Didn’t she hesitate to join since she’d be leaving her kids behind? “Inisip ko rin, pero a little over a month lang naman, so kaya ko ito. If I’d win, then I can take them on a grand vacation somewhere. I talked to my eldest son, who’s 8, and told him to be good while I’m away and don’t give any problem sa dad nila.”
It’s good hubby Troy Montero gave her permission right away. “Actually, gusto rin niyang sumali. But it’d be hard kung pareho kaming mawawala so we decided na ako na lang muna. He’s very happy naman to see me back in one piece, kahit sobrang umitim ako. Kaya lang, our son, si Hunter, hindi ako nakilala at natakot when he saw me kasi nga sobrang umitim ako,” she laughs.
It's good Troy allowed her to go when her ex-BF Jon Hall is also a castaway? "I didn't know. But even if nalaman namin, wala namang problem kasi matagal na yun."
So what did she learn from”Survivor”? “It’s really no joke. I didn’t expect it to be that hard. I know we’re not going there on vacation. Pero mahirap talaga kasi you face very harsh weather conditions, no food, no drink, no sleeping quarters, no change of clothes. Kaya when we returned here, lahat ng deprivation na dinanas ko roon, binawi ko rito. Kain ako ng kain, pati sweets, chocolates, cakes that I used to avoid.”
She’s hoping her stint as a castaway would open doors for her to be included in future shows of GMA-7. “Gusto ko naman masali sa teleserye o sitcom nila kasi I miss acting.”
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WE ASKED PILITA Corrales at her launch as one of Ricky Reyes’ Ganda ng Lola Mo signature models if she’s in good terms with her in laws, Lotlot de Leon (ex-wife of her son Monching) and Ricky Davao (husband of her daughter Jackielou). “I haven’t seen Lotlot for so many years then I saw her sa burol ni Charlie Davao,” she says. “I’m glad she’s the one who approached at tinanong ako, ‘How are you, Mamita?’ As for Ricky, I see him all the time and I really like him. We’re in good terms, but I don’t ask kung ano yung situation sa bahay nila as I don’t meddle with their affairs. Malalaki na sila, bahala na sila sa buhay nila.”
Pilita is glad she remains active at 70. She continues to sing at Salt and Peper at EDSA and she’s part of TV5’s new sitcom, “My Driver Sweet Lover”, with JC De Vera, Dina Bonnevie and Eddie Gutierrez.
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MARIEL RODRIGUEZ is still in Cloud 9 in her relationship with Robin Padilla as it’s still very new. As of now, she doesn’t regret leaving all her shows in the name of love since Robin calls him his wife even if they have yet to tie the knot. But give it a few more months when she gets a reality check. Let’s see if she’d still feel the same. As of now, even Robin’s eldest daughters, Queenie and Kylie, say they approve of Mariel for their dad as they find her sweet and caring, even taking care of Robin when he got sick. They also deny that their dad neglects them because of her. It just so happened that he’s really busy with work and with attending Ramadan. Well, so far, so good. We hope it’ll always stay that way.
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KRIS AQUINO is now very visible doing charity work. She visited the victims of the hostage taking incident in the hospital. She’s been proclaimed as ambassador versus dengue. She attends medical missions and also gives away school supplies. She really needs to do this as part of damage control after a lot of people sympathized more with James Yap as a result of her trying to prevent him from seeing their son Baby James. Bad stories about James also float to discredit him, saying he just wants money and he even stole toiletries from Kris’ condo. But the public won’t buy it and James’ lawyer, Atty. Lorna Kapunan, says its not true that James is running after Kris’ alleged property. The interview of Pia Guanio with James in The Story of Your Life segment of “Showbiz Central” last Sunday is also very favorable for James. As it is, Kris’ show, “Pilipinas Win na Win”, continues to be a loser in the ratings so we heard they’re going to change it soon. All the press people working as PR for Kris should work double time to make her sympathetic again in the eyes of the public. One letter we got says James is really the aggrieved party. “Binata si James nang makuha ni Kris at batambata dahil 23 lang. In contrast, si Kris, nakipag-live in na sa ibang mga lalaki. Kumbaga, hindi na siya sariwa pero pinakasalan pa rin siya ni James, and yet she’s the one who dumped him nang magsawa na siya.”
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NOEL FERRER is today’s busiest manager-agent with 22 talents: Ryan Agoncillo, Paolo Bediones, Bayani Agbayani, Luis Alandy, Marcos Alcaraz, Joross Gamboa, Rainier Castillo, Edgar Allan Guzman, Rodjun Cruz, Jeffrey Espiritu aka Mr. Fu, Dingdong Avanzado, Cogie Domingo, Louie Heredia, Kim Atienza, Iza Calzado, Chris Tiu, Simon Atkins, Ardie Bascara, Andrew Miguel, Mark Manicad, Joaqui Valdes and James Blanco. Some of them will participate at Enchanted Kingdom’s 15th anniversary as Celebrity Storytellers. “Reading, literacy and education are part of our advocacy and this is our way of paying back to the public who supports us,” says Noel when we joined him last Sunday to meet the president of Enchanted Kingdom Mario Mamon and wife Cynthia Romero who’s VP and chief operating officer.
On Grandparents’ Day on September 12, living legend Anita Linda will be the special storyteller with the launch of the DVD of her film “Adela” under Sony. Bayani will do the storytelling on September 26, Marco on October 3, Joross on October 8, Luis on October 17, Mr. Fu, Edgard Allan, DJ Myke Salomon and Rodjun will have a special Halloween presentation on October 31, and Paolo Bediones on December 12, all at 4 PM at the Bandstand. The First Asian Sky Wizardry Fireworks Competion will be held on October 2-3, 9-10 & 16-17, with local fireworks companies participating along with Singapore, Malaysia and China. Also to be held is the Search for Enchanted Kingdom Little Prince and Princess along with talent showcase 4:30 PM on weekends. A new ride, Ekstreme Free Fall, will start on October 17. For Halloween, there will be a special Haunted Village. Now ongoing is the Simon and Silver Magic show at Mascot Elgar’s Tent, to be followed by Imagine, a special musicale on life. Enchanted Kingdom is open from Thursday to Sunday, with fireworks at 8:30 pm. You may call them at 584-3535, 584-4326 to29 or log on to www.enchantedkingdom.ph.
