• Jericho: Kasal muna bago baby! • Ruffa makes peace with Yilmaz’s ex

Like her fellow Valentine Babies Kris Aquino, Rico J. Puno, John Prats, Pampanga Gov. Mark Lapid and Sen. Johnny Ponce-Enrile, Heart Evangelista celebrated her birthday yesterday. If things went as planned, Heart’s boyfriend Jericho Rosales must have rushed back Monday night from the launch of his album in Kuala Lumpur where he flew last Sunday straight from the last-minute lunch presscon for The Manny Pacquiao Story where he’s playing title role.

I’m not sure how Jericho and Heart celebrate the Day of Hearts because Jericho said in a post-presscon interview with Funfare that he was keeping things under wraps.

"I’m going to surprise Heart," said Jericho who looked less like a boxer with his curly hair (for his role as Panday in the ABS-CBN fantaserye).

The guess was that, since he has just launched a new career as a singer, Jericho was thinking of staging a "mini-concert" with Heart as his one-woman audience. Where, he didn’t say.

"I wrote a song for Heart," revealed Jericho who, contradicting Heart’s claim that they are "just good friends," admitted that they have been going steady for four or five months now. "It’s called You’re So Beautiful." He proceeded to sing a line, which goes, Nah, can’t live without you...You’re so beautiful, so beautiful.

Has he ever written a song for his past girlfriends?

"No," Jericho hastened to say. "She’s the first girl I wrote a song for. She’s very special to me."

Jericho must have sung that love song in Kuala Lumpur and Sabah where, besides launching his album (released by EMI Music), he also did a concert.

Confronted with the hottest question of the hour – you know, is Heart pregnant or not? –- Jericho simply shrugged and said, "It’s funny and ridiculous. It’s not true."

Would he marry Heart if the rumor were true, somebody dared Jericho?

"I would. With me, it’s kasal muna bago baby," adding that he and Heart are "careful" and that they observe proper conduct (if you know what that means). To put it bluntly – and you read Jericho’s statements between the lines – they’re not doing "anything" that would result in an (accidental?) pregnancy.

He also found "funny and ridiculous" the rumor that Heart is so in love with him that she’s the one spending for him, showering him with expensive gifts to the extent that Heart’s "alarmed" parents have decided to cut off Heart’s credit cards.

In the Pacquiao bioflick, directed by Joel Lamangan and produced by Star Cinema with FLT Films (which bought the rights to the filmization of Pacquiao’s life way back in 1999 when he was a relative unknown), Jericho will have Bea Alonzo as leading lady, playing Pacquiao’s wife Jinkee.

Asked why he didn’t recommend Heart as his leading lady, Jericho said he loved the idea but it wasn’t within his "power" to make that decision.

"But I’m happy to work with Bea," he qualified.

* * *

Barely four months after her last homecoming, Ruffa Gutierrez is coming back this weekend with daughters Lorin and Venice for a month-long vacation.

"After celebrating the New Year and spending two weeks in freezing-cold Paris," said Ruffa during a phone chat with Funfare, "we’re eager to get some sunshine in the beaches in the Philippines. On our must-visit list are Cebu and Palawan."

Ruffa will be coming home with less emotional baggage. Last Jan. 21, Ruffa said she organized a children’s party at their Istanbul home for Ilknaz’s eighth birthday. Ilknaz is Ruffa’s husband Yilmaz Bektas’ daughter with his ex-girlfriend Selen who, if you recall, clashed with Ruffa on a few occasions.

Guess who showed up unannounced at the children’s party – yes, Selen!

"Everyone was surprised," said Ruffa. "She came up to me, hugged me and thanked me for holding the party. Tears were shed and no word was spoken."

Ruffa noted that her reconciliation with Selen coincided with that of her mom, Annabelle Rama and Regal Matriarch Mother Lily Monteverde at the birthday bash also last Jan. 21 of Ruffa’s twin brothers Richard and Raymond. Annabelle and Mother Lily had a misunderstanding during the controversy-laden 2005 (31st) Metro Manila Filmfest.

Recalling what someone once said that "No one has ever done anything too bad not to be forgiven," Ruffa added that she feels "lighter" now that she and Selen have smoked the peace pipe.

"It was more than enough that after six years, we have finally let bygones be bygones. After everything that she has said and done that affected me too badly, I can tell you how liberating it is to have bad energy removed from your system. Time definitely heals all wounds."

Incidentally, according to Ruffa, her parents (Annabelle and Eddie Gutierrez) finally met Yilmaz’s father during their recent visit to Istanbul where they were stranded in the Bektas home for a few days by a snow storm.

"Yilmaz’s dad gave my mom and my dad expensive welcome gifts," said Ruffa. "Yilmaz’s parents plan to visit the Philippines one of these days."

Before she hung up, Ruffa asked me to relay this message to the victims and survivors of the Wowowee stampede which was played up on the front pages of Turkish newspapers: "I want to express my sincere condolences to the family and friends of the Wowowee tragedy. My prayers are with you in this difficult time."

(E-mail reactions at [email protected])