Robin, Mariel take their romance to the big screen

Star Cinema is releasing the movie “Tum (My Pledge of Love),” the first project together of Robin Padilla and his beautiful wife Mariel Rodriguez, which was shot in India. The action star directed the movie himself which also features his daughter Queenie Padilla and “Pinoy Big Brother” winner Ejay Falcon. But Robin wouldn’t want to take sole credit for directorial job, saying he had co-directors like his writer Jigz Recto, who helped him put the film together. It was also not him who directed the sweet moments of Queenie and Ejay in the film, saying that the father in him might not be able to do it well so he asked another member of the production to handle the scenes. But when Robin saw the rushes, he requested for more sweet moments between Queenie and Ejay. Robin said he had not immediately thought of doing a movie with Mariel. The idea only came to him after he went to India to do a pictorial for his magazine “Idol” and then Mariel followed suit. He then thought of a story that would best fit his whirlwind romance with Mariel.

Robin and Mariel first met in May of last year on the now-defunct ABS-CBN noontime show “Wowowee” after the former filled in for its then main host, Willie Revillame. TV viewers have since then been witness to the progress of their love story which resulted to a secret wedding in the Taj Mahal in India last August.

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The Entertainment Press Society (ENPRESS) and C3 (Celebrity Camera Club) in cooperation with the provincial government of Albay held a very successful relief operation last week (February 24 to 26. ENPRESS and C3 brought relief goods to a relocation site that was chosen by the MSWD (the Albay chapter of DSWD).The people from ENPRESS and C3 had the chance to meet the dynamic Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda of Albay who spoke of his numerous projects for his constituents. We learned that Gov. Salceda had been sending poor but deserving students to college. He has quite a number of scholars. The good governor believes education is the best legacy one can give to a person since it shapes his character and prepares him for the future.Besides, Gov. Salceda said, he no longer wants his province to be remembered as the favorite recruitment place for maids or kasambahays. “Kung nakapag-aral na ang isang tao, mas magiging mataas na ang kanyang ambisyon sa buhay at hindi na niya iisipin na hanggang pagiging isang kasambahay lang ang puwede niyang marating,” said the governor. Gov. Salceda is also the one responsible for the relocation of a number of families who were living near the foot of Mayon Volcano. These people lost their homes and livelihood after the thypoon that struck Bicol. The timely decision of the governor to relocate the families resulted to zero casualties. He also allocated a budget for rice which was given to the affected families. The province is now preparing for the Magayon Festival, which is one of the biggest festivals in Albay. It is also one of their major tourist attractions aside from Mayon Volcano. The Magayon Festival has street dancing, show bands, sports competition, fireworks display and a beauty contest. It’s a celebration of everything grand in Albay – Mayon volcano, history, culture, trade and nature. It was an exciting three days that our group spent in Albay. We will do more stories about our trip in succeeding columns. Thank you to Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda and his staff for their hospitality and warm welcome.

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Director Wenn Deramas is thankful to Eugene Domingo. Even if Eugene can be considered a big star in her own right, she never fails to grant the request of Direk Wenn whenever he has a role meant for the award-winning actress. She doesn’t mind doing a supporting role even if she has had a solo starrer. “Eugene is a real artist. She wouldn’t mind accepting a role as long as she likes it. That’s why I always look forward to working with her. I also think of her whenever I have a project in mind. Naiisip ko agad na baka may bagay na role kay Eugene sa movie na puwede kong ibigay sa kanya,” said Direk Wenn. In his latest movie “Who’s That Girl,” starring Anne Curtis and Luis Manzano, Eugene plays the role of Luis’ mom who was driven out of her wits when a young woman shows up at the wake of her husband and made a scene. “Kung mangyayari iyon sa totoong buhay, baka mabaliw din ako,” she said of her role in “Who’s That Girl.” Adding to her agony is when the girl (whom she suspects is her husband’s mistress) became the girlfriend of her son. “Who’s That Girl” is now released in theaters nationwide. The movie is produced by Viva Films and SMDC.