If you and I are reading the recent developments right, the answer is yes, the network war has gone below the belt.
This new battle "strategy" came up when GMA 7 PR girl Tet Defensor reportedly sent tabloid columnists (one of them Jojo Gabinete of Abante who named Defensor as his source) "feeds" containing negative things about Kris, Aquino, mentioning her affairs with married men (something which Kris herself has never denied), her having contracted STD (another thing which Kris herself revealed during her word war with Joey Marquez) and many other comments which Kris found "derogatory" and aimed at tarnishing her reputation.
Kris’ ABS-CBN show, Good Morning, Kris happens to be on the same timeslot as that of SIS on GMA – and there, I think, lies the rub. Kris must have been so mad and so badly affected by that "column feed" that, for the first time in her long, turbulent, colorful, dramatic and checkered career, she has filed at a Makati court an P80-million libel suit against GMA which was, ironically, her former home (she co-hosted a GMA showbiz talk show with Boy Abunda, her current The Buzz co-host, remember?).
Aside from Defensor, named respondents were GMA Network president Felipe Gozon, GMA EVP Jimmy Duavit, GMA VP for Entertainment Wilma Galvante and corporate relations OIC Butch Raquel.
Because the case is now in court (with Siegfrid Fortun as Kris’ lawyer) and she’s forbidden to talk (sub judice, you know), Kris has decided to keep mum on the matter except to say that "I’ll pursue the case to the end."
Funfare sources said that if she wins, Kris will donate the money to Manay Gina de Venecia’s The Haven project (for abused women), to finance the construction of new homes. A worthy cause, isn’t it?
In her affidavit, Kris said that Defensor described Kris’ show as "pure commercialism" and the column feed "expressly stated that I deserve (the STD), implying that I am promiscuous and a woman of loose morals who should not be listened to nor viewed as a host in a morning TV program."
Although she reportedly had the go-signal of her "immediate boss" (Raquel), noting that it was a "paki from my boss," Defensor denied that she ever said that Raquel and another GMA bigwig approved those column feeds.
A GMA statement sent to the media, signed by Gozon and Duavit, apologized to Kris "for whatever inconvenience the item may have caused her," adding that Defensor sent the "offensive" material on her own. "It has never been GMA 7’s policy to engage in such acts," according to the statement. "It was done without our knowledge, much less our consent."
There was a report that Defensor felt bad having been "dropped" (as in nilaglag) by her GMA bosses, so she resigned. Defensor denied it to Funfare, saying she still has to meet with her bosses.
Said Kris, "I believe in fair competition but when things go that far and they start hitting me naman below the belt, I won’t just remain silent. Who knows what they’ll do next?"
She called up Funfare yesterday to announce that she’s definitely giving birth to her and husband Yilmaz Bektas’ second child, also a girl as shown by an ultrasound, on Sept. 30 at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, California, where she also delivered Lorin the natural way, she emphasized, and not by Caesarian section as wrongly reported. "Naka-anesthesia lang ako," said Ruffa.
At first, she and Yilmaz wanted to name their second child Nemo (inspired by the movie Finding Nemo) thinking he would be a boy. "We haven’t thought of her first name yet," said Ruffa, "but we like to call her Venice for short. That’s the trend kasi, di ba? Giving your child a unique nickname."
While here, Ruffa cancelled her plan to launch her kiddie business (perfume and other baby products) for lack of a name.
"I’ve decided to call it Le Petit Lorin which is French for Little Lorin. The scent we’ll be using comes from Paris," said Ruffa.
Even now that she isn’t even a year old, according to Lola Annabelle, Lorin has been getting offers as product endorser (for milk, etc.)
"I will breast-feed Venice just like I did Lorin," said Ruffa. "I didn’t have enough milk then so I breastfed Lorin for barely three months. With Venice, I want it even for more than six months. I’ve been advised by my friends to take herbal supplements para daw dumami ang gatas ko."
His latest stage play, Three Rats, opened last July 9 at the Camp Suki Theater Garden (call 725-0819 for tickets, look for Lito Perez) and will have more performances on July 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 and 31, 6 and 8 p.m. Written by Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero and directed by Dodie Dizon, a PUP professor, Three Rats also stars real-life sweethearts Cris Villanueva and Criselda Volks.
The much-acclaimed Three Rats is a one-act play about love in human relationships, deceit, adultery, lust and lies.
"I like the play so much because it is very relevant, humane and it really appeals to the emotion," said Dante. "It is also unique because direk Dodie has introduced a lot of innovations. For one, he dares to change the names of the characters, the circumstances, the setting, etc. to fit the taste of present-day viewers and play enthusiasts. I would say that the play is basically sexy even without nudity."
Dante has been doing theater these past years. He has, among other roles, played Rizal in 1898, Andres Bonifacio in Mabini: Utak ng Himagsikan, Cirsostomo Ibarra in Huwag Mo Akong Salingin and a bold star in the trilogy The Bomb presented by PETA a few months ago at the Rajah Sulayman Theater.
Even while busy with Three Rats, Dante is busy rehearsing for Tatarin under director Anton Juan for Dulaang UP, for staging soon, and the repeat of Huwag Mo Akong Salingin.
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph)