Manay Lolit: Mark a womanizer, Yasmien a liar

Column: Freehand
Author: Mario E. Bautista

MANAY Lolit Solis took the lie detector test in the special first anniversary presentation of "Showbiz Central" last Sunday. She earlier vowed to tell nothing but lies only, to make sure host John Lapus will be dancing a lot and tire himself out. The first question was: Kinuha mo ba talaga ang cellphone na prize sa Flawless launching ni Richard Gutierrez? Her answer was no. She was indeed lying and so John had to dance. She later admitted she did get it.

Nagpaparamdam nga ba si Rosanna Roces sa iyo na gusto na niyang bumalik sa GMA-7? She said yes and again, it's a lie, so John danced again. Nagkagusto ka ba talaga kay Joey de Leon noong classmates pa kayo in elementary? She said yes but it turned out she's not lying and she's telling the truth. May time ba na humigit sa pagiging talent manager mo ang love mo for Gabby Concepcion? She said yes and again, the lie detector said she's telling the truth.

Nambababae nga ba si Mark Herras kaya nag-split sila ni Jennylyn Mercado? Her answer was yes and again, she's not lying but telling the truth. Totoo ba that Yasmien Kurdi is just lying about her being a vegetarian? She says yes and once more, it's the truth. Kaya ka ba nag-retract sa statement mo against Piolo Pascual and Sam Milby ay dahil masyadong malayo ang Manila courts mula sa bahay mo? She said no and it's a lie so John had to dance once again.

In summary, with her "truth" answers, Manay Lolit admitted that she was really in love then with Joey de Leon and Gabby Concepcion, that her ward Mark Herras is a womanizer and that her other ward Yasmien Kurdi is a liar who falsely claims that she's a vegetarian.

ANNABELLE SHOULD WIN AS BEST CHILD ACTRESS

LAST Sunday's edition of "Showbiz Central" was a big promo for the comedy movie, "My Monster Mom," and the new GMA-7 serial "Ako si Kim Sam Soon," which both had comedian Eugene Domingo in its cast.

Eugene paid tribute to "My Monster Mom" title roler Annabelle Rama (they play best friends in the movie) and said Annabelle should win an acting award, but for best child actress. Later she grilled Regine Velasquez, who's dressed ala-Kim Sam Soon, in the Don't Lie To Me portion. Eugene plays Chef Dina in the show and we're sure she can give Regine a lot more tips about how to make the viewers LOL or laugh out loud.

Ramon Christopher took the Hot Seat and Central Jurors Rufa Mae Quinto and DJ Mo asked him questions about his ex-wife Lotlot de Leon, most of which he had already answered before, like he's not bothered anymore when Lotlot is linked with other guys, like her being linked now to Marco Alcaraz, her co-star in "Dyesebel. " He said he has no girlfriend at the moment and whenever he is free, he just spends time with their four kids.

Monching easily opted to reveal the killer question, which asked him if he really got drunk in a social event because he cannot accept that his marriage to Lotlot is already annulled. "That's not true as even before she filed for an annulment, napag-usapan na namin lahat 'yun kaya I was ready for it," he explains. "And two weeks before the final annulment came out, alam ko na rin 'yun kaya tanggap ko na talagang annulled na ang marriage namin, so bakit ako maglalasing?"

MARIAN A HIT IN TACLOBAN'S SANGYAW FESTIVAL

WE just returned from Tacloban City where we attended their Sangyaw Festival with colleagues Aster Amoyo, Ricky Lo, Nitz Miralles, Ricky Calderon and Dinno Erece, upon the invitation of Mayor Alfred Romualdez and wife (also councilor) Cristina "Kring Kring" Gonzalez, and noted L. A. -based concert producer Al Chu. Sangyaw is a Waray word that means "announcement. "

It used to be the annual festival in Tacloban until it was replaced by Pintados which is meant for the entire province of Leyte. The church requested Mayor Alfred to go back to Sangyaw, which is really a celebration of their fiesta for the Señor Sto. Niño on June 28-29. He then made it a grand affair, inviting contingents from other cities to join a nightly musical and cultural presentation at the Balyuan Amphitheatre and Tacloban Astrodome from Friday to Sunday and colorful parade on Sunday afternoon around the city. This will now be held yearly to rival the Ati-Atihan in Kalibo and Cebu's Sinulog.

