Juday: Angel welcome to go to ABS-CBN

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Dream Factory

One of the most durable marriages in local showbiz is that of Barbara Perez and Robert Arevalo. "We?ve been married for 45 years," says Barang, who was then tagged as the local Audrey Hepburn.

She has aged gracefully and still looks beautiful in her mid-60?s. She has just finished a new film with Robert, "Gulong," an entry in the Cinemalaya Filmfest which will have it gala presentation at the CCP this Sunday at 12:45 noon. The movie is written by Jeanne Lim and directed by Sockie Fernandez, a TV commercial director.

Barang and Robert have two daughters, Anna (who also directs TV commercials) and Georgina, who?s married to Jojo Villaignacio, a cousin of Rowell and Randy Santiago. Gina and Jojo have two kids, a girl who?s 12 and studies at St. Paul and a boy, Anton, 9 on July 18, who?s the apple of Barang?s eyes.

Barang says she was initially reluctant to accept "Gulong." "When my daughter Anna told me it?s indie, sabi ko, ayoko nga. Sanay ako samainstream movies that give the viewers their money?s worth. She said I should talk to the director muna and when Sockie explained to me her vision about the film, then I agreed and I?m now very satisfied with it."

"Gulong" can be pronounced fast to mean a "wheel" or you can place the stress on the first syllable to mean "roll." "It tells two parallel stories," says Direk Sockie (and we?re glad to have another female director). "First is set in the present, the story of three boys who are friends who want to buy a bike from an old woman, Tita Maggie, played by Barbara. The other story is set in the past and narrated by Barbara. It?s her unrequited love story about their gardener which is told in flashbacks, with Ina Feleo, the daughter of Laurice Guillen and Johnny Delgado as the young Barbara, and Gardo Versoza as the young Robert Arevalo. The bicycle connects the past to the present and becomes a catalyst for healing old wounds and reviving a love affair that has been left for dead. ?Gulong? is a film about love, life and friendship that will surely touch viewers of all ages."

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As Optical Media Board (OMB) chairman, Edu Manzano takes pride in the fact that malls that used to be notorious for selling pirated videos are now clean, like Virra Mall, One Greenhills, Metropolis Mall and St. Francis Square. What alarms him now is the rampant sale of child pornography videos. His manager, June Torrejon, told Edu that such materials are being sold freely in Makati Cinema Square and he immediately raided the place. In a presscon at Annabel?s, Edu presented the videos they?ve confiscated and they?re really shocking, revolting, sickening. We challenge you to stand the sight of a 3-year-old girl being forced to put a male organ in her mouth. The people who make such perverted videos are really sick and should be locked up.

Edu and his companions at the OMB, Atty. Rosendo Meneses and Mr. Cyrus Valenzuela, now invoke R.A. 7610 that empower ordinary citizens to file cases of child abuse and selling obscene materials, both criminal violations, against those who peddle this kind of smut.

"I want to ask those who sell this kind of video: have you no shame?" says Edu. "What?s happening to our society, to our morals? We are starting this campaign by calling on all responsible parents and those enraged by the open availability of child porno to join us against the spread of this garbage. I?m also calling on the church. Makati Cinema Square is almost next to Don Bosco school and church, why do they allow this to be sold in a place where even their students can go freely? This is being sold even in the parking lot of the Redemptorist Church in Baclaran. What are the priests doing about it? We want to call on the CBCP, the Bantay Bata and other NGO?s to join us in our drive against the sale of videos featuring child abuse and molestation, which is the lowest, basest form of pornography. You don?t know what we experience in our raids. The guards of Makati Cinema Square gang up on us, they lock us up inside the mall para hindi kami makalabas. The owners say they have no knowledge that porno is being sold in their malls, so we took photos and they can no longer feign ignorance as all evidence has been gathered. We also call on all people to boycott places or malls that sell these videos. Sa ibang mallsna lang kayo magpunta to show our protest against this practice."

If you want to join Edu in this campaign, you can sign up a letter of protest they?ve written about this. We ourselves and many other writers have signed it. You can call the Optical Media Board at 373-6830 and 374-1393.

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Carlo Aquino gives an impressive performance in a bad boy role as the rapist of Valerie Concepcion in the hit "Sine Novela," "Sinasamba Kita." Didn?t he have any qualms playing a villain role? "No," he says at the launching of his band Kollide?s first album. "I really enjoyed playing such an offbeat role to show I can do other kinds of roles at hindi pang-good boys lang."

He might win another acting award for his baddie role, but he says he?s no longer than concerned about winning more trophies for acting since he has already won so many even as a child actor. "Gusto ko naman ngayon, ma-recognizeako as a singer. Bata pa ako, first time kong humawak ng gitara, I really felt gusto kong magbanda at gumawa ng kanta. Now, heto na, our album has 12 great songs, with me as the vocalist and guitarist."

Carlo?s companions in Kollide are Aldwin on drums, Aldo on bass, Edward on guitars, and Wai on the keyboards. They play light alternative music and we?d say that among actors who have their own band, Carlo?s band has the best songs we?ve heard so far. The catchy first single, "Alaala," is co-written by Carlo himself with Aldwin. Given the right airplay, it could be a big hit.

"Our goal with this album is makilala muna kami ng masaso we came up with songs that tell stories they can easily identify with. Later on, we can try a higher level of alternative music with more intellectual content."

The other accessible songs in their album are "Bolero," "Basehan," "Salvation," "Habang Nasa Lupa," "Panaginip," "Kayong Dalawa," "Amag," "Doubts in My Sky," "Make You Stay," "Isip," and "Para Sa?Yo."

Kollide is apparently a band with a plan and they?re on a strike mode, so we won?t be surprised if they?d win you over. What can Carlo say about his ex-girlfriend Angelica Panganiban finding a new boyfriend in Derek Ramsay?

"Okay lang ?yun with me. I?m glad nga umamin na sila. Wala naman kaming problema ni Angelica kasi we parted as friends and may communication pa rin kami. We belong to the samebarkada nina Ketchup Eusebio and other people at lumalabas pa rin kamias friends every now and then. Later this month, magkasama ni Angelat ?Pinoy Dream Academy? stars sa isang concert tour sa New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. in the U.S. But as for me, zero pa rin ang lovelife ko after Maja Salvador told me to stop courting her as she wants to focus on her career. Natatawa nga ako dahil sabi sa?kin noon, kapag nasa banda ka raw, marami kang chicks. E, bakit wala pa rin akong bagong chick?"

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No doubt Judy Ann Santos is the brightest female star at the ABS-CBN camp that?s why it?s obvious the network doesn?t feel enthusiastic each time she does a project with GMA, like "Ouija." What can she say now that GMA?s biggest female star, Angel Locsin, is said to be moving over to ABS?

"She?s most welcome to go to ABS," she says. "Wala namang masama kung lilipat man siya kung tapos na nga ang contract niya sa GMA-7. It could be she just wants to experience working in another studio."

It?s said the reason Angel wants to move to ABS-CBN is to follow her ex-boyfriend, Oyo Sotto, who transferred to ABS early this year after appearing in several afternoon soaps on GMA. But one of the first projects she might do is not a show with Oyo but with Piolo Pascual since their pairing as endorsers in some commercials clicked well with the public.

But honestly, we believe that if ever Angel would leave, it would generate much negative publicity on her part since everyone knows GMA-7 was the one who gave her the break and built her up. And they really took good care of her, giving her one top rated show after another, to make sure she?d have no reason to leave. In the eyes of the public, she?d appear as an ingrate.

Source: Malaya