Confirmed: Bong for Senator in 2004

It’s a case of, yes, father knows best.

What Bong Revilla, chairman of the Video Regulatory Board (VRB), has been denying and/or withholding so far has finally been confirmed by his father, Sen. Ramon Revilla, during lunch at Annabel’s Restaurant (Tomas Morato Avenue, Quezon City) last Wednesday with half a dozen movie writers.

"Yes," Ramon revealed, "Bong is running for Senator in 2004. Definitely."

By then, Ramon shall have retired after completing his last (second) term.

"I will definitely campaign for Bong," added Ramon who had difficulty talking because of a throat ailment caused by a neck injury. "I gradually lose my voice toward the afternoon," he warned, smiling.

It will be a political comeback for Bong who lost his reelection bid as Governor of Cavite last year.

"He’ll make a good Senator," added Ramon. "Bong is doing a good job as VRB chairman by confiscating pirated tapes and raiding stores selling them, and he’s helping the (movie and recording) industry a lot."

Will there be life after the Senate?

"I will simply be a private citizen," said Ramon. "Or I might produce movies again so I can help the industry."

While Ramon is bent on turning his back on politics in 2004, leaving his political legacy solely to Bong, he can’t do the same thing on showbiz, proving once again that once an actor...

How was Bong able to lure his dad back before the cameras (Ramon’s last movie was Apo, done before he got to the Senate)?

"Kinulit ako nang kinulit ni Bong at ni Andrea (his daughter who’s one of the producers of the new Imus Productions)," said Ramon of his "comeback" movie, Agimat (Anting-Anting ni Lolo), starring three generations of Revillas (Bong and Lani Mercado’s son Jolo, billed as Ramon Revilla III, being the third one). Ramon is the lolo who passes on the agimat (amulet) first to Bong and then to Jolo.

Ramon introduced his agimat (which has become his trademark) in Nardong Putik, the true-life movie he did in 1972 which broke box-office records even if it was shown at the height of a typhoon and floods in Metro Manila.

Was the agimat a myth or was it for real?

"Nardong Putik did own several agimat and it was his wife who gave me one. It was shaped like a rolled-up snake, with two heads, wrapped in a handkerchief. It was the same one I used in the movie."

The agimat, as movie history has proven, worked wonders at the tills for Ramon as it is now doing for Bong and, eventually, for Jolo. Since then, Ramon has lost count of his agimat-powered movies (including Eddie Set, Terrorize Panay, Gulapa, Pepeng Agimat, Bianong Bulag, Pepeng Kuryente and Tiagong Akyat) which established him as the "Father of True-Life Movies."

It was a pity Ramon was in a hurry for another appointment with a Senate colleague and Funfare wasn’t able to ask him if the agimat is as just as potent on the political trail as it is at the box office.

Miss Asia to be chosen tonight

As Funfare’s "beauty experts" Felix Manuel, Francis Calubaquib, Joey Cezare and Gery Yumping have been saying, the Miss Asia-Pacific Quest (like all other beauty contests, local or international) is a rich source of showbiz material. Among the Miss Asia winners who have tried showbiz were Bong Dimayacyac and Michelle Aldana, two of the four Filipinas who have bagged the title so far (the two others were Carines Zaragoza and Lorna Legaspi).

Will the winner or the runners-up or any of the 25 candidates in this year’s search (grand coronation night slated tonight at 9:30 at the AFP Theater in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, covered "live" by GMA) also do the same?

It’s a beautiful batch, as usual. Ask Paolo Montalban who, with TJ Manotoc, hosted the swimsuit competition held last Nov. 17 to 19 in Boracay. (Paolo will co-host tonight’s event with Dingdong Dantes, with Rossana Prieto, Nini Ramos-Licaros’ daughter, as anchor person.)

It was indeed an exciting Boracay experience for the ladies. At the Kalibo airport, the beauty queens were welcomed by local ati-atihans together with Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores.

Escorted by jetskis, the delegates rode a boat to Club Panoly Resort where local school children greeted and offered them shell necklaces and flowers.

In their three-day stay at Club Panoly Resort, the candidates had a great time enjoying the sun, the powder-white sand, and the famous crystal-clear waters of Boracay.

Aside from the resort’s luxurious services, everybody feasted on sumptuous food and overflowing drinks!

Paolo hosted the main event while TJ Manotoc (of Unang Hirit) was in charge of the fun shoots where the beauties played some Pinoy games such as luksong tinik, patintero and others.

Here are 20 candidates (the five others aren’t listed in the press kit that reached Funfare):

• Miss China, Yang Liu, 18, 114 lbs., 5’7 3/4", 34-24-35

• Miss Colombia, Flavia Albore, 22, 5’7", 116 lbs., 35-24-35

• Miss Costa Rica, Shirley Sandoval, 22, 5’4", 114 lbs., 35-24.5-37

• Miss Ecuador, Angela Gomez, 22, 5’6 1/4", 130 lbs., 37-26-38

• Miss Fiji, Aishwarya Sukhdeo, 22, 5’7", 121 lbs., 35-25-36.5

• Miss Guam, Dina Dalby, 22, 5’6 1/4", 135 lbs., 34-26-38

• Miss Guatemala, Elsy Liliana Palma, 19, 5’4", 114 lbs., 35-25-36.5

• Miss Hong Kong, Pui Yin Wong, 20, 5’5.5", 110 lbs., 33-24-35

• Miss India, Tina Chhatwal, 24, 5’7", 115 lbs., 34-24.5-36

• Miss Korea, Kim So-Yun, 23, 5’7", 120 lbs., 35-26-35.5

• Miss Mexico, Luz Garcia, 22, 5’6", 112 lbs., 33.5-23.5-36

• Miss New Caledonia, Alexandra Sakamoto, 22, 5’6", 118 lbs., 35-24-36

• Miss Panama, Karina Goods, 24, 5’6", 112 lbs., 35-23-35

• Miss Peru, Jennifer Fon, 24, 5’6.5", 117 lbs., 35-24-36

• Miss Philippines, Miriam Chui, 21, 5’5.5", 110 lbs., 35-24-35

• Miss Russia, Ksenia Volokova, 20, 5’8.5", 140 lbs., 36-26-38

• Miss Singapore, Julia Lim, 23, 5’7 3/4", 118 lbs., 34-24-35.5

• Miss Sri Lanka, Nishadika Jayawardene, 20, 5’5.5", 93 lbs., 32-23-34

• Miss Thailand, Thanawan Romsaeng, 20, 5’8 1/4", 115 lbs., 34-23-35.5

• Miss Turkey, Ozge Ulusoy, 20, 5’9", 120 lbs., 34-25-36

Tonight’s AFP ceremonies will be highlighted by an opening Parade of Nations with Miss Asia-Pacific 2001 Luciana Parfan, a production dance featuring the 25 candidates with Dingdong Dantes and the Hotlegs, and a serenade for the lovely ladies to be rendered by Paolo Montalban. Willy Cruz will also grace the event for the Long Gown Segment while TJ Manotoc hosts the VTR presentation of the candidates’ fun shoots in Boracay as well as the Talent Night.