Among the bands invited to perform were Calla Lily and 6 Cyclemind. Drum and bugle marching bands from Makati (with Mayor Jojo Binay), Marikina (with MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando and wife Marides), Cebu, Bacolod and other places joined the parade. All the dancers and musicians were wearing fabulous costumes complete with eye-catching headdresses, but the best performers were the Makati dancers.

It was a hot day but we watched the parade from the comfort of Kring Kring's Cristina Spa in downtown Tacloban. We were with former First Lady Mrs. Imelda Marcos and her younger brothers former Gov. Kokoy Romualdez and former Mayor Bejo Romualdez. Mrs. Marcos (who looks much younger than her brothers) went down to join the parade twice, with Mayor Binay then with Chairman Fernando.

It was earlier announced that Marian Rivera will join the parade so the people lined up on the streets starting at 12 noon. We were staying at Hotel Alejandro and we were there when Marian arrived. She was immediately besieged by fans calling her Marimar and Dyesebel. The street crowd's wild adulation as Marian passed them by during the parade was just unbelievable. Her Dyesebel float (with Marian standing up front waving at everyone while her manager Popoy Caritativo was several steps behind her at the kabibe throne where she was supposed to seat) was situated somewhere in the middle of the parade. Right after her float passed by, most of the crowds left.

We were in Tacloban from Saturday to Monday and we were able visit the MacArthur monument at Palo (where Gen. Douglas MacArthur returned during WWII), the San Juanico Bridge (when we looked down, we felt so sad because the water was full of garbage) and the Sto. Nino Shrine (a beautiful palatial home built by Mrs. Marcos with 13 fabulous guest rooms with individual motifs). We want to thank Mareng Aster for acting us our personal tourist guide as we traveled around the city. It was an enjoyable trip.

THE LIVES OF THE GONZALEZES

WHILE having lunch at Cristina's Spa, we got to talk to Kring Kring's mom, Charito Gonzalez, and we inquired about her other kids, Ana Margarita and Michael, who also joined showbiz once. "Ana is staying with us in our home in San Juan," she says. "She's still depressed after her two kids, a boy who's 7 and a girl who's 5, were suddenly taken by their father to Spain without her permission. But we haven't lost hope we'll still be reunited with her kids someday. As for Michael, he's doing good in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He's finished engineering there and is now married to a nurse. They have two kids. Our youngest naman, Joemari, own a radio station here. I'm really happy for Kring Kring as she has found happiness here in Tacloban with her husband. The people here welcomed her with open arms and now she wants to be of better service to them. "

Kring Kring really looks so happy as First Lady of Tacloban. She and Mayor Alfred have been married for 10 years and they have two pretty daughters, Sofia, 9, and Diana, 5. She remains so lovely and sexy just like during her heydays as one of the reigning sex symbols. Her skin is so smooth and radiant, probably because she has a happy and positive disposition.

LOLO VIC, LOLA DINA

CONGRATS to Danica Sotto and cager husband Marc Pingris. Danica had a successful date with the stork last Sunday at 11:40 a. m. and gave birth to a baby boy. They initially thought she'd have a normal delivery but a caesarean section had to be done on her as the baby is quite big at 8 lbs. plus. Because of this, she will have to stay longer in the hospital. Proud grandparents Vic Sotto and Dina Bonnevie were among the first to arrive at the hospital where Danica delivered her first born.

JUDAY, RYAN: NO WEDDING PLANS YET

CONTROVERSIAL Meralco endorser Judy Ann Santos arrived from her one-month vacation in Europe last Saturday along with fiance Ryan Agoncillo (they're now officially engaged although they say it'll be a long engagement as they have no plans yet of facing the altar soon. ) The first thing Juday did when she got here is to visit her manager, Alfie Lorenzo, who says he hasn't been officially informed yet of their engagement.

She and Ryan will only be staying here for a couple of days as they have to go back to France for the Paris Cinema filmfest where "Ploning" will be screened. From there, she will go to the U. S. to be a special guest in the "Eat Bulaga" special that will have a show in L. A. Upon her return, Mother Lily Monteverde wants her to finish the post-production work for the horror flick she completed with them, "Kulam," along with Dennis Trillo as this will be Regal's next release after "My Monster Mom" and "Loving You. "

BILLY A FUMBLING HOST

WE got to see "Pinoy Dream Academy" right inside our hotel room and nominated scholars Laarni of Sultan Kudarat and Inaki, the stage actor, got a reprieve as it was Chivas Malunda (the Rustom Padilla lookalike) who was sent out due to health reasons as he kept on hyperventilatingn. His wife Bunny Malunda was left behind to compete.

