Arnel, Frannie to wed

After 12 years of being together, comedian/TV host Arnel Ignacio and his partner, Frannie, will tie the knot in simple ceremonies in their house on March 10, with only their closest friends and relatives to be invited.

Arnel, who recently made the big switch by signing up with ABS-CBN after over a decade with GMA 7, discloses that the wedding will be a very intimate affair, with nothing grand or fancy like most celebrity altar dates. The big church wedding will happen next year, according to him.

"One day, I just thought about asking Frannie to get married," Arnel says. "Nagulat din siya. But I guess now is the perfect time to do it. We both want it to happen. We’ve been together for 12 years and we’ve known each other very well. Wala pa nga lang budget ang church wedding namin, so next year na ’yun."

Arnel is happy that Frannie has gotten herself involved in something that she loves to do. She runs their business, Arnelli’s Hair Wear, at Ricky Reyes’ Beauty Central in Greenhills. The store, which opened last year, has been doing good business – thanks to beauty guru Ricky Reyes who encouraged Arnel to become more enterprising by selling hair pieces.

"Frannie and I were in car importation and food retail before," Arnel offers. "But both businesses failed. Palagi na lang sablay. We also sold pizza for three years but we closed shop because I just couldn’t handle delinquent employees."

In less than a year in business, Arnelli’s Hair Wear even has international clients. "We plan to also do business in Hong Kong. We plan to go really big this time," says Arnel.

But Arnel will have to shuttle between his thriving business venture and his showbiz commitments, especially since he has accepted ABS-CBN’s offer to do a daily noontime show. Arnel is now seen in MTB: Ang Saya-Saya, the relaunch of ABS-CBN’s noontime show, this time with Ai-Ai de las Alas and Edu Manzano as the two other main hosts. Joining them are Mickey Ferriols, Angelica Jones, Tado, Empoy, newcomer Jenny Hernandez, hardcourt heartthrob BJ Manalo and The Viva Hot Babes.

Arnel cannot be thankful enough that he has been given a chance to join ABS-CBN. His one-year contract will include a sitcom and a film under Star Cinema, according to his talent manager, Wyngard Tracy.

"It’s like a homecoming for me," Arnel says. "I have a lot of friends here at ABS-CBN. I know most of the people I’m working with on MTB and I’m very comfortable with all of them. The paycheck is just a bonus."

He’s also delighted to work with Ai-Ai de las Alas, his long-time friend and fellow comedian. "Kami ni Ai-Ai, we can talk for 24 hours without getting tired," Arnel says. "We love each other, we fight, we laugh, but in the end, our friendship still prevails. Click kami talaga. Swak kami, that’s why I’m excited to work with her in ABS-CBN."

Arnel’s contract with GMA 7 for K Videoke Challenge expired in October last year. Up until the time he received the offer from ABS-CBN, Arnel said GMA 7 had not renewed his contract. It took only one phone call from ABS-CBN TV production manager Alou Almaden, who works for MTB, for Arnel’s life to be totally altered.

"Doing a noontime show was not in my plan," Arnel says. "So when I got the call from Alou, I initially didn’t know what to answer. It’s a good thing I have a manager (Wyngard Tracy), who guides me in every professional move I make. What’s good about my relationship with Wyngard is that he talks to me personally and he never listens or believes in everything he simply hears or reads about."

However, Arnel admits he didn’t think twice about accepting ABS-CBN’s offer for him to host a daily noontime show. It’s nothing new to him, anyway. He used to host daily programs on GMA 7, like Brunch, Katok mga Misis and RPN 9’s noontime show, Chibugan Na.

Arnel is aware of the formidable competition in the noontime show slot, with the dominance of Eat Bulaga in the ratings for the past 25 years now.

"Makiki-usap na lang ako sa kanila," Arnel teased. "I will bring out an open letter on TV telling them na pagbigyan naman kami, anyway 25 years na sila. Kahit T-Th-S lang naman sana maging lamang kami sa ratings. Sa kanila na ‘yung ibang araw. Para hindi naman ako matanggal sa trabaho agad."

By doing ABS-CBN’s new noontime show, Arnel puts off his plan to study management at the Asian Institute of Management to improve his business venture. "That was really my immediate plan," Arnel shares. "In fact, I already talked to my staff who was receptive to the idea that I study management, because of our growing business. And Frannie agreed to manage it while I study. But when ABS-CBN’s offer came, I had to postpone the plan. Maybe in July, I can enroll at AIM when my schedule will be hopefully pretty organized. Managing a business is as hard as being an artista. At AIM, I could ask the experts to help me with my business. At this point, I don’t regret anything."

Arnel also called off his plan to enter politics and run for councilor in Quezon City. Last year, he got a call from former Mayor Mel Mathay, who offered him to be Mathay’s running mate and run for vice mayor. But Arnel politely turned it down and told Mathay he was not aiming for that kind of position. Arnel said it would be manageable for him to simply run for councilor, but still not in the coming elections in May.

"No more politics for me muna," Arnel says. "I guess the reason I was given a daily noontime show was that God wanted me to stay out of politics. Maybe it’s not really for me. Maybe, I’ll really do better here in showbiz."