A sad day for actor-politicians - FUNFARE by Ricardo F. Lo

Curtain-raisers:

• TV industry insiders were pleasantly surprised when they saw PLDT boss and incoming GMA-7 big man Manny Pangilinan and GMA Films’ Butch Jimenez (who’s celebrating his birthday today) at the wake of ABS-CBN big boss’ Freddie M. Garcia’s mom last week to express their respect and condolences. ABS-CBN employees said the visit was an honorable gesture from the heads of the rival network and it set a positive tone for the forthcoming competition between Benpress’ ABS-CBN and PLDT’s GMA-7. FMG had a heart-to-heart one-on-one with Manny and a short talk with Butch. What did the three bigwigs talk about?

• KC Montero has beaten Carlos Agassi as image model of FUBU (For Us By Us), a popular clothesline for young people (patronized mostly by the hip-hop crowd) in the US. Carlos went to New York to be "looked at" by the FUBU people, but KC got the nod after all.

• Don’t look now but if current negotiations prove fruitful between Enrique Iglesias and Re-Al Entertainment, Inc. producers Alice and Red Martinez, the Latino heartthrob might do a concert in New York sometime in October with, brace yourselves, our very own Geneva Cruz as topbiller. A perfect match, aren’t they? Alice and Red have produced a lot of concerts in New York, including the latest one starring Pops Fernandez.

* * *

Has showbiz lost its luster and magic on the political scene? It seems so, sad to say, judging from the trend (not conclusive but daunting anyway) in the partial returns from last Tuesday’s elections.

Although Kabayan Noli de Castro is, as expected, consistently leading in the senatorial race – and is thus far safe and secure on his spot – several of his TV-showbiz colleagues are not faring as well (Kiko Pangilinan and Ralph Recto are among the Magic 13 as of the latest NAMFREL tally but the ranking could change significantly as the canvassing of votes continues).

On the local level, it’s almost certain who the winners will be. In the mayoralty race, Rudy Fernandez is way behind Sonny Belmonte (Quezon City), Edu Manzano behind Jojo Binay (Makati City), Fred Lim behind incumbent Lito Atienza (Manila) and Lani Mercado behind her opponent (Bacoor, Cavite).

In the gubernatorial race, while incumbent Lito Lapid (Pampanga) seems on the way to be reelected, his fellow action star Bong Revilla (Cavite) is behind his opponent and so is Nora Aunor (Camarines Sur) who’s pitted against the formidable incumbent Luis Villafuerte.

In the congressional race, Ted Failon is said to be giving incumbent Alfred Romualdez a fair fight in Leyte. But Armida Siguion-Reyna is far behind Teddyboy Locsin in Makati City. Gilbert Remulla (Cavite) is on his way to victory.

Unofficial/partial tally in Laguna places Vice-Gubernatorial candidate Dan Fernandez ahead of his opponent, with Dan getting even more votes than the gubernatorial bet.

In the Vice Mayoralty race, Herbert Bautista is enjoying a big edge over Connie Angeles in Quezon City, but not Tirso Cruz III (Las Piñas City). In Mandaluyong City, Phillip Salvador lags about 5,000 votes behind his opponent.

In Lipa City, incumbent Mayor Vilma Santos is reported to be "slightly ahead" of her opponent, and so is Joey Marquez (Parañaque City). Rey Malonzo is locked in a tight race with Luis "Baby" Asistio in the Caloocan mayoralty race.

Aiko Melendez is amassing votes in the race for councilor in the second district of Quezon City.

You see, (showbiz) popularity doesn’t necessarily translate into big votes. It can work either way – pull the actor-politician up or pull him/her down, depending on the reputation/image of the actor/actress.

Now, did the "Erap factor" cause this sad day at the polls for actor-politicians?

What do you think?

(Note: Stay tuned for the final standing of actor-politicians in the recent polls.)

Family holiday

On their recent (last Holy Week) trip abroad, Richard Gomez (whose party list MAD is No. 1 in last Tuesday’s elections) and Lucy Torres acted more like the "chaperons/bodyguards" of their seven-month-old daughter Juliana who was having her "debut" as a world-class traveler/jetsetter.

Richard and Lucy, together with some friends (Douglas Quijano, Joe Salazar, Ben Chan, Miguel Pastor and Alta Tan), originally planned to stay only in Milan and London during their two-week holiday. However, according to Lucy, "While having lunch in Milan, we saw a train going to Venice so we hopped into it and spent one whole day in that beautiful city."

Richard and Lucy were forewarned that it might be hard to be traveling with a little bundle, but they said it was okay. "It’s with Juliana…" Or bust.

The Family 3 each had one big suitcase for the trip, with things calculated to last them five days in Milan and one week in London.

And what was in Juliana’s suitcase?

These: Three big packs of disposable diapers (40 pieces in each box), eight pieces of feeding bottles (with a dozen extra disposable ones), nipples (with sterilizer to boot), six big cans of powdered milk (brand confidential), dishwashing liquid, her favorite toys (including a rubber melon) and rattles.

Richard and Lucy alternated in changing Juliana’s diapers.

"One time while we were shopping," related Lucy, "Juliana made poo-poo, so I went to one corner of the store and changed her diapers. We enjoyed our trip with Juliana, so I advise parents of little kids to do the same."

The trip, Lucy assured, made her and Richard – and Juliana – closer and even more loving.

"I was moved everytime I saw Richard change Juliana’s diapers and put her to sleep on his shoulder. All in all, I’d say that our trip made us a better and happier family."

With Juliana around, you guessed it, Richard and Lucy weren’t able to have another "honeymoon." Oh, well, that can come later.