The three jurors who assessed the scholars were Louie Ocampo (resident juror), singer Isay Alvarez and musical director Gerard Salonga. Isay and Gerard were very tough on the scholars and gave them very low grades, compared to Girlie Rodis and Hajji Alejandro the weekend before who were more encouraging. As such, even the top three scholars got low grades. Liezel of Puerto Galera remains to be the top scholar of the week with 8. 87% for her rendition of "Count on Me. " The big surprise was Laarni (nominated then, top scholar now) who got 7. 70% with her compelling rendition of "As If We Never Said Goodbye" from "Sunset Blvd. " Bugoy of Bicol also impressed us with his fine version of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" that gave him 7. 73%.

The lowest grades where garnered by the four probie scholars: Bea (5. 03%), Jet (5. 00), Cris (4. 66 - honestly, we enjoyed her singing of "Come Together"), and Sheng (4. 36). Mentors Ryan Cayabyab, Joey Reyes, Kitchie Molina and Monet Silvestre chose to save Bea once again, just like last week. The scholars voted on who should be ousted and Jet got 10 votes while Sheng got 2 votes. They opted to save Cris, so now, viewers will have to text who they want to save between Jet and Sheng.

Here are the grades of the other scholars: Miguel- 6. 83%, Inaki - 6. 80, Apple 6. 73 (we enjoyed her "Through the Years"), Christian - 6. 23 (his "Bakit Labis Kitang Mahal" was quite mediocre), Sen - 5. 63, Ross - 5. 56, Van Fojas - 5. 40 (he should have put more heart into his rendition of "Next in Line"), Bunny - 5. 10.

Both groups also got GPA (general point average) lower than the passing mark of 7. 5. Once Voice got only 6. 3 while Pupilars got only 6. 18. That means they'll be getting only basic food supplies during the week like rice, bread and vegetables. Will they last with only these things to eat?

We just want to comment on Billy Crawford. We don't think his hosting of this show is doing him any good. He fumbles often and he pales in comparison to Toni Gonzaga who is really the host par excellence. His receding hairline remains to be a- not-so pleasant distraction and as our son says, he looks better when he's in hiphop get up. If someone would judge his hosting skills, we think he'd always land in the bottom two.

AWARDS SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY

THIS is an email about the recent Star Awards for Movies. From Cielito Della Sorrento from Loyola Gran Villas: "Naku, ha, napanood ko ang "Cute ng Ina Mo" ni Ai Ai De Las Alas at wala akong nakita roon kahit isang eksena para maging justified ang pananalo niya as best actress. Mukhang cartoons ang movie na 'yun at pati ang acting niya. Kaya wala na talagang credibility ang Star Awards na 'yan at laging kaduda-duda ang winners. Iisa lang ang totoong deserving sa winners nila, si Eugene Domingo for 'Pisay. " I'm sure hindi na misteryo kung bakit ang nanalong best pictures na "One More Chance" at ang "Confessional" from ABS Cinema One ay parehong gawa ng ABS-CBN. As you wrote in your column last Sunday, the Star Awards is ABS-CBN territory kaya naman sa ABS din ito ipinalabas. Mas credible ang winners ng Golden Screen Awards, lalo na ang "Pisay" for best picture na talaga namang makabagbag damdamin ang maraming tagpo. Kaya lang, bakit hindi televised ang Golden Screen? Ginawa lang ang awards nila sa Zirkoh Bar, a ang building ay kay Sen. Jinggoy Estrada raw na nanalo namang best comedy actor sa kanila. Magaling naman talaga si Jinggoy sa 'Katas ng Saudi', pero sana walang ganung factor para mas credible talaga. Sa Urian, sana naman, "Pisay" uli ang manalo dahil ito talaga ang mas deserving. "

To XM302, we read your letter which is also about the Star Awards but we can't print it as we think it's libelous. Our advice is not to take these award-giving bodies anymore that seriously.

Source: People's Journal