Dayanara: 'The Philippines will always be my second home'

Former Ms. Puerto Rico and Ms. Universe Dayanara Torres breezed into town last week for a short visit. She was tapped to be image model and endorser of Beverly Hills 6750 Surgery and Skin Clinic Institute owned by the couple David Bunevacz and Jessica Rodriguez.

Dayanara warmed the hearts of the press people who attended the launch when she greeted them in Pilipino. "Magandang hapon po sa inyong lahat," spoke the former beauty queen who stayed in the Philippines after her reign as Miss Universe to do movies and host TV shows. That was eight years ago. When asked who are the people she has missed, she mentioned Cesar Montano, Gary Valenciano, Aga Muhlach (whom she worked with in the movies), her former co-hosts in ASAP namely Pops Fernandez, Martin Nievera and Ariel Rivera.

Dayanara lived in the Philippines for five years and it's common knowledge that she and Aga had a relationship. They almost got married. It's okay for her to work with Aga depending on the project. If there would be a good one, she would love to come back here. Last Sunday, she flew back to Los Angeles where she has been based.

She has resumed her acting career, and next month her new TV show titled "Watch Over Me" will make its debut on MYNetwork, a division of FOX TV. Three years ago, she did the soap opera "The Young and the Restless" where she had a recurring role. Also tried theater when she did "Cinderella" and "Peter Pan."

She considers the Philippines her second home and she only had wonderful memories here. Hopefully, when she comes back, she could bring her two sons, Christian Anthony, 5, and Bryan, 3. She had been divorced from her husband Marc Anthony and she begged off from talking about him.

"That's already old news about me. I've moved on. I've respect him. He's the father of my kids," was Dayanara's answer to questions about her ex-husband.

Kubrador, top winner at Cinemanila

The Jeffrey Jeturian film "Kubrador," starring Ms. Gina Pareño and produced by MLR Films, was a top winner at the World Cinema section of the 8th Cinemanila International Film Festival, which ends today.

The film was awarded the Lino Brocka Award during ceremonies held Saturday at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañang with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in attendance.

It was the first time that the Philippines won the top prize at the Cinemanila International Film Festival in its eight-year history. Direk Jeturian feels greatly honored with the win. "Kubrador" is competing at the 33rd Brussels International Festival of Independent Films.

"Representing the country in Cinemanila is an honor in itself," MLR executive producer Joji Alonso told The Freeman via an SMS. "Winning an international award in one's own country is an even greater honor."

"Kubrador," which recounts three days in the life of a jueteng (illegal numbers game) bet collector, has been earning awards and accolades abroad, including best film and best actress (for star Gina Pareño) at the Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian Cinema held in July in New Delhi, India.

The digital movie has so far participated in 25 festivals.

Other winners in the World Cinema section were: Jury Prize, Stanley Kwan's "Everlasting Regret" from Hong Kong; Best Actor, Alexei Chadov, "9th Company" from Russia; and Best Actress, Lee Yeong-Ae, "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" from Korea.

Lee is the star of the popular Korean soap opera, "Jewel in the Palace."

The Lifetime Achievement Award for the Promotion of Asian Cinema were conferred on Philip Cheah of Singapore and Aruna Vasudev of India.

The Digital Lokal competition, on the other hand, was topped by Brillante Mendoza's "Manoro," which also brought home the best director prize. "Manoro" tells the story of an Aeta girl who teaches her tribe's elders how to read and write in preparation for a presidential election.

"It feels great to be acknowledged by fellow Filipinos and a jury led by [Cannes exec] Christian Jeune," said direk Dante Mendoza.

The best actress award went to Maricel Soriano for "Numbalikdiwa" and best actor to Archie Adamos for "Raket ni Nanay."

"I'm very happy," Maricel said, who added that winning in the Cinemanila is a big honor.

Other winners were: Best Short, Janus Victoria's "Hopia Express"; Best Documentary, Tomer Hermann's "Paper Dolls" (Israel); Ishmael Bernal Award for Young Cinema, Jon Steffan Ballesteros' "The Ballad of Mimiong's Minion," and Jury Prize, Khavn de la Cruz's "Squatter Punk".

The Audience Favorite Award went to Briccio Santos' "Anino ng Setyembre" and Bobby Bonifacio Jr.'s "Numbalikdiwa."

Regine's mysterious BF

When she met the press during the promo of "Till I Met You," Regine said she has had a boyfriend for four years now. But nobody knew about the guy. If it's really true, then it's really amazing how she has managed to keep her boyfriend away from the prying eyes of the media. With how press people get wind of stories in showbiz, it's amazing how Regine was able to keep the identity of her "boyfriend" a secret.

While rumors continue to link Ogie to Regine, the songwriter and the songbird were quick to parry insinuations that there's more to them than being friends and business partners (they recently launched their Indie Records). But the rumors continue to persist.

We learned from a source that in Ogie's recent trip to Japan, he was overheard talking to somebody on the phone, whom he called George. Isn't George the name of the dog owned by Regine? Our source put one and one together and concluded that George is probably the code name that Regine and Ogie have been using to communicate to each other.

So could it be that Ogie is the secret boyfriend of Regine?