Off cam, she admits she and Bamboo guitarist Ira Cruz are now back in each other’s arms and Ira is warmly accepted by her two sons both sired by Paolo Paraiso. “The first time we were on, tumagal kami ng four years. Five years kaming off at naging kami nga ni Paolo. This time, marami ng nagbago sa amin, we have both matured a lot and hopefully, mas magtagal na kami this time.”
How did they reconcile? “We met in a party with some friends at nagkuwentuhan kami. We realized we still love each other. Okay naman talaga kami noong on kami, kumbaga, nagkaroon lang ng konting glitch kaya kami nagkahiwalay.”
Ira was with Phoemela Baranda after they broke off. Is it true that Phoemela had a bitter falling out with Ira?
“I don’t know. And I don’t ask. I don’t have the right to meddle with that. Sa kanila yun, e.”
So she’s not a third party who intruded on the relationship of Ira and Phoem? “Definitely not. Nang magkita kami uli, matagal na silang wala at wala na rin kami ni Paolo.”
Is she and Paolo in good terms? “Oo naman. We have two sons so dapat lang na maging magkaibigan kami for their sake. He’ll always be a part of our lives.”
**********
SEXY SINGER Selina Sevilla candidly admitted in “Showbiz Central” that she’s marrying Lalen Calayan, the 28-year old lesbian niece of Dr. Manny Calayan who helps him out during presscons as marketing manager. Selina is best known for sexually suggestive songs like “Aray” and “Nilunok Ko ang Lahat”. They met when Doc Manny’s Calayan SurgiCenter Foundation helped correct a botched up cosmetic operation on Selina’s buttocks performed by a quack doctor. Lalen admitted she was smitten by Selina the first time they saw each other. “She’s different sa lahat ng nakilala ko,” she says. She became Selina’s good friend while feeling very low and they became very close to each other.
“We started as friends,” Selina says. “Lagi kaming nagkikita’t nagkakausap. She pledged unconditional love for me then she proposed marriage. I’ve gone through so many heartaches and this time, iba yung kaligayahang binibigay niya sa’kin” And she accepted Lalen’s proposal. They’ll get married in December in wedding rites (not official since same sex marriage is not accepted in our country) to be held at the yacht of Doc Manny who’d be their principal sponsor and who advised them to make their relationship for keeps.
**********
JOEY DE LEON will now be seen day and night on TV. Noontime, he’s in the daily “Eat Bulaga” on GMA-7. Now, he’s also seen on TV5’s prank and comedy show, “Wow Meganon?”, Monday to Friday, 9 to 9:30 PM. On Saturday, he’s also seen in GMA’s “Startalk” and on Sunday, he’ll now be at 12 noon in another new TV5 show, “House Or Not”, that will pre-program “P05”. In the evening, he’s in GMA’s “Mel & Joey”, making him the most visible face on local TV seen every single day, whether day or night. In “Wow Meganon?”, he’ll have a new co-host, Mr. Fu, and they’ll be supported by ventriloquist Wanlu with puppet Nicolo, magician Jeff Tam and the SOS mimes of Lokomoko U. In “House or Not”, he gives away various home showcases and house and lot to lucky contestants in a game show reminiscent of those daffy Japanese game shows. We’ve seen the pilot episode with Ian de Leon, Matet de Leon and her husband, plus their other relatives. They play various wacky games with resident Ogagsters and Hentai Girls of the show and the result is a rollicking hour of hilarious entertainment, with Ruffa Mi as Joey’s assistant called Mayor Donna.
Is it true Joey didn’t show up once in “Startalk” after he heard GMA would get Willie Revillame? “That’s not true,” he says. “Nasira ang tiyan ko noon. Si Lolit ang may sabing dahil kay Willie, sinakyan ko na lang. Kung yun ang decision ng network, wala naman akong magagawa. At saka hindi naman ako yung nagpapaalis ng tao. Siya yun.”
