A surprise new leading man for Carla

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Freehand

Carla Abellana is elated that "Rosalinda" has climbed up the charts. The episodes showing her wedding and honeymoon with Geoff Eigenmann both rated high, 29 to 30 plus percent. So how was her love scenes with Geoff?

"It's hard for both of us kasi pareho kami first time to do such a scene, lalo na ako," she says. "Pareho kami kabado. Nag-usap kami para walang ilangan, pero kailangan pagbutihin na namin nang husto so there will be no retakes. Naging okay naman for Direk Maryo de los Reyes and all those who saw it say nakakakilig daw. Ang prinoblema ko, what will my lola and parents say. But it's good they understood kasi artista rin naman sila. "

Carla says their viewership will increase in the weeks to come when "Rosalinda" becomes even more intriguing. Rosalinda learns that her Tiya Marta and Soledad (Glydel Mercado), the killer of Fernando Jose's dad, are one and the same. They're even more surprised when they find out that Alfredo (Ariel Rivera) and Soledad are former lovers. Alfredo asks Soledad who their real daughter is and, to protect Rosalinda, she says it's Fedra (Katrina Halili), who is happy to be Alfredo's daughter as he's rich. But Soledad tells Rosalinda the truth that it's really her who is their child.

Those who've seen the original know that Fernando Jose will throw Rosalinda out when he learns that her real mom is Soledad. Abandoned, Rosalinda will have a transformation and become a singer to survive. She'll find new love in a record producer who'll help her career, Alex Durantes. So who'll play Alex? "Secret. Hindi pa puwedeng i-reveal. Basta he's as handsome as Geoff and viewers will surely find the story even more engrossing. "

PUNO HELPS BARRAMEDA FAMILY
Rochelle Barrameda celebrated the birthday on August 14 of her dear departed younger sister, Ruby Rose Barrameda-Jimenez, along with their parents Mr. and Mrs. Robert and Asuncion Barrameda, with a dinner held at Annabel's Restaurant courtesy of DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno. Ruby would have been 29 years old had she didn't become the tragic victim of a heinous crime. She got married when she was only 19 and her husband, Manuel Jimenez III, was 20. Everyone thought she was happy. But Rochelle said her sister was a battered wife, emotionally and physically, so she decided to split from her husband and filed for child custody.

"She went missing on March 14, 2007 and it's been two years of agony for us until Manuel Montero, one of those who killed her, was bothered by his conscience and admitted to the crime," she says. "I want to thank Sec. Ronnie Puno for all his help to our family. He even formed a special task force just to search for my sister. What they did to her was so brutal dahil nilagyan siya ng posas, tinakpan ng plastic bag ang mukha niya at inikutan ng tape, then strangled with a steel wire, put inside a drum that was then put in a steel cabinet saka inihulog sa dagat. Nakonsensiya raw si Mr. Montero as she's their only female victim kaya sabi niya nilagyan ng marker kunsaan siya inihulog. Ayon pa kay Mr. Montero, all their other victims, sa malalayong lugar na itinapon kaya di na makita. Everyone's saying it's clear kung sino ang gumawa nito sa kanya but the parties concerned are rich and influential. They're now filing all sorts of motions to delay the investigation. They even question if the body was really the remains of Ruby when her clothes, jewelry, and dental records all clearly indicate it's her. We're imploring Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera to speed up the resolution of the case in spite of these delaying tactics. Dapat maiakyat na sa korte ang kaso. Ngayon, pinalalabas pang may lover ang sister ko, when she's no longer here to defend herself. Basta our family pledges that we won't stop until we get justice for my sister. "

Rochelle also denies the rumor that she has broken up with husband Jimwell Stevens. "Heto nga I'm pregnant with our third child. Our eldest, James, is 11, while Julia is 8. Feeling ko, our new baby is kapalit ng sister ko as my due date of delivery is March 14. If she'd be a girl, I'd name her Ruby. "

INTERESTING MIX
THE 16 castaways in "Survivor: Palau" are an interesting mix. Here are the women: Carol Gementiza - The oldest in the batch at 46 and the mother figure like Nana Zita in Batch 1, she's a public school teacher in Iloilo and has 6 kids. Amanda Coolley Van Cooll - A Fil-am who grew up in Mindoro, she's now a construction worker in Alaska. Jef Gaitan - At 18, she's the youngest girl in the batch, a print and TV commercial model from Laguna. Echo Caceres - A call center agent in Albay, Bicol, she's the eldest of seven kids and describes herself as palaban. Justine Ferrer - A beauty queen from Caloocan, she looks better in person than in photos or on screen. At 19, she worked in Japan as a singer. Maya Segovia - A captain in the Philippine Air Force and taekwondo blackbelter, she's married and has two kids. Mika Batchelor - Billed as the Sexy Chef, she's half British and grew up in Boracay and Coron, Palawan. Tara Macias - Her sister Chev was the first one eliminated in "Survivor 1". Known as the Taray Queen, she works as a Korean-English tutor in Cebu.

