REGINE  TO  JOIN  OGIE  AND  HIS  KIDS  IN  DISNEYLAND
 

MANILA, APRIL 9, 2008 (MALAYA) DREAM FACTORY by MARIO BAUTISTA (But one thing that I promised them, ipapasyal ko sila sa Hong Kong Disneyland and most probably, kasama namin doon ang kanilang Tita Regine. – Ogie Alcasid’)

OGIE Alcasid is one of the three judges in "Pinoy Idol." Is it true his girlfriend Regine Velasquez felt bad when she was not made the show’s host?

"It’s not for me to answer that," he answers evasively. "You should ask Regine herself. What I know is that she was considered to be one of the judges, pero hindi nga siya pumuede because she has a scheduled concert tour abroad. In my case, I really wanted to be a part of this show kaya I erased all my previous schedules makasama lang ako rito dahil mahal ko ang GMA at ang show na ito."

So how does it feel that they’re not together like in "Celebrity Duets"? "Siempre, I miss her, pero kami nina Wyngard Tracy and Jolina as the two other judges, we’re so happy being together, kahit we have different personalities and come from different generations. I hope maging every year na ito dahil na-develop na ang friendship namin sa ganda ng bonding namin."

Is it true he’s the highest-paid judge?

"I don’t know. Hindi ko naman sila tinatanong kung how much their talent fee is. Intrigahin pa raw ba kami pati sa TF naming?"

He once said his ex-wife Michelle and their two kids will be coming home this year.

"Yes, sa September to watch my 20th anniversary concert called ’20/20' at the Big Dome. It’s the first time for my daughters to watch me in such a big venue."

Will they be staying with him?

"No. I’m now staying with my parents kaya hindi kami kasya roon. Most probably, they’ll stay in a hotel. Hindi pa namin naaayos ang details kasi malayo pa naman ‘yun. But one thing that I promised them, ipapasyal ko sila sa Hongkong Disneyland and most probably, kasama namin doon ang kanilang Tita Regine."

***

Gabby Concepcion says he’ll just return the down payment given to him by GMA Films which, in turn said in a statement: "It’s not about Gabby. It’s not about money. It’s about the principle that people in showbiz should honor their commitments. Gabby has a live contract with us. He has been consulted in every step of the production. We expect him to honor his commitment and we will enforce the contract that he has signed with us."

Personally, we believe that, like in the case of Cristine Reyes, GMA should just let Gabby go. At this point, he’s being talked about as he has just returned. But the fact that his comeback started on a negative note as it became a part of the network wars means he must have started on the wrong foot instead of making everything positive. Among us writers, the belief is that whatever movie Gabby makes will not be that big a hit at the box office. As they keep on saying: "Iba na ang generation of viewers ngayon."

When someone said Gabby will be cast as the boss in "Betty La Fea," writers say he won’t approve of that as it won’t be considered a good comeback for him since he’s not the title roler. Someone even suggested that, just to accommodate him, maybe the title should be "Betty La Fea and Gabo." See, they even make fun of him.

Take note that both Gabby and ex-wife Sharon Cuneta are both making a comeback. The Megastar has not made a new movie since "Kung Ako Na Lang Sana" with Aga Muhlach five years ago and she’s now shooting "Caregiver" in London. Even their daughter, KC, has been heard saying she believes that moviegoers are much more excited with her mom’s comeback film than that of her dad’s. We think so, too. And we’d like to commend Sharon also for being so tactful in handling questions about Gabby. She knows she might just be used, especially now when she’s being asked as to what’s the real reason why she decided to separate from Gabby. "All these years, wala kayong narinig sa akin about it," she says. "Ngayon pa ba ko magsasalita? Ang importante, humingi na siya ng tawad. I’m happy with my family now and he’s happy with his, so let’s leave it at that."

***

For sometime now, there have been talks that Richard Gutierrez is leaving GMA-7 to move to ABS-CBN. His mom, Annabelle Rama, clarified that this is not true. Richard’s contract with GMA-7 is expiring in May and they will renew it after they have settled a small problem in a meeting scheduled this week. Annabelle says the rumor that they got a high offer from ABS-CBN (one rumor even alleges that Richard is offered a P5 million down payment for a movie with KC) is just not true. She adds that they love and respect the entire Gozon family, major stockholders of GMA-7, so Richard won’t leave them.

About the Supreme Court’s affirmation of a lower court’s decision convicting Cristy Fermin of libel, Annabelle says she’s very happy about it even if it took 13 years of waiting. "She wrote then that my husband Eddie returned from the States dahil nakadispalko raw ng pera in the company where he used to work and that my daughter Ruffa was just an alalay of stars when she was working as TV host with Century Productions in the US. I’m glad it was proven hindi totoo ang mga ito. Ipinaglaban ko lang ang family ko. Nagkita na kami ni Cristy at napatawad ko na siya, but I still want her to pay the P1 million na fine sa kanya ng court dahil ang dami ko ring nagastos sa hearings and sa lawyers. Kailangan ko rin ng pera sa dami ng nagbabayad sa’kin ng talbog na cheke."

***

Yasmien Kurdi says she feels uncomfortable when people tell her she was just the runner-up in the first "Starstruck" but she has now overtaken the career of winner Jennylyn Mercado. She’s now seen nightly in "Babangon Ako’t Dudurugin Kita" on primetime and on Sunday afternoon in "Tasya Fantasya" (both remakes).

