Angelo Castro Jr.'s final wish

One of Angelo Castro Jr.’s last requests before he passed away last Thursday was a popsicle.

And it wasn’t just a popsicle, according to his son Diego in an interview on ANC. The veteran news broadcaster specifically asked for orange twin popsicles. “It had to be orange, not chocolate, otherwise he would not eat it. That was last night. His mind was still very sharp,” Diego said.

Angelo, who had long anchored ABS-CBN’s The World Tonight, succumbed to lung cancer. His children and wife June Keithley were at his side during his last moments.

“We saw him through it. I must say it was very peaceful,” Diego said.

The broadcaster will be cremated on Friday.

June Keithley herself is battling cancer. She described what she was going through in an interview also on ANC with Tina Monzon Palma, who was Angelo’s co-anchor in The World Tonight.

June said she was diagnosed with cancer in 2009. Her breast “started to rot. The stench was terrible. I would tell the Lord, please, is this how it’s going to be?” she said.

Her hair began to fall in clumps because of the chemotherapy. But she held on, finding strength in her faith in God. “Let me tell you how wonderful God is. At that point He had taken away all the fear. At that point He had given me great peace. And I knew that He was in control.”

She also said that she has prepared everything for when it’s her turn to go, down to the smallest details like who will carry her casket. She left the instructions to her children.

“My kids, I just want to make sure they’re going to be okay. You’ll never be able to take that away from a mother,” she said.

The curious thing is that June kept her condition secret to everyone but her family and closest friends. Not even her colleagues at the Cinema Evaluation Board were aware of what she was going through. June had not attended the board’s latest screenings.

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The American Idol is down to its final seven contestants, and Filipino Mexican Jessica Sanchez is one of them. The 16-year-old got the judges’ nod with How Will I Know, her choice of a song from the Eighties. The viewers agreed with the judges and voted her in.

Getting to boot last week was the 17-year-old blond Californian, Deandre Brackensick.

A friend of mine who religiously follows American Idol says that if voice were the only criterion, Jessica would win hands down. “The problem is, it’s the contestant’s overall image that counts – the look, the stage presence. And Jessica at this point lacks the X factor. Right now she comes across as just a very talented young girl. She has to blossom into a very talented woman,” my friend says.

His pick to win? “Phillip Phillips. His voice is almost baritone, nothing exceptional. But he has the charisma, and that will win him the title.”

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As if to highlight the fact that Filipinos are naturally gifted singers, a Pinay is a strong contender in another talent show, The Voice.

She is 21-year-old Cheesa Laureta, born in Hawaii of Filipino parents. Cheesa belongs to the team of singer/songwriter/producer Cee Lo Green. The other teams are coached by pop singer Christina Aguilera, and fellow luminaries in the music industry, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton.

Each team is down to six members from an original 12. The teams face off and the fans vote who stays on.

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After declaring a Holy Week truce, expect Annabelle Rama and Amalia Fuentes to resume their catfight on Twitter

The two feisty ladies have been going at each other over a number of issues. Their latest squabble involved Annabelle’s wearing red at the wake for Joey Stevens, Amalia’s husband.