What if TV5 would ask him and Willie to be co-hosts? “Okay lang, basta gusto ng network. Nagkatrabaho na rin kami ni Willie noon sa movies. Pero malabong mangyari yan ngayon kasi ang dami kong ginagawa. At saka hindi pa naman siya bumabalik, di ba? Bumalik muna siya. Basta ang format ‘Night and Day’. Ako yung sa Day, siya yung kasabay ni German Moreno. O, joke lang yan, ha. At saka hindi naman akong kaaway niya kundi si Jobert Sucaldito. Sila ni Jobert ang tanungin nyo kung willing sila magtrabaho sa isa’t isa. Tama na yang Joey-Willie. Luma na yan. Ang mas exciting ngayon, yung Angelica-Claudine.”
**********
GLAIZA DE CASTRO said she has to pinch herself several times to find out if she’s just dreaming when she was officially informed that she’d play the title role in the new fantasy drama, “Grazilda”. “I can’t believe it up to now kasi nasanay na ko playing villain roles, but I’m so thankful to GMA-7 for trusting me well enough to do a lead role,” she says. “I promise to them I’ll do my best para hindi ako mapahiya sa kanila.”
Glaiza did supporting roles in “Gagambino”, “Fantastikids”, “Boys Nxt Door”, “Asian Treasures”, “Kung Aagawin Mo ang Lahat sa Akin”, “Stairway to Heaven” and “Diva”. She did play lead roles in “Kaputol ng Isang Awit”, “The Eva Castillo Story” in SR0 and the “Igorota” episode of “Dear Friend.” “Biggest break ko talaga itong ‘Grazilda’ at si Geoff Eigenmann pa ang leading man ko. Huwag naman sanang magagalit ang fans ng love team niya with Carla Abellana dahil trabaho lang ito’t di ko naman siya aagawin from her.”
They will be supported by Cherie Gil, Rio Locsin, Joel Torre, Jolina Magdangal, Yasmien Kurdi, Steff Prescott, Djanin Cruz, Bodie Cruz, Dominic Roco, Benedict Campos, Angeli Sanoy and Gwen Zamora as Cinderella. “Grazilda’ is a new take on the traditional Cinderella fairy tale told from the point of view of the commonly perceived evil stepsister, Grazilda. It will start showing on primtime on Monday, directed by Dominic Zapata and Ricky Davao. Although it’s Dominic Roco who’s in the show’s cast, Glaiza admits that it’s twin brother Felix Roco who’s her special someone right now. Dominic is, in turn, linked to Glaiza’s best friend, Maxene Magalona. Felix has moved to ABS-CBN and is now in the afternoon show, “Rosalka”.
**********
ANC, the ABS-CBN News Channel now have a new station ID and on air look to mark the award-winning station’s unwavering commitment to deliver news to Filipinos wherever they are and amid fast changes in media. With information dissemination so much easier and faster today, ANC COO Glenda M. Gloria said it is integral to have a news organization focused on making sense out of all the clutter in the media.
“As a news channel, we'd like to be able to connect the dots for our viewers to make informed choices and decisions," she said. Gloria said the Rotary Club of Manila Journalism Awards TV News Station of the Year has been able to do this without sacrificing the standards and values that brought ANC to where it is now: integrity, perspective, and respect. Viewers can expect the blue rhombus logo to remain as the key design element in ANC’s new look, which conveys the channel’s glossy, substantive, and engaging nature, according to Gloria. ANC’s sleek and edgy new ID, meanwhile, depicts how the nature of newsgathering has changed due to technology and citizen empowerment. It shows how information captured by an ordinary individual and shared to ABS-CBN can become a news story reported by our reporters on the scene and anchors on the air. Stay tuned to the country’s award-winning and only 24/7 news channel, ANC SkyCable channel 27. For news updates, follow ANCALERTS on Twitter or like the official ANC fan page on Facebook, just search ANC 24/7. You may also visit www.abs-cbnnews.com/anc or www.youtube.com/ancalerts.
