More cases against Gabby

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Freehand

Gabby Concepcion pleaded not guilty to the bigamy charge against him that was archived when he went to the U. S. in 1995.

It was revived now that he's back home.

This is because he married Sharon Cuneta in 1984 when he was already married to a certain Jenny Martin in the U. S. He attended the arraignment with his lawyer, Ed Flaminiano (husband of his manager Mommy Rose) at the sala of Judge Jansen Rodriguez in Manila RTC Branch 6. Gabby posted a P12,000 bail a few days after he returned from the U. S. , but the prosecutor requested that the amount be raised to P24,000. Aside from the bigamy case, Gabby has another court case for falsification of public documents for which he paid a P6,000 bail at the sala of Judge Marlo Malagar of the Manila MTC Branch 5. His arraignment for this case is scheduled on April 30.

Meantime, writer Jobert Sucaldito is sore at Gabby and Mommy Rose for reneging on their earlier commitment to him that Gabby will be the new endorser of Met Tathione, which was brokered by Jobert. What Jobert didn't know was that Gabby and Mommy Rose backed out from their deal when he got a bigger offer from a competing brand. Gabby has found a new detractor in Jobert who says he has no word of honor. Gabby should avoid gaining more foes as this does not augur well for his comeback. Talk about starting on bad vibes and a negative note.

AN OFFER DIFFICULT TO RESIST FOR HEART

GMA-7 called for a presscon last Wednesday afternoon to make a special announcement. "We are happy to introduce our new Kapuso, Heart Evangelista," says GMA exec Wilma Galvante. "With her is her manager, her father Mr. Rey Ongpauco, and co-manager, Annabelle Rama. She's signing a two-year contract with us. She'll be officially welcomed in 'S. O. P. ' this Sunday then she'll be cast as Richard Gutierrez' leading lady in his next show, 'Asero', to be partly filmed in Dubai. "

So why did she move to GMA? "It's my parents' choice, " says Heart. "My dad told me, 'Bati na tayo'. And now he's handling my career na. One has to follow his heart, but sometimes, we have to follow our parents. As for Tita Annabelle, she's a friend of our family. I grew up seeing her attending the Ongpauco parties so I'm comfortable with her. I'll always feel thankful to ABS for I started my career with them. Nagpaalam naman kami sa kanila nang maayos. My mom called them up to say it's time for me to grow, experience other things and work with other actors. GMA also made an offer that is difficult to resist. At first, urong-sulong pa ako, but it's my dad who said: Gawin na natin ito. "

Annabelle Rama later revealed she was the one who acted as mediator for Heart to sign up with GMA-7. "Wala naman siyang assignment sa kabila. I told her sa GMA, she'll be paired with Richard in his next project, tapos she'll be in 'SOP' and she'll do movies with GMA Films. Up to the last minute, sumakay ako sa kotse nila to make sure she'll come here sa GMA to sign up with them. The first time Richard almost left GMA, in 2004, he was offered by ABS to be Heart's leading man in 'Hiram', but GMA didn't let him go so we stayed. Doon nga ibinigay sa kanya ang 'Mulawin'. "

What if viewers think she's an "ingrata" like Angel Locsin? "Hindi mangyayari yun kasi wala naman siyang ginagawa sa ABS. Tumamlay rin ang career niya dahil naging suwail siya sa parents niya. Si Angel, alagang-alaga ng GMA, tapos nagsinungaling pa siyang hindi lilipat, tapos biglang lumipat kaya nagalit sa kanya ang taong bayan. What Heart needs now are good projects para sumigla uli ang career niya and GMA is ready to give her that. "

When she was still managed by Angeli Pangilinan of Genesis, they made an attempt for her to transfer to GMA along with Jericho but the deal didn't push through as they reportedly made some difficult demands. Now, she has finally moved to GMA, but with Annabelle managing her. Is Angeli mad at her now that she left her in favor of Annabelle? "Hindi naman. I see her in church every Sunday and we're okay. "

How about Jericho Rosales? Have they split? "No. We're far apart only because he's working in Malaysia and I'm working here, but we're still together. We're busy in achieving our own dreams. He's happy for me with my move to GMA. For him naman, whatever makes me happy, doon siya. And it's okay naman for us to miss each other for sometime, para when we see each other again, it'll be a fresh start once more. "

AGA MOVES TO NEW SLOT

Aga Muhlach got to meet Gabby Concepcion at the trade launch of ABS-CBN in Makati and they were very warm to each other, confirming Aga's earlier statement that he's not at all threatened by Gabby's comeback. Aga went to the trade launch to announce to advertisers that his show, "That's My Doc," will now be seen in an earlier day and time slot starting this Saturday at 6 p. m. It used to be aired on Sundays at 10 p. m. and kid viewers can't watch it anymore. Aga's former show, "Oki Doki Doc," used to be aired on Saturdays and it was a hit so we won't be surprised if "That's My Doc" will now rate higher.