"We all know she’s in a delicate situation because of her pregnancy kaya huwag na lang kami ikumpara sa isa’t isa at intrigahin," she says. "As of now, I’m really thankful as JC De Vera and I made the successful transfer from afternoon to primetime with the success of ‘Babangon Ako.’ Lahat ng nakakapanood, sinasabi sa aking nagagandahan sila, thanks to Direk Joel Lamangan and all its stars."

This week, JC as Derek leaves his family after discovering that his mom Evita (Dina Bonnevie) is a jueteng queen. He becomes closer to friend LJ Reyes, whose brother Brenan later dies after being shot by Pablo, an enemy of Derek. Derek later asks the help of Jango (Tonton Gutierrez) so he can be a part of Evita’s syndicate. Jango’s son, Juno (Jay Aquitania), gets jealous because his dad is devoting more time to Derek than to him.

Marvin Agustin as Alfred continues to be cruel and abusive to Yasmien as Salve, beating her for the smallest mistakes. He buys a new car and won’t even let Salve touch it. He introduces his lover, Beverly (Jenny Miller), to Salve as his cousin and they connive to rob a rich family. The character played by Angelika de la Cruz, Via San Gabriel, arrives on the scene. She’s the granddaughter of the governor and the scheming Alfred hatches a new plan for her.

***

Alessandra de Rossi took the Hot Seat in last Sunday’s "Showbiz Central" and only DJ Mo was on hand to interview him as co-host Rufa Mae Quinto is shooting a film in Italy. Mo’s first question was: Among those nakaaway mo, who do you love to hate the most?

"Rhian Ramos," Alex replies. "Kasi she lied, nagsinungaling siya to defend herself noong nagkaaway kami."

Mo then mentioned several names and Alex commented on each of them. Luis Alandy (to whom she was linked when they did ‘Barcelona’): "Oh! Mabait siya." Polo Ravales (an ex-BF): "Parang kapatid ko na lang siya." Jennylyn Mercado (whom she accused of trying to steal ex-boyfriend Jeremy Marquez): "Of course, we know how she is now (pregnant) and I feel for her." Rhian Ramos: "Malakas ang kapit (referring to Rhian’s being the niece of a GMA executive)." Jeremy Marquez? "Past is past. Tapos na ‘yun."

Who among your past boyfriends ang babalikan mo? "Si Oyo Sotto. Kasing sobrang sandali lang ‘yung sa amin."

As for the Killer Question, the normally feisty and "palaban" Alex suddenly chickened out. "I will just seal it and not reveal it kasi kung sasagutin ko ito, may masisiraan akong tao na kailangan kong protektahan."

***

Sexy stars Diana Zubiri and Juliana Palermo, both wards of writer Jojo Gabinete, took the "Laglagan Edition" of the "Don’t Lie to Me" portion. Juliana is the one who answers the questions while on the lie detector. Diana gets punished each time Juliana answers with a lie. Unfortunately for Diana, who’s celebrating her 24th birthday, Juliana answered four lies and only one truth.

The first question: Nagselos ba ang isang aktres (Angel Locsin) kay Diana when they were doing ‘Asian Treasures’ dahil Robin Padilla gave more special attention to Diana?

Juliana’s answer: No, and it was a lie. Green sticky liquid was then poured on Diana.

Next question: Is it true hindi type ni Diana si Polo Ravales who tried to date her several times?

Answer: Yes, and it was the truth.

Diana explained: "Hindi naman ako dine-date. Niyaya lang akong lumabas pero ayoko kasi kaibigan ko si Ara (Mina) at kabe-break lang nila that time."

Next: Juliana, niligawan ka ba ng Hollywood director na si Michael Bay? Answer, no, and it was a lie. White powder then rained on Diana.

Next: Pinaasa ba ni Diana si Alfred Vargas nang ligawan siya nito? Answer: No, and it was a lie. Brown liquid was poured on Diana.

Diana says Alfred never tried to court her but they were just paired in "Encantadia."

Next: Juliana, is it true isang actor ang nag-try ng suicide after you broke up with him?

Answer: No, and it was a lie again so corn flakes fall on Diana, who showed she’s really a good sport.

***

After two weeks, the first nomination night was held at the PBB Teen Edition Plus last Sunday and the three housemates who got the most number of votes were Bikini Babe Linda of Iriga (9 votes), Bubbly Girl Jieriel of Davao (9) and Lethal LaSallite Josef (7). Spanish Stallion Kevin is exempted from being voted upon as he won in Kuya’s immunity games. But two other housemates were given automatic nominations: Deaf Dreamer Priscilla of Davao and Dazzling Doll Valerie of Germany because they were seen and heard talking about the nomination process when they complained about Jieriel. This is a violation in Kuya’s rule book. You can now vote on the housemate you want to save. On Sunday, we’ll find out who will be the first one to be evicted among the 14 housemates.

Meantime, after Kevin, Josef, Jieriel and Beauty, four more housemates were taken by Kuya to the PBB Plus Area housing their parents. These are Nan from Davao, Alex from Italy and True Blue Atenean Robi, who were told to make the other housemates go to bed earlier than usual so they could go on their secret task. Alex was able to see his Mommy Minda when she went out to go to the bathroom, but he quickly hid so his mom wouldn’t see him. Now that he, Nan and Robi have learned about the presence of their parents in the Plus Area, will Kuya include them in Teen Council he’s organizing?

Find out in "PBB Teens Uber," 5:30 p.m., and on primetime after "Lobo." You can also watch the teen housemates live on Studio 23 everyday from 12 noon to 2 p.m. and 24/7 online via TFCNow Live Stream on www.abs-cbnnow.com.