Piolo: Peace be with you!

Curtain-raisers:

• Condolence to the family and relatives of actress Lita Gutierrez who died of colon cancer in California the other day (Jan. 10, 6 a.m. Jan. 11 Manila time). Her last wish was to be buried at once (meaning day after her death). Lita’s cancer had been recurring for more than a decade.

• HBO is giving away 25 Madonna notebooks and 25 Madonna posters to the 50 lucky Funfare readers whose names will be drawn end of this month. To join, all you have to do is answer this question, On what date and on what movie channel can you watch Madonna’s latest concert? Send your answer(s) to: Madonna Contest, 810 Annapolis Street, Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila. Or e-mail to: [email protected] or [email protected] or [email protected]. Hurry! Contest period is limited to two weeks.

• Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, Inc. announces the indefinite postponement of the Side A Band’s much-awaited campus tour billed as The Side A Band: Pushing Their Limits. The campus tour was supposed to take place at the Mapua Institute of Technology on Jan. 11, to be followed by performances at the UP Diliman, Cainta Catholic College, Far East Air Transport Institute (FEATI) and the University of Baguio, with a grand culminating concert at the Araneta Coliseum on April 5. Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, an organization which aims to uplift the lives of orthopedically-handicapped individuals by making them productive and independent members of the society, mounted the series of activities to raise funds for the organization.

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Piolo Pascual is turning a year older – and, hopefully, wiser – today with just one fervent wish: Peace to all, including his detractors.

Even if he’s hurting from the negative issues raised against him by his former (co-)manager Joji Dingcong during his (Piolo’s) absence, Piolo told Funfare during an exclusive interview on the set of his and Judy Ann Santos’ ABS-CBN soap, Sa Puso Ko Iingatan Ka, that he actually had a lot to be thankful for in 2001.

"A lot of good things happened to me during that year and they far outweighed the bad things," admitted Piolo, on the brink of tears, who came home last week from a month-long business-and-pleasure trip to Italy, accompanied by his sister and mother. "My career did very well and continues to do well in spite of all the paninira (muckraking) against me, I opened a Dickies franchise in Quezon City and my family moved to our own (new) house in Pasig City."

The trip to Italy was Piolo’s first to any European country. Besides having a well-deserved vacation, Piolo also graced an event there sponsored by The Filipino Channel (the international outlet of ABS-CBN). They left on Dec. 7 and came back on Jan. 3, only for Piolo to be confronted by the issues that cropped up in his absence, one of them his reported "differences" with Joji Dingcong whom people close to Piolo suspected of spreading all those nasty things about Piolo.

Without going into the lurid details of those gossip about and against him, Piolo opted to rise above the gutter level and said, "I’m sad that it happened; I wish that it didn’t happen at all. Joji and I separated (as manager and talent) a week before I left and I thought we understood each other. I never expected him to say all those things against me. Still and all, I respect Joji and I’m grateful for everything that he did for me. We go a long way; it was Joji who encouraged me three years ago when we met in the States to come home and resume my career. I’ll be forever grateful to him for that; I continue to respect him and to hold him in high esteem."

Contrary to reports, according to Piolo, it wasn’t him who dropped Joji but the other way around.

"It was actually Joji who dropped me," clarified Piolo. "From the start, Joji had been co-managing me with Star Cinema and (the ABS-CBN) Talent Center which handle negotiations for my TV-movie projects. Joji gets his commission when he negotiates projects for me, such as my movie with Joyce (Jimenez) for Regal Films. The idea to split up from me came from him, para daw wala nang confusion."

Some quarters said that Joji must have been slighted when Piolo didn’t give him a commission from Piolo’s Sprite commercial (now being shown on television) which was finalized between the makers of Sprite and Talent Center.

"Reports that I ‘demoted’ Joji as a mere booking agent are not true," said Piolo. "I want to make it clear again that I didn’t drop Joji; it was Joji who dropped me. I never thought na sisiraan niya ako in my absence; I was hurt, that’s true, but I still respect Joji and I consider him my friend. I just wish that if he gets into a similar misunderstanding with his other talents, he won’t do the same to any of them. Sana nga magkaayos na kaming dalawa because, honestly, ayoko ng may taong galit sa akin. All I want is to work without stepping on anybody’s toe. Pare-pareho lang naman tayong kumakayod ng maayos at tahimik, di ba?"

On to other "issues..." Although Piolo admitted that he and Judy Ann are very good friends, enjoying an "open relationship" which he hopes will stay that way for long, they aren’t really committed – yet – to each other. Like Judy Ann, Piolo treasures their loveteam which propelled the Star Cinema young-romance flick Bakit Di Totohanin? to be among the Top 3 blockbusters of 2001. Piolo is now making movies with other leading ladies (the other being 9 Mornings for Star Cinema, with Donita Rose) and Judy Ann doing the same with other leading men (with Dingdong Dantes for Viva Films).

"I’m glad that Juday has talked to her fans not to push through with a boycott they were reportedly planning against my movies (with other leading ladies). Juday is even inviting her own fans to watch my movies, no matter who my leading ladies are, and I’m also asking my own fans to patronize Juday’s movies with other leading men. Juday and I are doing another movie together this year. The plan of Star Cinema is for us to do one movie a year. Nakakasawa naman kung madalas na kaming dalawa na lang palagi ang mag-partner, di ba?"

One of these days, Piolo might go out with Judy Ann to have the dinner which was allegedly aborted by his trip to Italy.

"But there was never such a planned dinner," said Piolo. "Juday was busy and so was I so we didn’t have a chance to go out. When I left, she gave me a letter which I read on the plane to Hong Kong. During our stopover in Hong Kong before our flight to Rome, I texted Juday and greeted her Merry Christmas."

For Piolo’s 25th birthday, Star Cinema and Talent Center are planning a week-long celebration, including a birthday bash on A.S.A.P. tomorrow and an in-depth feature on The Buzz (also tomorrow).

RJ perfect in gay role

RJ Rosales was supposed to only appear as guest as a gay character in the ABS-CBN sitcom Attagirl but he was so good in his portrayal that the people behind the show decided to make him a "regular." Asked if he’s not afraid to be typecast in gay roles, RJ said, "Not at all, as long as it’s not a screaming gay character. It’s my first time to play gay."

Besides, RJ has so far amply proven his thespic worth by playing varied roles in TV dramas, including as a lawyer in the recently-closed Your Honor. He has yet to do a movie but RJ isn’t in a hurry. "After all, I’ve been in the business for barely one year."

He shouldn’t have a hard time tackling any kind of role, whether on TV or in film, because of his rich theater background (one of his most memorable stage roles was that of Chang in the musical Chang and Eng about the world’s most famous Siamese Twins, during the musical’s Singapore and Bangkok stints).

"During my first two months here," confessed RJ, "things were somewhat bumpy. I had doubts about myself and my chances here. But on my third month, smooth-sailing na. Things are okay now."