Boyfriend-less Christmas

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Dream Factory

American Idol" finalist Ramiele Malubay arrived last Friday and was presented to the press last Sunday by the producer of her concert with Ogie Alcasid, Brian Sombero whose company, Underground Studio, aims to mount more concerts here.

Ramiele came with her boyfriend, Austin Torres, who wants to join local showbiz so she was warned by friends that he might just be using her to get a break here.

"Hindi manggagamit ang boyfriend ko," she says in fluent Tagalog. "Sinamahan niya ko rito to support me. Kung mag-aartista siya, hell do it by himself and start from the very beginning. When I met him in California, he didnt even know who I am. Also, hell have to learn Tagalog first kasi English lang ang alam niya. Ako, I learned how to speak Tagalog kasi our parents taught us and also, mayTFC kami sa bahay."

She seems quite controversial as her sexy pictures circulated in the internet. Shes with other women, insinuating shes a lesbian. "My mom saw the pictures and she said theres nothing wrong with them so I should not worry about it. She knows the girls in the photos are good friends of mine and we were just hanging around and having fun. We werent doing anything objectionable at all. Once and for all, hindi po ako lesbian. Babae po ako."

While shes here, Ramiele will visit her dads hometown in Polillo Island in Quezon and her moms relatives in Zamboanga. Her boyfriends family is from Apalit, Pampanga and they also plan to go there. "My parents and I are all spending Christmas here so well be going around a lot as I know theres so much to see."

Ramiele stands only 411" so shes dubbed by the "American Idol" jurors as the "Big Voice from the Small Adorable Idol." Born in Dammam, Saudi Arabia on Sept. 6, 1987, her parents are engineer Roger Malubay and nurse Alicia Macrohon. She was 4 when their family moved to Miamar, Florida, USA. Shes been singing since she was 2 and she quickly became a favorite guest in Pinoy gatherings in Florida. She did front acts for Pinoy singers who did shows there, like Martin Nievera, Kuh Ledesma, Basil Valdez, and others. She was only 16 when she first joined "American Idol" auditions and was rejected. She joined again this year and finally made it. Shes in third year nursing at Broward College but her studies are now on hold while she gives showbiz a try. "I have a meeting with the Disney Channel when I return to the US," she says.

Shes excited to sing with Ogie and the other "Pinoy Idols" finalist and winners in "The Idol Experience: Ogie Sings with the Idols" to be held at Aliw Theater on December 20 and 21, 8 p.m. The front seats are sold out at P10,000 but other seats at P650 to P3,000 are still available. Call Ticketworld at 891-9999, Ticketnet at 911-555, or Underground Studio at 376-2731.

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Carmina Villaroel gets a grand launching as Bioderm germicidal soaps endorser along with her twins Mavy and Cassy. In the Q&A, Carmina is asked when she and Zoren Legaspi will tie the knot. "Akala nyo lang, hindi pa, pero nangyari na," she replies.

This is quite a revelation so we asked her to give more details later. Was it a civil or church wedding? "Actually, hindi pa kami talaga kinakasal," she says. "Sinabi ko lang yun para matigil na ang katatanong. Kasi, iniisip namin, okay naman kami as of now. Although,siempre, iba pa rin yung may blessing ni Lord. Kaya lang, hindi Catholic si Zoren, Christian siya, kaya hindi rin kami puede sa church wedding. As it is, Im just thankful na the Lord blesses uspa rin. Were really a happy family. The twins are now seven, turning eight in January. Theyre in Grade 2 at a school near our place. Legaspi ang ginagamit nilang apelyido."

Are they willing to allow the twins to act on TV or films?

"They were four when they were first offered to do a commercial. We asked them at gusto rin nila. They enjoyed it kasi magkakasama kaming buong pamilya. Natutuwa rin sila when they see their commercials on TV. But honestly, we dont want to expose them so much sa showbiz. Magtapos muna sila ng studies then kung gusto nila talaga, bahala na sila. As of now, kailangang okay rin ang ini-endorsenila, like Bioderm soap na talagang panlaban sa germs ng buongfamily."

And why did Biodern choose Carmina as endorser?