And here are the guys: Cris Bolado - The eldest at 40 and tallest at 6'6", the former PBA player is called the Gentle Giant. Shaun Rodriguez - Married with one kid, he works with the PR staff of Manila City Hall and is called the Hot Dad. Suzuki Sadatsugu - He lived in Japan for 18 years but came to Manila to take up criminology and do modeling. Vlad Nesas - A model who calls himself the Alpha male for always getting what he wants, he took up fine arts at UST where he was also a swimmer. He's billed a Metrosexual. Troy Perez - A magician billed as the Mentalist, he took up BS Biology and worked in a bank. Louie Ang - An I. T. professional billed as Chickboy, he says he's just friendly to girls. Charles De Vera Fernandez - A 21 year old businessman from Dagupan City, he sells eveything from shoes to cosmetics so he's called Raketista. Marvin Kiefer - The youngest at 18, he's born in Switzerland but raised in Cagayan de Oro. He started modeling at 16 and also helps his mom's organic farm in Cagayan.

The prettiest among the girls are Jef Gaitan and Justin Ferrer. They came on stage in revealing bikinis. Among the guys, only Shaun and Val appeared in skimpy trunks. Shaun is the hunkiest among the guys and can win best swimsuit, with Jef as his female counterpart. But since this is also an artista search, just like JC Tiuseco last year, Marvin will surely quickly gain a lot of fans with his clean cut teen heartthrob good looks. We heard, though, that one of the castaways has undergone a sex change operation. This is will be revealed as the new show goes on.

VILLAR'S SLATE COULD PASS FOR ACTORS
ATTY. ADEL Tamano is the celebrity lawyer of Dr. Victoria Belo. Doesn't his wife, Atty. Rowena Kapunan, get jealous when he's being linked to her (Belo)? "She does," he admits. "But she understands part lang ng mga intriga 'yun. I'm Muslim, she's Christian. We were married thrice in civil, Catholic and Muslim rites. I can have another wife but I promised to her that she'll be my only wife, no one else. I like Dr. Belo, she's a very nice person, but I promised my wife I'll be faithful to her. Besides, I'm detaching myself from my cases come November kung matutuloy akong tumakbo for the Senate, but our law firm will still handle Dr. Belo's case. I'm also giving up being the president of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. "

Adel is now part of Nacionalista Party. He and NP President Manny Villar, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Representatives Tg Guingona III and Timmy Chipeco, and former Reps. Gilbert Remulla and Rimpy Bondoc were presented to the media and only Guingona was absent as he's in GenSan. Known as Tropang Nacionalista, their battlecry is "Higit sa Lahat, Ang Bayan!" All are goodlooking and could pass for actors, they represent the ideals of the NP, which Sen. Villar truly wants to revitalize. Their credentials are impressive. Cayetano and Guingona finished law at the Ateneo. Chipeco took up law in San Beda and Arellano Law School. Remulla, a noted broadcast journalist who hosts "Kabuhayang Swak na Swak" on ABS-CBN, has an M. A. in international affairs from Columbia U in New York. Bondoc has an M. A. in public adm from Harvard University. Adel is the first Filipino Muslim to have a master in law from Harvard. The NP has produced six presidents: Manuel Quezon, Jose Laurel, Carlos Garcia, Sergio Osmena, Ramon Magsaysay and Ferdinand Marcos. They're hoping Manny Villar will be the seventh.

EJAY GETS BREAK
Ejay Falcon won in the PBB Teens two years ago. His runnerup Robi Domingo was given more exposure than him. He now is given the chance to play a lead role in "Katorse. " "I waited for this for so long and I'm glad the break finally came," he says.

What caused the delay? "ABS made sure they prepared me well first. I took up various workshops to help gain confidence at mawala yung hiya ko. For 'Katorse', I took another workshop with Gina Alajar, along with Erich para maging maganda ang bonding namin. We also watched the original 'Katorse' and Gabby Concepcion played my role. Ang guwapo niya, ang ganda ng katawan at magaling pang umarte, so nagpaganda rin ako ng katawan at nag-aral munang mabuti sa acting as preparation. "

He says being an artista was farthest from his mind when he was growing up in Mindoro. "Ang gusto ko lang, makatulong para mapabuti ang buhay ng kinagisnan kong ama at mga kapatid. But I'm thankful to ABS na pinagkatiwalaan nila ako at pinahinog muna nang husto bago ko isinabak sa ganitong project. I was allowed to do 'Lipgloss' sa TV 5 then I played Rosanna Roces' battered son in 'May Bukas Pa' kaya nasanay na rin ako humarap sa kamera. I'm glad I waited for the right time. "

'MOONWALKER' ON Q11 TONIGHT
TONIGHT on Q 11, don't miss the tribute to the late King of Pop, "Michael Jackson: Moonwalker," Moonwalker is a compilation of short films about Jackson �" who would have been 51 on August 29 �" and music videos of songs from his album Bad. The film title, chosen by Jackson himself, was named after his trademark move called the Moonwalk. The film opens with the music video of his famous song "Man in the Mirror. " It then transitions to a short narrative about Jackson 's life, which is also a condensed account of his musical journey, from The Jackson 5 hits "I Want You Back, "ABC," and "The Love You Save" to Thriller classics "Beat It," "Billie Jean," and "Human Nature. " Moonwalker also features short films, which are mostly extended versions of Jackson 's music videos for the songs "Bad," "Speed Demon," "Leave Me Alone," and "Smooth Criminal. " Celebrities like Jackson 's own brother, Jermaine, Sylvester Stallone and Tina Turner also make appearances in one of the videos. Other Jackson hits�"from "Leave Me Alone" to "Smooth Criminal"�"are also featured. Don't miss it tonight at 9:10 p. m. . Next Sunday, a second special will be shown "Michael Jackson Mansion: Never Can Say Goodbye. "

Source: People's Journal