Purest Of Pain

The young singer said that she is very excited about the project because it is her first international album, a rare chance for a Filipino performer like her to penetrate the global music scene. Details about the album are still kept hush-hush, but nonetheless, the project is highly anticipated brought about by Charice’s previous duets with famous celebrities like Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli.

Coincidentally, Foster has recently released a CD/DVD music compilation titled, Hitman: David Foster and Friends, and among the selections is Charice’s medley of Whitney Houston songs. Charice was shown performing I Have Nothing and I Will Always Love You in front of a big crowd who gave her a standing ovation. Included performers in the said album are international singers like Josh Groban, Brian McKnight, Babyface, Peter Cetera and Michael Buble among others.

Charice’s mother, Raquel, revealed in her previous interviews that the composer/producer had suggested that they make the US their home base since the young singer is beginning to start a career for herself there. But Raquel said that they still prefer to fly back to the Philippines every now and then for at least three to four days rest. She said that Charice and their family still consider the country their home.

Meanwhile, Charice was also recently awarded the Best New Female Artist at the Aliw Awards staged last November 11. She was apparently exhilarated by the award, which she considers her very first accolade in the local industry.(www.abs-cbn.com)

In the said story conference, Luis and John Lloyd were asked if they consulted their respected real-life significant others about accepting the gay roles. (John Lloyd is in a three-year-old relationship with magazine editor Liz Uy while Luis is in a “special relationship” with Angel Locsin.) Lloydy replied, “Ako hindi. Dapat ba? (laughs). Trabaho kasi ‘to. Wala pa naman kami sa point na ‘yun [dapat i-consult ang work]. We have been together for three years. [Ang sa amin] kung trabaho mo ‘yan, trabaho mo ‘yan. Kung ano ang trabaho ko, trabaho ko. Pero alam niya na gagawa kami ng pelikula na ganito. Kung in the sense na kinailangan kong hingin ang permission niya, hindi. Ipina-alam lang, hindi ipinaalam.”

As for Luis, who took some time to consider the signing up for this project, he said that the decision was his own and there was no need to consult Angel or anyone else. “Siguro hindi consult but share. Not necessarily asking for approval na kung mag-no siya ay sorry hindi ko tatanggapin. Hindi ganun. It’s more of, ‘Guess what’s my next project? Makakasama ko ang mom ko at si Lloydy’ and not, ‘Okay lang ba sa ‘yo na gagawin ko ito?”

As early as now, many are already curious about just how “gay” John Lloyd and Luis will be in this movie. Without going into the details, Luis shared a brief description of his and John Lloyd’s characters. “It’s about two people who fell in love but it just happened that they are of the same gender. One doesn’t necessarily need to cross dress or to have a twang sa pananalita to be gay. They are two men who fell in love.”

Hailed as one of the most in-demand leading men of today, John Lloyd has proven his box-office drawing power while being paired with actresses like Claudine Barretto, Bea Alonzo, and Sarah Geronimo. But how will he fare with a man as his “leading lady?” Is he ready to do a kissing or love scene with Luis? “I’ve been very vocal naman since before na wala akong problema sa ganun. Pero sana lang ‘yung ka-eksena ko has to be a real man. Wala naman akong problema dun kay Luis (laughs). Ang orientation ko kasi bilang artista, kapag sumagot ka sa isang pelikula aasahan mong aalagaan ka. Pero halimbawang in the process ay meron kang kailangang gawin, napag-usapan naman, dapat mong gawin dahil trabaho mo ‘yun bilang artista.”(www.abs-cbn.com)

Although she is reaping a lot of praises here and abroad, Charice aims high and hopes that she’ll be known as a talented Filipina all over the world. “Gusto kong makilala talaga, as in ng buong mundo. Gusto kong makilala ako ng mga taga ibang bansa na Pilipino ako,” Charice said with a wide smile.

 

Meanwhile, on the Points, Opinions and Violent Reactions (POV) segment of The Buzz yesterday (November 2), the three hosts Boy Abunda, Kris Aquino and Ruffa Gutierrez—all shared bits of information in an effort to solve the puzzle. Ruffa went on to say that staff members from her previous film, Desperadas, who are now also the staff of Dingdong and Marian’s upcoming movie said that the two are very close on the set. "Sila (staff) ang nagkukuwento na super-sweet daw ang dalawa kahit na walang press," Ruffa revealed.

Kris on the other hand shared that her friend Popoy Caritativo, who is also Marian’s manager, told her that the actress and Dingdong aren’t a couple yet. "Hindi sila ni Dingdong pa," Kris quoted Popoy. Popoy also told Kris that Marian is currently happy now, to which Ruffa interjected, "’Yung staff ng Desperadas said, si Marian daw has never been happier in her life." However Kris emphasized there’s nothing wrong with being happy but not at the cost of someone getting hurt. Kris also said that Marian has indeed broken up with her boyfriend because of a commercial deal he did not approve of.