"People often tell us their kids want to watch the show but since it's shown on late Sunday night, it's already past their bedtime as they have classes the next day," says Aga. "Now, in our new time slot, we're targetting family viewing so we also added more child actors in the cast. "

Aside from Celine Lim as Butching, the new tot stars are Jairus Aquino of "Kung Fu Kids," Sophia Baars of "Princess Sara," and Bronson, the dark toothy boy discovered by Joey Reyes and played Judy Ann Santos' half-brother in "Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo" and "Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo". It's easy to see that Bronson comes from a deprived family. His real name is Carlo Balmaceda and it was Joey Reyes who rechristened him as Bronson. He's already 12 years but he's smaller than the three other kids in the show who are 8 to10 years old. With him now earning on his own, we hope he'll soon get the right nourishment. Bronson guested in "That's Okay Doc" some weeks ago and the feedback is so positive that they decided to make him a regular.

Aga is unique in local showbiz these days as he's the only one who does drama and romance in the movies and comedy on TV. "I enjoy doing both comedy and drama and I'm really grateful to the public for accepting me in both genres. "

In "That's My Doc", he plays a pediatrician who plans to put up his own clinic for kids aided by his girlfriend Greta (Lara Quigaman) and her aunt Ocs (Nova Villa. ) Aga's antagonist Major Ret (Roderick Paulate) is a closet gay who offers him a site for his clinic, a move that is aimed to help him win in the coming barangay election. The show won as best sitcom in the last USTv Annual Student's Choice Awards for imparting good moral values to the youth. It's now part of ABS-CBN's Sabado Guwapo line up, along with Cinema FPJ, "Kapitan Boom" with Jon Avila, and Luis Manzano in "PBB Teen Plus. "

RICHARD, LUCY RENEW WEDDING VOWS

Richard Gomez and Lucy Torres tied the knot in 1998 and unlike other showbiz marriages that quickly crumbled, they're still happily together after 10 years. They'll celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary today in Lucy's show on Q 11, "The Sweet Life. " They'll take a trip down memory lane as they return to the exact location where Richard proposed to Lucy. Photos from the TV commercial where they first met will also be shown, plus some of the couple's private secrets revealed by their closest friends and family members.

Their daughter Juliana, now 8, will give them a surprise present that she herself prepared, along with Lucy's mom, Mrs. Julie Torres, who flew from Ormoc to greet them personally. Those who'll help reminisce about their wedding are Archbishop Dean who officiated on their wedding and who'll now renew their vows, and Henny Sison, who'll bake a smaller version of the wedding cake she originally made for them.

Joining Richard and Lucy on this important occasion is another couple who also celebrates their 10th anniversary, Ariel Rivera of "Kamandag" and Gelli de Belen of "Sis. " Sharing their romantic love story through songs, Ariel and Gelli will also be receiving a couple of surprises " a special gift from their sons and an exact replica of their matrimonial cake courtesy of Penk Ching, so don't miss "The Sweet Life" tonight at 6 on Q 11.

CESAR HOSTS NEW SINGING CONTEST

Cesar Montano is currently seen twice on ABS-CBN's Primetime Bida. He acts in "Palos," which is endingtonight, and he hosts the new singing game show, "The Singing Bee. " He's perfect as the host of "Singing Bee" as he's a singer himself and has his own album with Star Records.

"I'm glad to host a show like this kasi tayong mga Pinoy, mahihilig talaga kumanta," he says. "Dito, mahahasa uli ang pagkanta ko. I was just in grade school when my mom bought me a guitar. Pero natuto ako, teenager na ako kasi all my friends were playing the guitar. Kahit sintunado ka man o pangit ang boses mo, you can join 'Singing Bee' dahil ang importante dito, tama lahat ng lyrics mo. "

"It's really great to see this lighter side of Cesar which people rarely see on television. This is something to watch out for in the show," shared executive producer Carla Burwell. "He's the counterpart of the U. S. version's host, former N'Sync member Joey Fatone. "

Cesar admits he enjoys every moment hosting the show especially when he sees his audience having a great time, singing and dancing in the studio. A franchise from Zeal Entertainment, "The Singing Bee" is a fun and exciting, family-oriented game show. A live band called the Bandble Bee, headed by musical director Mel Villena, plays every tune as sexy dancers, the Honeybees, groove to it. Just like a quiz bee, players will have to hurdle several rounds before making it as a Singing Bee Champion.

We've seen the first few episodes and it's very entertaining to see celebrities Derek Ramsay, Jodi Sta. Maria, Bayani Agbayani, Mickey Ferriols, Keana Reeves, Valerie Concepcion, Heart Evangelista, Jay-R Siaboc, Tado, Jamie Joaquin, Brod Pete, Mariel Rodriguez, Onyok Velasco, Long Mejia, Lara Quigaman, Andrew E and Pooh compete with each other.

Source: People's Journal