"We considered a lot of names," said marketing VP Stanley Wang. "Credibility is very important and we chose Carmina as she really has a happy family. She leads a busy life as a working mom but she is careful in choosing products for her familys health. In other words, palaban siya, just like Bioderm na palaban sa germs."

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Valerie Concepcion might be a single mom but she says that the first time she got inside a motel was when they shot the OctoArts entry "One Night Only" in Tripoli Motel in Marcos Highway. "Its only when we shot the movie there na nakita ko ang itsura ng loob ng isang motel," she says. "Meron pala siyang sariling garage where you can just park your car then tapos diretso na kayo sa kuwarto!"

In "One Night Only," she plays Vicky, a liberated young woman whos fond of the good life. While gallivanting in Boracay, she meets Jon Avila but nothing happened to them as she got drunk. So when they meet again in Manila, she asks Jon to take her to a motel for a night of good sex. What does she think of her role?

"Ako, walang kaipokritahan, hindi ko ma-imagine ang sarili ko na makikipag-one night stand lang and then, wala na. Iba kasi yung you make love with feelings of affection for each other. Sa akin, what happened to me before was may mutual feelings kami ng jowa ko. Ayoko ng sex without love."

So how far did she go in the movie?

"Jon was just in his briefs sa love scene namin.Ako, in bra and shorts, pero nakatakip ako ng kumot. Sa scene, Im the aggressive one kaya ako ang humahalik-halik sa kanya sa neck. Pero hanggang doon lang yun. Wala akong balak tikman niya in real life. Hindi ko naman siya jowa. Were just doing a job. Also, comedy ang treatment sa movie and Jon is put in a dilemma kasi while hes making love to me, hes also making love to Diana Zubiri whos in a different room but in the same hotel. Lagari siya sa amin hanggang magkabukuhan."

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Finally, Jennylyn Mercado got to attend a presscon of "One Night Only," her comeback movie after giving birth to her love child. She was absent in the past presscons as she was abroad. As expected, Jen was asked if shed stand firm in her decision not to show her son to dad Patrick Garcia.

"My decision stays forever," she says. "Anuman ang balak niya, wala na siyang magagawa kasi talagang out na siya sa buhay ko at niBaby Jazz. As of now, ang baby ko lang ang focus ko at ang trabaho ko."

How come its reported that shes seeing VJ Andrei Felix and they were together in the US?

"Honestly, wala akong lovelife at all. I also heard na nasa US si Andrei but its impossible for us to see each other kasi nasa San Francisco ako and he was in New York daw. Ang layo noon sa isat isa. Andrei and I are friends pero dahil sa mga tsismis at intriga sa amin, naaapektuhan na ang friendship namin. Kawawa naman yung tao."

In "One Night Only," Jen plays a starlet whose lesbian manager, Manilyn Reynes, wants to bed her. She is taken to a motel where they meet a gay manager, Chokoleit, who also wants to bed his ward, Joross Gamboa. In the end, they exchange partners, with Jen ending up with Joross and Mane, with Chokoleit.

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Present at the presscon of "Shake Rattle & Roll X" was Roxanne Guinoo, who turned off a lot of writers when she was so evasive during the films pictorial. Shes more open now. "Maluwag na po ang dibdib ko ngayon," she says.

Is she ready to fall in love again?

"Id rather not. Its better to just focus on my career. Ive set personal goals since work in showbiz is not forever. I want to save a certain amount of money by the time Im 24 para may fallback ako. Kaysa sayangin ko oras ko sa love affair, buti pang future ko na lang ang pagtuunan ko ng pansin, di ba po?"

Did she develop a phobia after Jake?

"I dont know. What I know is ayoko na talagang pag-usapan si Jake. Kung anuman ang naging problema naming dalawa, sa amin na lang po yun. I admit we dont talk, hindi kami nagkikita, kasi hindi naman kailangang may communication kami. Okay na ako, kaya huwag na natin siyang ungkatin pa, please. Im just happy na tuloy-tuloy ang trabaho ko and, as much as possible, gusto kong tumagal in the industry that Ive grown to love. Basta trabaho lang nang trabaho. I dont even expect na magbida uli. Gusto ko tuloy-tuloy lang since this is my source of income."

So it wont be a blue Christmas for her?