Boy on his part said there shouldn’t be any difficulty for Karylle and Dingdong to say if the relationship has ended and it would definitely simplify their problems. Boy also added another juicy tidbit to the topic by saying he has talked to Marian’s ex-boyfriend and he was told that there is no truth in rumors saying that he made Marian chose between him and the project.

 

Bago ka makapasok sa bulwagan ay kapansin pansin ang isang malaking stage na makikita ang malaking larawan ni Ate Vi habang sa gawing kanan naman ay ang sampung litson baka. Alas kuwatro na nang hapon nang dumating sa okasyong iyon ang ABS-CBN.com na kung saan ay agad kaming binati ng staff ng gobernador noong mga sandaling iyon dahil abala naman ang aktres sa kanyang tanggapan.

"Hindi ko rin talaga alam ito sa pagkakaalam ko kasi magsi-celebrate lang ako ng simple lang. Monday kasi is a working day nagkataon lang na exact date ito ng mismong birthday ko ang dami pala nilang preparation na ginawa. So I’m very, very thankful mga Mayors na andito, department heads at halos lahat ng mga empelyado ay narito at nakiisa sa akin," masayang panimula iyon ni Ate Vi habang pawisan dahil noong mga sandaling kausapin namin siya ay abala ito sa paglilibot sa mga mesa na kung saan naroon ang kanyang mga kaibigan at kasama sa pulitika. "Now that I’m turning 38 I’m so happy," biro pa ni Ate Vi.

Ayon kay Ate Vi walang pagsidlan ang kanyang kaligayahan dahil hindi daw niya talaga alam na bibigyan siya nang bonggang party ng mga taong nagmamahal sa kanya. At dahil dito ay ipinangako niya na kung paano siyang minamahal ng mga taga Batangas ay higit pa run ang pagmamahal at pagsiserbisyong ibibigay niya sa kanyang mga kababayan. "Nakakahiya naman siguro kung alam mong mahal ka ng mga tao at sinusuportahan tapos wala kang gagawin sa kanila, ‘ay hindi naman siguro puwede ang ganun., Bilang Gobernadora ng bayang ito nais kong ipakita sa kanila at ipadama na rin na ako ay karapat-dapat sa pagtitiwalang ibinigay nila sa akin kung kayat marami pa rin akong magagandang plano sa Batangas, At hindi ko ito basta magagawang mag-isa kung hindi nila ako tutulungan." Maraming wish si Ate Vi pero hindi para sa pansarili kundi para sa bayan at isa dito ay ang kasaganahan at katahimikan hindi lang ng buong lalawigan ng Batangas kundi nang buong bansa.

Maraming kwento si Gov. Vi tungkol sa kanyang pagiging lingkod bayan subalit mas binigyan pansin ng ABS-CBN.com ang pelikula nila ni John Loyd Cruz. "Tuloy na tuloy na ang movie namin ni John Llloyd maybe mag-istart na kaming mag shooting hanggang end of the year. Pero ano we will take our time lang because ang full blast talaga nito next year na kasi. Ang sixy percent nito ay kukunan sa New York so kukunin ko ang summer vacation ko next year dahil iyon ang isi-shoot ko sa New York nang three weeks."

Samantala inamin din niya na tinanggap na ni Luis Manzano ang role na gay sa pelikulang pagsasamahan nila ni John Llloyd. Kung matatandaan ay naging malaking isyu noon ang nasabing role. Hindi pa raw kasi handa si Luis sa mga gay role na nangangailangan ng kissing scene at bed scene sa kapwa lalaki. "Pumayag na si Luis. Tinanggap na niya talaga ang gay role which is sa tingin ko ay napakagandang role kasi dito iikot ang buong kuwento ng pelikula. So antayin na lang natin at hayaan na lang natin siyang mag-comment so I’m very excited. Imagine this is the first time na magkakasama kami ni Luis plus John Llloyd." Ayon kay Ate Vi hindi siya nakialam sa naging desisyon ni Luis na tanggapin ang gay role dahil ever since ay hindi naman daw siya nakialam sa mga maseselang desisyon ng anak dahil kilala niya si Luis na smart ito at matalino. "Hindi ako nakialam sa negotiation,  ang talagang pinagharap ko ay si Olive Lamasan at si Malou Santos because inirerespeto ko ang desisyon ng anak ko kung ayaw niyang gawin okay lang anak, walang problema pero kung oo, eh, oo. It’s not because of me kundi gusto niya talagang gawin ang movie. Sila ang nagkumbinsem, of course, kasama rin si June Torejon, sila ang nakipag usap kay Luis kaya nga nung malaman ko ang sabi ko lang sa kanila, it’s good. Maganda iyan. Maganda kasi excited talaga ako dahil nung first time akong interbyuhin ni Luis for Entertainment Live hindi talaga ako makapaniwala na ang kaharap ko na ay ang aking anak. At ngayon hindi ko siguro alam kung ano ang magiging feeling ko kung ka-eksena ko siya pero alam ko magaling ang anak ko siyempre kanino pa ba naman siya magmamana ‘di ba?” tumatawang sabi pa ni Gov. Vi.

