Giselle is back — but not for good!

Some are leaving (like Desiree del Valle and Janette McBride, the former to the States purportedly to take care of her aging, sick American father, and the latter, to Australia presumably to resume her studies, flashing a "dirty finger" – so unlike her sweet self, wasn’t it? – at a TV crew when she left last week). Some are coming back (among them is Alice Dixson, from Vancouver where she and her husband, Ronnie Miranda, have migrated after they got married in late 1999).

Let’s welcome another Balikbayan from New York – Giselle Tongi who has dropped the "e" from her surname for good. (More on that later.) Giselle was flown in by Benefon to host the Benefon launch the other night (Dec. 6) and she’s staying not for good but only until Feb. 20 next year (to celebrate her mom’s birthday on Feb. 16).

It’s Giselle’s second homecoming since she left for The Big Apple two years ago in pursuit of her own "American Dream" (read: To break into Hollywood). She came back in December last year for the Christmas holidays, stayed for three months and went back to New York last March after opening the GMA drama-series Larawan with her own four-episode starrer.

So what has Giselle been up to in New York (she lives alone in an apartment right in Manhattan, two blocks away from the United Nations compound)?

"I was in the vicinity when the World Trade Center Twin Towers were attacked (last Sept. 11)," recalled Giselle. "I wanted to take photos of the collapsing towers from my window but it happened so fast that I didn’t have time to get my camera."

Living alone (not with somebody, honest!) has taught Giselle how to do things and chores herself, like any New Yorker from Manila (Lea Salonga also one of them). "I learned how to be patient, how to make full use of my time. But I was never idle."

Besides taking lessons at the Broadway Dance Studio and acting lessons (at the Ward Studio where she studied the Meisner Technique or "the reality of doing an imaginary circumstance," etc.), Giselle has been attending premieres (rubbing elbows with Hollywood stars as they walked on the red carpet). She also did a pictorial for Supercuts, a leading hair salon in the States ("The Ricky Reyes Salon of the States," Giselle’s manager Angeli Pangilinan-Valenciano aptly put it).

Just like many Hollywood aspirants, Giselle did odd jobs on the side, such as bartending in Manhattan (she took a two-week course in bartending), getting fat tips (an average of $100 a night... not bad!) which helped her survive comfortably in that city that never sleeps.

No, Giselle said, "I don’t have any regrets at all about leaving; I like to look forward to the future."

Why New York and not Hollywood?

"Eventually," said Giselle who’s turning 24 next year, "I might move to L.A. But I’ll do that only when I have a solid foundation in acting. I’m not yet ready nor prepared for Hollywood. I’m still in the ‘training’ stage."

But she said she’s ready to wait for the right break, however long it may come.

While here, Giselle hopes to guest in TV shows (S.O.P. where she used to be a regular co-host and Whattamen, etc.). As soon as she returns to New York next year, she plans to take more acting lessons at the Lee Strasberg Acting School (Strasberg is the proponent of "The Method").

Now, did Giselle drop the "e" from her surname for, uh, good luck (numerology, you know)?

"It was Mother (Lily, the Regal Matriarch) who added an ‘e’ to my surname which is actually spelled Tongi, the one I’m using in all my legal documents. Sabi ni Mother, para daw mag-fall sa ‘oro’ (as in oro, plata, mata). Then when I guested on MAD, Martin (Nievera) mispronounced it. Anyway, the surname (with an ‘e’) stuck."

Will Giselle be luckier without the "e"?

Atty. Batas at your service

I remember Mel Mauricio way back when we were with the Daily Express in the ’70s, he covering the justice beat and I, of course, the entertainment circuit. I would see Mel carrying those thick law books which, I presumed, he must have read in-between writing his "justice" stories. Yes, he was then taking up Law in UP and before I knew it, he passed the bar. The EDSA Revolt (1986) came, precipitating the parting of ways (sob!) of the Express people who landed in various other publications.

When I looked again, Mel was in crisp Barong Tagalog, now a full-fledged lawyer, sometimes handling high-profile cases in the glare of TV cameras. Today, Mel is fondly and popularly known as Atty. Batas which is the title of his segment on Gani Oro’s dzBB morning program (4 to 6 a.m., Monday through Friday, with Mel’s segment on from 4:45 to 5 a.m.; on Saturdays, he’s on from 9 to 10 a.m.). Atty. Batas so clicked with the listeners that, after six years on radio, it has branched out to television as part of GMA’s Unang Hirit (6 to 6:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) almost two years ago.

"I give (pieces of) legal advice on the air," said Mel, "especially to the poor who can’t afford the services of a lawyer. The usual cases vary but they are mostly about ejection and demolition. If people only know the law and how to exercise their rights under the law(s), there’ll be less problems. Lahat ng legal problems may kalutasan if people only know the law."

Everybody is welcome, pro bono, on Atty. Batas, whether rich or poor. Any question is allowed, according to Mel, "and there’s no prior screening." Mel gets as many as 400 radio calls especially on a busy day and an average of 25 calls on Unang Hirit (confined to Metro Manila due to time constraints). "They text me or e-mail me or write to me if they can’t call me," said Mel.

Mel’s legal services don’t end there. Oftentimes, the cases are followed up by his office or by the group BATAS (Buklod ng mga Abogadong Tagapagtaguyod ng Adhikaing Sambayanan), formed in 1994, which is composed of Mel himself, his lawyer-brother Leny (who used to be a STAR reporter), Mel’s wife Angelina (a former Parañaque City judge), Marisa Mauricio (Mel and Leny’s youngest sister), Doroteo Aguila (VP for Legal at BayanTel) and Marlyn Guzman (VP for Legal at Union Bank).

(Note: Funfare readers can call Atty. Batas at these numbers: 928-46-41 or 928-46-80 on Unang Hirit; 924-30-18 or 924-30-22 on dzBB; and 433-75-49 or 433-75-53 at his law office.)

Congrats, Raymond!

Raymond Bagatsing (of ACT Entertainment Inc.) won the Best Actor award in the recently-concluded Asian TV award, held in Singapore last Dec. 4.

For his moving performance of a person suffering from a crippling disease called distonia, Raymond impressed an international jury of television critics and practitioners. In the said Maalaala Mo Kaya episode, he revealed the amazing acting range that brought him critical acclaim.

Previously, Raymond won two consecutive Best Actor awards from the Urian for Milagros in 1997 and Kriminal ng Barrio Concepcion in 1998: two Best Supporting Actor awards from the FAP and FAMAS for his original and incomparable work in Soltera , and two Best Actor awards from the Academic Community (Sineng Sine Pasado Award) for his stirring performance in Burlesk King and Kriminal ng Barrio Concepcion.

He is bound for Australia to enjoy the holidays with his wife, Lara Fabregas, and to study directing for film and television.

In 2002, his company, ACT Entertainment Inc., will be mounting a series of events. Raymond will also "re-activate" his theatrical career by playing Tony Javier in the CCP Production Portrait of the Artist as a Filipino, to be directed by Anton Juan, and, later in the year, he will tackle William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, to be directed by his manager, Francis O. Villacorta. Raymond has just finished shooting Tatarin, directed by Tikoy Aguiluz, which Viva is intending for the Metro Filmfest this month.