I explained to her that nobody pays to have a meeting with me. I’m not a manghuhula. Neither am I a shrink, I told her. The woman said they paid a certain "Alfred" P10,000 downpayment to get me to sit with her about her daughter’s stardom, as if I could single-handedly make her daughter a star. I said I could not do it. I manage talents, I work hard with a team. I beg everyone in the industry for help. If lucky, we are able to produce names in the business.
Alfred, according to them, said that since it was hellish to get me to a meeting – and so that they would believe him, they could pay the balance of P10,000 – after the meeting. The total cost of a meeting with me was P20,000 according to the con artist. Without the downpayment he said, I refused to meet with anybody.
This was totally crazy, but some people, I realized, bought this rusty crap. Like opium, showbiz is addictive and toxic. And some people are willing to pay any price. And God, you don’t pay anyone to get an appointment with any talent manager.
And talent managers do not make stars like Aling Chayong who cooks the best bibingka in front of the Baclaran church, any time of the day.
Anyway, back to Joemark Lapid.
A week ago, together with The Buzz team, I went to the Malabon City Jail to take a chance to talk to him. On our way to the jail, we picked up Beng and Doris, the two alleged victims of Joemark. Beng’s daughter is a pretty young girl who dreams of becoming a movie star while Doris’ nephew, who can’t be more than five, also wants to be an actor.
Both Beng and Doris are more driven than their wards. Doris met Joemark in a church service. Joemark according to Doris talked about his recruitment job for a number of ABS-CBN shows – but costumes were needed and therefore money was necessary to make the costumes.
In short, they gave Joemark a few hundred pesos – no commercial was shot, no taping happened, no costume was seen. An entrapment procedure with market money was done.
Joemark according to the story was introduced to an aspiring model who in reality was a young police officer. Joemark fell into the trap. And today he is in jail.
We could not enter the Malabon City Jail immediately because we had no permit. The policemen were courteous as they explained to us the procedural requirements before we could interview an inmate. We fixed the necessary permits and I was led into the prison cell where I met Joemark Lapid face to face.
Joemark had an entirely different story – contradicting the stories of Beng and Doris. This is his second time in the Malabon City Jail, but the earlier complainants had withdrawn the first case (also) of estafa. He hopes Doris and Beng would do the same so he can get out of jail. Doris and Beng are simply asking Joemark to own up to his mistakes, apologize and they will take it from there.
I’m really pusong mamon because in front of the guy allegedly using my name in vain, I was overcome with pity, knowing this poor man languishing in jail for the P750 he allegedly solicited from people by misrepresenting himself as a talent agent.
I stared at him. His teeth were wobbly and unbrushed. His smile was tentative. I told him he could be a good person if he chooses to be one. And that it’s never too late to start to be a good man. I could not be mean to someone who I thought was a victim of his own poverty and convoluted sense of survival.
For those of you not in the know, Yamani used to front for the swinging band Great Divide and Traffic Jam, which had stints at the city’s groovier nightspots, Strumm’s and Hard Rock Café, among others.
"I came from a dance-party band," she recalls. "Doing standards is a total shift for me. I just got tired of doing all those R&B, hip-hop, and dance tunes. After a while, it became repetitive for me. But with standards, I get to feel the songs more."
Now, Yamani is working hard to reinvent herself into a torch song temptress. Inspired by the success of such modern jazz divas as Diana Krall and Norah Jones, she now aims to specialize in breathy, breezy songs from the golden age of ballads.
Revisiting standards is a worldwide trend, she points out. "Even young artists like Norah Jones and seasoned rockers like Rod Stewart are now recording standards. These love songs will never go out of style. They are timeless. They will be around forever."
Dubbed as the Princess of Music Lounges, Yamani also performs every Tuesday and Saturday at Calesa Bar in Hyatt Regency, and Thursday at Richmonde Hotel. She also performs in the show Can Can at the Star Theater of Star City every Sunday. With her singing stints, Yamani has gained a loyal audience who follows her everything she performs.
I am Woman... Yamani @ the CCP will also have a performance on Dec. 2. For inquiries, call Ticketworld at 891-5610.