No such luck for Richard Gomez in politics?

Plus: PBB BIG WINNER MELAI IS A NATURAL COMIC

Judy Ann Santos is “deeply hurt” after Sen. Jamby Madrigal denied that the actress played a key role in her victory in the 2007 elections.

Juday admitted she would have kept her lips sealed concerning the issue, but “I had to answer because I want everyone to know how I feel.”

“I was deeply hurt when she said she regrets getting my services,” Juday confided to reporters last week. “I sincerely believed that she got my services because she actually believed in me and it was a sincere offer.”

Now she regrets having accepted the offer to endorse the senator’s campaign.

Senator Madrigal, who is running for the presidency, made the comment shortly after she lashed out at her rivals who had celebrity endorsers to boost their campaign.

The experience has left Juday wary about accepting offers to endorse politicians. “If I’m going to campaign for someone, I’ll do it in my own silent way.”

She also refused to deny or confirm the buzz that the senator didn’t pay her talent fee in full. “I can’t answer that because as an artist, I just did my job. When it comes to financial matters, it is best to ask Tito Alfie (Lorenzo, her talent manager).”

Besides, Juday added, “not all actors are motivated only by money.”

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Richard Gomez’s quest for a congressional seat has fallen into a deep rut. Last week, the Commission on Elections disqualified the actor as a candidate for congressman in Ormoc City in Leyte after ruling that he failed the residency requirement. The Comelec upheld the claim of an ex-barangay chairman in Ormoc that Gomez is not a bona fide resident of Ormoc because he lives in East Greenhills in Quezon City.

Goma has been saying all along that he has spending a lot of time in Leyte, the home province of his wife, Lucy Torres, for the last three years. He suspects his political rival is behind the efforts to disqualify him.

Goma said he will appeal the Comelec ruling.

It is not the first time the actor has tried his luck in politics. He lost when he ran for the Senate in 2007. Six years earlier he was disqualified as a party-list representative after the Comelec ruled that his party was being secretly funded by the government.

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It was an offer he could not resist. So now Ricky Lo, the Philippine Star’s entertainment editor, becomes the latest showbiz celeb to join TV5, the network of business mogul Manny V. Pangilinan.

Most likely, Tito Ricky will be joined by Ryan Agoncillo and Georgina Wilson in an entertainment program being cooked up by TV5.

The network is all-out in beefing up its line-up to give ABS-CBN and GMA-7 a run for their money. It’s already bagged Dolphy, Maricel Soriano and a slew of other A-list stars.

So who’s next, MVP?

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I’ve got to hand it to Melai Cantiveros, Pinoy Big Brother’s Big Winner. She’s a natural comic. She has the looks, the moves and the attitude of a comedian. Showbiz writers found this out when we sat down with her and the other PBB finalists last week. But there were other aspects about Melai that surprised us. She said she was an English teacher. If there’s any part of her body she wants fixed, it’s her gap tooth. And yes, she’s not a virgin anymore.

She admitted she’s had at least 10 boyfriends but most of them were no more than textmates. Whenever she meets them for the first time and there’s no chemistry, she dismisses them with the line, “Let’s just meet again in the afterlife.”

Right now housemate Jason is the love of her life. And that’s for real, not reel. She even got jealous when Jason’s fans mobbed and kissed him during their first appearance together after they left the reality show.