Here come MUB’s ‘Charlie’s Angels’

Since its reformatting and "re-charging" last July l4, the ABS-CBN early-morning show Magandang Umaga Bayan (MUB) has been enjoying a good rating, with Tintin Bersola (soon-to-be Mrs. Julius Babao) as balik-main-host together with Erwin Tulfo and Edu Manzano (who is so omnipresent in ABS-CBN, appearing all days of the week and some nights, too, that you wonder if he ever sleeps at all).

During a lunch with the press yesterday, Tintin and MUB’s two new hosts, Claudine Trillo and Reema Chanco, sat side by side on our table and we promptly named them MUB’s Charlie’s Angels, with Tintin claiming to be the counterpart of Lucy Liu, Reema of Drew Barrymore and Claudine of Cameron Diaz –with, I presume, apologies to the Hollywood triumvirate.

But they do look like Charlie’s – or, why not, Dong Puno’s – Angels, don’t they? That’s a cue to the MUB writer to maybe create a segment with the "Charlie’s Angels" as hosts.

Meanwhile, Tintin with her eternal sunshiny disposition and ice-creamy smile, beautifully acquits himself beside her macho co-hosts.

Tintin is also hosting Magandang Morning with Julius and Tintin with husband-to-be Julius Babao every Saturday and Sunday, 6 to 8 a.m. on DZMM 630.

A Business Management graduate from La Salle, Claudine is the wife (not just the girlfriend as a STAR article wrongly reported several issues ago) of Jason Webb (son of former Sen. Freddie and brother of ANC newscaster Pinky) whom he married in December last year, one month after she joined MUB where she handles the segment on the weather, music and Hollywood news. Showbiz-watchers probably remember Claudine as the pretty girl romantically linked once upon a time to Zoren Legaspi (now the beloved of Carmina Villarroel whom Claudine resembles).

Saying she’s too shy to act in movies (even if she has the looks and the untapped talent), Claudine, so to speak, cut her TV-hosting teeth in two short-lived ABC 5 shows, Trend TV and Planet X, before she moved to E! Philippines as celebrity interviewer. It was ABS-CBN top honcho Freddie M. Garcia (FMG) who talked Claudine into moving to ABS-CBN when FMG sat as one of the judges of a beauty contest on the E! channel. A good career move, I should say.

Reema (niece of STAR business columnist Boo Chanco, second cousin of Reema’s father) is an Organizational Communications and Marketing graduate also from La Salle. She worked as phone banker of BPI after graduation and soon drifted toward television, her first love. Like Claudine, Reema also started at ABC 5 (The Exchange and Trabaho Lang) and moved to Juice Channel (hosting Space) before she was recruited to host ANC Channel’s G-Force (now airing replays). On MUB, Reema handles the segment on the traffic situation.

Yes, she admitted, she has been going steady with Ryan Eigenmann (son of estranged couple Gina Alajar and Michael de Mesa) for two years now.

The other members of the MUB family are Ira Panganiban (for sports), Mike Cohen (international news), Winnie Cordero (field reporter), Bobby Yan, Ogie Diaz (showbiz news), and Mon Ilagan and Katherine de Castro (news bulletins).

Ai Ai to be made up as ‘aquarium’

Remember a few years ago when Ai Ai delas Alas stunned everybody by showing up at a PMPC Star Awards dressed like a butterfly complete with wings so huge that she had to be pushed by three men into her van?

Don’t look now but Ai Ai will top that "butterfly act" by appearing in an "aquarium-inspired" gown to be designed specially for her by Dubai-based couturier Albert Andrada who was the grand-prize winner in the fourth annual Bridal Gown Competition, beating l4 other contestants (including four other Filipinos, a Lebanese, an American, a Moroccan and an Indian), held in Dubai in November last year.

"She’s my idea of a perfect model," said Albert who by now should have met Ai Ai. "She’s daring and that’s what I want in a model. Hindi porke’t maganda ka ay kukunin kitang model."

The "aquarium gown" will be made up of a transparent plastic material with fishes and other aquatic animals embroided around it by Rene Santos, Albert’s partner, who is an expert embroidery artist from Bulacan. "Rene and I will work on the gown as soon as we go back to Dubai next week," added Albert who is here for a month-long vacation.

A UST Fine Arts graduate, Albert (who used to be a member of the Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines or FDAP) closed his shop on Kamias Road, Quezon City, in l987 and put up a new one in Saudi Arabia with a Saudian partner. He moved to Dubai in l997 where he met Rene (then working at a hotel). "I saw how beautiful his embroidery work is and I convinced him to quit his hotel job and work with me."

It was Rene who did the embroidery on the borders of Albert’s winning gown at the Bridal Gown Competition, made of jusi imported from Manila and modelled by Lithuanian stunner Orinthe. Somebody close to one of the seven royal families of Dubai was impressed by Albert and Rene’s work and promptly informed the queen. (There are seven emirates comprising the United Arab Emirates, each ruled by a king and a queen.) Albert has been working exclusivbely for that royal family since November last year, right after the competition.

And now, she’s designing gowns for yet another queen –Ai Ai delas Alas, who else? She’s a box-office "queen", isn’t she?

Meteor Garden closing song, English version

After Funfare printed the English translation of Qing Fei De Yi, the opening song of the ABS-CBN chinovela Meteor Garden, fans of the F4 (Jerry Yan, Vic Zhou, Ken Zhu and Vanness Wu) have requested for the English translation of Ni Yao De Ai (The Love You Want), the closing song of Meteor Garden which will end its first season on Saturday, July 26, to be replaced starting on Monday, July 28, by Meteor Rain, an anthology series still featuring the F4. Meteor Rain is a prequel to Meteor Garden, telling the story of the F4 boys’ lives before Sahn Cai came into the picture.

Here’s the English lyrics of Ni Yao De Ai (courtesy of EMI Redcords which is releasing the album carrying the song), written by Penny Tai:

Although I often dream of you

I still have no idea

It’s raining outside

Which day is it today

But I don’t know

Where you went

Although I have never doubted you

I still feel uneasy

Who is your one and only

Forgive me for doubting myself

I understand the love you want

Will spoil me

Like a little child

Who only knows how to be bad in your arms

The love you want

Is just not reliance

Must be like a man

Even in bad weather

Leads a carefree life

(E-mail reactions at [email protected])