Why Joel did what he did

Curtain-raisers:

• After a few days of "mysterious" absence, Pia Guanio (photo) finally resurfaced on Eat, Bulaga! over the weekend and, hopefully, will do so on GMA 7’s early-evening newscast 24 Oras where Jolina Magdangal beautifully took over while Pia was away, thus giving the televiewers a chance to see who does it better. I should say, "Congrats, Jolina!" for a job well-done. Next time, Pia should be careful about taking a long leave of absence or else the one who pinchhits for her might turn out to be better and give management some food for thought. So where did Pia go when she disappeared without notice from the two shows? Yes, she spent a well-deserved holiday in Hong Kong. With whom? Clue: Rumored boyfriend Vic Sotto (photo) was also gone for almost the same number of days and materialized on Eat, Bulaga! also over the weekend.

• Why should the Angeles brothers Hero and Henry take it against Kris Aquino for saying the truth? When fortune-teller Rene Mariano guested on Kris’ show Deal Or No Deal, Kris reminded Rene that his hula that Hero’s "stardom" wouldn’t last long did come true (and, I must say, I agree with Rene). It hurt the Angeles brothers who bombarded Kris with acerbic text messages, even if Kris had promptly apologized. Taking advantage of their new-found accidental "15 minutes of fame," the brothers guested on Startalk last Saturday and took Kris to task. A friendly advice to the Angeles brothers: To regain lost glory, they should mend their ways instead of pouncing on whoever says something they feel is hostile to them.

• Watching Aksyon Balita, the late-afternoon newscast on RPN 9 (5 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday), gives you a feeling of deja vu. The newscast is anchored by Aljo Bendijo, Connie Sison and Erwin Tulfo. You’ve seen them somewhere before, haven’t you? All three used to do the same job on ABS-CBN which Aljo and Erwin left under not-so-pleasant circumstances; while Connie continues to host a show on the ANC, ABS-CBN’s sister channel. Before moving to RPN 9, Aljo and Erwin worked together briefly with Jay Sonza in UNTV. Besides Aksyon Balita, Erwin also co-hosts another RPN 9 show, Isumbong Mo sa Tulfo Brothers (Saturday nights) with his Kuya Ramon, Raffy and Ben.

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A few issues ago, Funfare reported that direk Joel Lamangan has decided to run for mayor of Cavite City under the Liberal Party banner, which happens to be the party of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo against whose administration Joel is among the harshest critics. Joel’s "surprise" move has prompted friends to point an "accusing" finger at him, "Joel, how could you!?!"

Is he, so to speak, sleeping with the enemy?

The same morning that item came out, Joel called up Funfare to explain his decision, saying his friends didn’t quite understand the circumstances he’s in.

"It’s true that I’m running under the Liberal Party but it’s the LP faction under (outgoing) Senate President Frank Drilon and not the LP faction of Gloria Arroyo," said Joel. "There’s such a thing as tactical alliance. During the Marcos Era, I joined demos and rallies against Marcos but my political stand didn’t stop me from working with Marcos’ daughter Imee at the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines. Now that I’m running, I want to make sure that I would win, so I have to resort to this ‘tactical alliance’ by joining a party which, I think, can better help me."

But how come it was PGMA’s ally Manila Mayor Lito Atienza who raised his hand during his proclamation?

"On the day I was with Cavite Gov. Ayong Maliksi," recalled Joel, "Mayor Atienza happened to be there, trying to woo Ayong back to the LP Gloria Arroyo faction, so siya (Atienza) ang nagtaas ng kamay ko."

Asked why he didn’t resist, Joel said, "Di ko na napigil."

Joel said that it doesn’t mean that, as his friends have suspected, he has already eaten his principles and..."sold his soul to the devil" (the words of one of Joel’s disillusioned friends)?

"No," said Joel, "my principles are intact. I will continue to be anti-administration and I still want Gloria Arroyo to resign."

And why did he decide to veer away from showbiz and plunge into the dirty waters of politics?

"I want to help my kababayan in Cavite City," explained Joel. "I feel that napapabayaan sila. And also, as head of Nagkakaisang Manggagawa ng Pelikulang Pilipino, I want to help especially the less fortunate in the industry."

Through the help of Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte, Joel was able to get 4,000 PhilHealth cards for Nagkakaisang Manggagawa members.

But even if he wins, Joel said he won’t stop directing movies (his latest being Regal Films’ Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah, starring Zsa Zsa Padilla, Pops Fernandez and Rustom Padilla, among others).

"I will still do movies but maybe not as many as I’m doing now," he said. "My priority, if and when, will be Cavite City."

Showbiz and politics are still strange bedfellows, right? I wonder, does Joel know very well what he’s getting into?

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