Wowowee back soon!

Many people, especially avid followers of the ABS-CBN gameshow, have been asking if Wowowee has been totally scrapped or will be revived after its airing screeched to a halt when a stampede killed 71 people and injured more than 300 during its planned first-anniversary presentation last Feb 4 at the Philsport Arena (the Old Ultra).

The answer is a big yes, Wowowee will be back – very soon (perhaps sooner than you can say, "Wowowee!").

"It will still be hosted by Willie Revillame who has created a cult of his own," said Funfare’s Bohol Avenue DPA. "Willie has also turned the gameshow into an inspiration for the poor who pin their hopes for a better future on the show’s various contests which shell out cash goodies as prizes."

The DPA added that there will be changes in the format, all for the good of the show and its followers who have been, despite the tragedy, clamoring for the show’s comeback. Whatever those changes are you’ll have to find out for yourself when Wowowee returns...this Monday (Feb. 27)?...or next Monday (March 6)? Stay tuned.

One positive change ("improvement"), according to the DPA, is the inclusion of a Bayan Micro-Financing which will help the winners, if they so desire, put up income-generating small-scale industries. ABS-CBN, which helped bury the dead and take care of the injured’s medical/hospitalization needs, put up the 71 Dreams Foundation in memory of those who died in the stampede.

Dayanara, Terrence break up

Remember Funfare’s report a few weeks ago that Dayanara Torres, ex-wife of Marc Anthony (who is now the husband of Jennifer Lopez), has found a new love in Terrence Howard, Best Actor contender (for Hustle and Flow) at this year’s Oscars to be held first week of March?

Dayanara kept mum about the romance despite the loud whispers that had spread several weeks prior to Howard’s revelation that they were going steady in November last year when he received a Renaissance Artist Honor at the Diversification Awards in Hollywood.

Howard, who is also in the cast of the Best Picture Oscar-nominated Crash, was quoted as saying, "She went through so much over Marc Anthony. I don’t want her to have a secret." Reports said that Howard later called Dayanara, telling her, "I just told everyone about us. I told the whole story. I love you."

Good for Dayanara, ‘no?

Think again.

The latest word on the sweethearts, according to Funfare’s Manhattan DPA, is that they have broken up, quoting this report from an unidentified source: Oscar hopeful Terrence Howard has split from Marc Anthony’s ex-wife Dayanara Torres because their children are more important than their love for each other. The couple were an item over Christmas, but have decided to give up on romance because they found it difficult to find time for each other. The actor says, "Our lives are so different. I live in Philadelphia with my children and she lives in Los Angeles with her children. You can’t make that work." Former Miss Universe Torres is mother to Anthony’s two sons, Christian, five, and Ryan, two; while Howard is dad to three children.

Sayang! If they didn’t break up soon, we would have seen Dayanara in the arms of Howard on the red carpet during the Oscar night.

Incidentally, Clairol has just signed up Dayanara as its new "brand ambassador" for its Hydrience hair color products, and will appear in English and Spanish-language advertising, public relations and retail initiatives for Hydrience (the brand Clairol founded in 1996).

Dayanara is also the face and spokesmodel of Metro 7, the in-house design team of America’s top retail store, Wal-Mart. She will be featured in a four-page advertising spread of Metro 7 in the April issue of Vogue.

Keep it up, Francis!

Being an avid reader, I want to congratulate my good friend, lawyer Francis Padua-Papica (one of last year’s recipients of the ABS-CBN’s Bayaning Pilipino Awards), for the expansion of the Read to Live project of his own Francis Padua-Papica Foundation Inc. (FPPFI). Francis, who is a junior partner of the law offices of Nordstrom, Steele, Nicolette, Blythe and Jefferson based in Los Angeles, is from Naga City.

In the Libro Ko Para Sa’Yo program of his Read to Live project, Francis distributed books in Metro Manila (Sampaloc and Pasig), Batangas and the Bicol Region (in Luzon), Iloilo City in the Visayas and Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao during his recent homecoming. He’ll distribute more books in other regions of the country on his next visit.

FPPFI, established in 1997, is also launching Mga Kuwentong Pambata ng Papica, a story-writing contest for children. Application forms are available on line. (For more details, visit www.papicafoundation.com.)

On the planning stage are a book-reading session by book-lovers and celebrities, and the awarding of the winning story for children.

Other FPPFI programs include the College Bound Program which grants four-year scholarship to deserving high school and college students; the Leadership Achievement Award; the Youth Leadership Conference held every first Saturday of February annually; and a medical mission which holds free medical check-ups and distributes medicines.

Is Francis doing all these with an eye on next year’s elections?

"No," said Francis. "I’m not interested in politics."

Not even if he is highly-qualified, having graduated valedictorian from the St. Paul Academy in Goa, Camarines Sur; finishing cum laude with an AB in History degree from the University of California; and cum laude with a Law degree from the Syracuse University in New York.

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