NEWSFLASH

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REGINE REIGNS AS NEW QUEEN AT VIVA

Quezon City, Nov. 1, 1998 - Regine Velasquez must really be super-special. No less than Viva boss Vic del Rosario flew to the United States to sign her up.

Yes, Vic himself did, notwithstanding the astronomic fee that Viva reportedly had to pay Regine (five zeroes and in US dollars, at that) and her new manager, record producer-arranger Mark Feist.

But a lot of people are speculating that Regine's contract is part and parcel of Viva's negotiations with the multi-national Metro Pacific Corp., said to be partly owned by a group of businessmen from Indonesia. Metro Pacific has so far reportedly bought into several Philippine companies , some of which are: Nation Broadcasting Corp.'s DWFM, Wilkins, House of Sara Lee, Land Co., PLDT and Metro Laboratories.

Metro Pacific had allegedly been putting off acquiring majority shares of Viva Records because its big bosses were not convinced that the repertoire of the recording company was strong enough. That supposedly explains why Viva big boss Vic del Rosario went all out to sign up Regine, who is considered by many to be the country's premiere female recording artist Now, the recording company can claim ``ownership'' insofar as the best female musical talents are concerned.

Viva Records can now boast of a powerhouse stable that includes the country's finest female singers. Aside from Regine, Viva is the proud home studio of Jaya, Sharon Cuneta, Donna Cruz, and Lani Misalucha, among others.