from their soda bottles, waiting for them to finish. Hindi ako nahihiya because in my mind, wala naman akong ginagawang masama o illegal.” (I wasn’t ashamed to do it, because in my mind, I wasn’t doing anything illegal.”) He felt the same way selling at a bazaar, he says; there was nothing to be ashamed about a hard day of honest work.
Deeper topics
While still full-time in his Malacañang job, he and his colleague Panch and another Ateneo friend Jim Bacarro, kick started their venture in earnest. And once Aquino’s term was over, Ali quickly clocked out and went straight to a bazaar.
The boys did a lot of heavy lifting in the beginning. “We bought our shirts from Divisoria, and had to bring them to Parañaque, because that was where we had them printed,” Ali narrates. But it was all worth it as demand for their unique T-shirts grew. Soon, they were able to put up eight Linya-Linya stands in malls around the metro, which registered promising sales figures.
Unfortunately, the pandemic hit, prompting Ali and his partners to do away with Linya-Linya’s physical presence and go online, where they discovered they were still popular with consumers. To adapt to the recent health crisis, Ali says: “Mas may lalim na ngayon, mas may serious topics na kami, may ppangangamusta (We tackle deeper subjects now, we also have serious topics, and we ask them how they are),” he adds.
Samples include “DAMNDamin,” “Pwedeng Mapagod Bawal Sumuko” and “Tired Ka? Mustard Ako.” Ali, with his training in Filipino poetry dubs these as “wit-erature.”
What do Filipinos find funny these days? Ali observes: “We have come some way from the toilet humor of the 80s. We have evolved in our taste in comedy and we have become more aware of what is inappropriate. That said, our humor is still unique because we relate it to what we experience every day.”
Ali also describes the Pinoy consumer. “They look for quality but they also look for something that relates to them,” he says. “If you think about it, our T-shirt is just the same as any other T-shirt in the market, although we make sure that we use really good materials that are suited to our climate and are durable.
“We sell [well] because we relate to how Filipinos feel, and they are proud to wear their feelings.”
ABOUT ME
ROLE MODEL
The late rapper Tupac Shakur, for his social awareness and advocacies
GOAL
To linya-fy the world
FIRST PAYING JOB
Account executive at a small advertising agency. I wanted to go into the creative side of advertising, but this also taught me how to talk to people.
MORNING RITUAL
Yoga, prayer and watering my plants.
SPECIAL SKILLS
I’m an expert in washing dishes, which is like meditation for me. And it makes my mom happy!
TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
I am almost always on it because we want to keep engaging our community.