"Not at all kasi kumpleto nga ang family namin. My father and sister who work in Saudi are both back home for Christmas kayahappy kami. Sabik na ko sa kanila and I look forward to spending the holidays with them. Honestly, hindi ko hinahanap ang love life at all."

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Former teen stars Lovely Rivero and Shyr Valdez both started in 1984 in showbiz and they remained good friends since then. Lovely has two kids with businessman Nacy Nocum, a boy now 22 years old and a 19-year old girl, both in college. Shes separated from Nacy but theyre in good terms. "We were just together at the birthday party of our son on Dec. 10," she says. "Im really happy active pa rin ako sa showbiz. Im in ABS-CBNs Dragonna with Shaina Magdayao, I have a talk show, She-Ka, on NBN 4 Thursday and Friday at 8 a.m. and I just finished three new movies."

Shyr, the daughter of then producer Cherry Cobarrubias, has four kids aged 20, 17, 13, and 10. "But Im not married," she laughs. "They have different fathers. I got offers of marriage naman but I dont know, I guess Im just not the marrying kind. Im just happy na mababait lahat ng anak ko. Only two have communication with their dads, the second and third. The first and the fourth, di na namin nakita ang mga anino. Hindi naman sila naghahanap ng ama kasi kumpleto ang suporta ng mom and dad ko sa amin."

Together, they formed the all-female group Babae last June. "Kasi nag-iisip kami what else we can do and since we both sing, we formed ngaBabae and invited friends Glenda Garcia and Jen Umali to join us," says Shyr. "Our first show in Teatrino Greenhills on July 18 was such a hit so we had a repeat on Aug. 9 at Mandarins Captains Bar. Nanood doon si Gov. Jade Ecleo of Dinagat Islands off Surigao and she liked the show so much she invited us to do a show in her place. During the show, we asked her to sing with us and she did. Ang ganda pala ng boses and also a good dancer kasi former member siya in Manila ng Amadeus Band at ng Bayanihan. So we asked her to be part of our next show, Babae Stronger, to be shown at the Music Museum, December 18, Thursday, at 9 p.m."

Their repertoire consists of hit songs from the 60s to the present. Tickets are available at Music Museum or call/text 0917-535-2557.

Proceeds of of "Babae Stronger" will go to the Jade Ecleo Foundation, Inc. and Sikap Bata. A special guest in the show is Gov. Ecleo herself, a good-looking mestiza beauty who became controversial because of her alleged involvement in the alleged hostaging of Jean Garcia in Surigao last year.

"I really dont know why she invented such stories about us," she says. "Kesyo na-hostage daw siya against her will. The truth is siya ang nagprisinta sa akin na pupunta siya sa Dinagat for my birthday. Pagdating niya roon, hindi naman siya nag-perform. People were asking her to sing, pero hindi niya pinagbigyan. Hanggang kaway-kaway lang siya. Nagulat na lang ako nang nawala na siya and I was informed later na lasing na lasing daw at may mga iba nang kasama. I just felt bad na kung anuman ang ginawa nila, nadamay pa kami."

Will she be willing to talk again with Jean?

"What for? After what she did to us? Yun pala, may movie lang siyang ipo-promote that time, Hide and Seek ba yun? Ginamit pa kami."

A single mom like the members of "Babae," Gov. Jade is excited to do a special number in their "Babae Stronger" concert which is produced by their friend Emmelee Mercado Coronel.

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MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando invited the press to the turnover of P300,000, part of his winnings from "Celebrity Duets," to Child Haus, a foundation for sick children (mostly ofh cancer) at the Quezon Institute grounds initiated by the generous philanthropist, Ricky Reyes. It was also a Christmas party for the press where writers played games and won big prizes in a raffle.

BF really wears many hats. Aside from being MMDA chairman, hes also head of the Metro-Manila Filmfest committee for six years now to raise funds for charitable projects led by the Mowelfund. MMFFs financial highlights record an all-time high in gross receipts under BFs tenure since 2002, doubling even tripling the amount listed in the records even in the first year which amounted to P315,299,233.05 as against the previous years P147,731,964.00. In 2006, MMFF recorded the highest gross at P415,824,324.70 which has yet to be surpassed. Last years gross, was P377,305,615.65. "I really take my job here seriously and I want to serve more and more people in the industry through this prestigious festival," he said.

Source: Malaya