Sa kaarawan ni Ate Vi ay dumating ang kanyang asawa na si National Economic Development Authority o NEDA Secretary Ralph Recto, bunsong anak na si Ryan, si Luis at ang napapabalitang kasintahan nito na si Angel Locsin. Naroon din at nagbigay saya sa stage ang ilang Participante ng Pinoy Fear Factor at ang Pinoy Dream Acadamy Top Six.(www.abs-cbn.com)

   

The talented actress and multi-product endorser’s contract signing was originally scheduled a month ago, but was delayed to a later time due to the actress requesting for her lawyer to review her contract first. “This was the first time and pati sa mga endorsements, nag-konsulta na rin ako. Kumbaga I hired a lawyer already for all the contracts na pipirmahan. Just so safe and wala akong binabaling clause. Yung mga lawyers na rin ang magsasabi kung ano yung mga bagay na dapat kong gawin at yung mga hindi,” Judai says. She also admits that she has never been familiar with the legalities of her contracts. “At saka para ma-explain lang din sa akin. Kasi hindi naman ako lawyer para maintindihan ko yung mga malalalim na nakalagay sa kontrata. Aminado naman ako na wala akong alam sa ganyan. So gusto ko malaman, yun lang naman sa akin,” she adds. Judai also appeared relieved at putting the issue of her transferring to rest. “Siguro andun na yung assurance na I’ll be having a lot of jobs after the contract expires in July (2009) so hindi pa rin naman siya talaga mag-e-epekto ng taong ito until mag-expire yung kontrata ko. But then again, I’m still thankful that ABS-CBN was very accommodating and very understanding when it came to reviewing the contracts. Kumbaga they gave me naman my time, yung hinihingi kong time. Binigyan nila ako ng enough time to process everything and I really appreciate that,” she admits.

She also shared that her new contract gave her much more freedom in choosing her upcoming projects. “Mas masaya lang ako sa kontrata ko ngayon kasi sa akin nanggaling kung ano yung mga programang gusto ko gawin. Parang feeling ko bilang artista, yun lang din naman yung hinahanap ko na siyempre, kung gagawa ako ng isang trabaho, gusto ko yung gusto ko,” she says. The 30-year-old actress also assured her fans that she will still be visible in both networks, despite her decision to stay a Kapamilya.“Andito pa rin po ako, pasensiya na po kung medyo nakabahan kayo. May mga tampuhan lang na nagaganap pero wala naman na hindi naayos sa magandang pag-uusap kapag kapamilya mo hindi ba? I really treasure my loyalty and my friendship and the love that ABS-CBN gives me. For whatever its worth, I’m so happy that I’m still here. But may mga guestings pa rin na magaganap kasi may pino-promote akong pelikula and everything. Walang bridge na nasunog. That’s what I made sure of.I have a very good relationship with the other network and I really value that and most especially with ABS-CBN. May tampuhan man kami ng mga boss ko, open naman and honest ako sa kanila and nanay ko na rin naman sila. Alam nila yung pinagdadaanan ko at naintindihan nila iyon,” she explains.(www.abs-cbn.com)

One of his house helps, Edna Pasague described to the police men on the scene how she found Willie’s bathroom in disarray Saturday morning, November 1. Perfume and other toiletries were scattered all over the room and there were foot prints in the bath tub. She said that she nonchalantly put the things away, not really suspecting that the house has been robbed. The police later found the bathroom window forcibly opened, suspecting that this was the thief’s entrance to Willie’s room.

However the police didn’t discount the fact that the robbery could also be an inside job after one of the house helps, Andresa Wenceslao, failed to return to Willie’s home in Corinthian Hills after her day off last Sunday. She was later found and bought to the police station where she said the reason why she didn’t show up for work that day is that she over slept at her boyfriend’s house. Edna, who was in the house during the robbery also became a suspect. The maid said that she wouldn’t even think of staying around the host’s home if she ever did the crime. Both pleaded their innocence and hoped that Willie will see that their loyalty is with him.

Willie is disappointed however with the Corinthian Hills security for the executive village promised to look after his and his property’s safety that’s why he decided to live in the posh subdivision. However, Corinthian Hills management has yet to give their official statement regarding the incident.