Cesar for Governor of Bohol?

Is it for Governor of Bohol or for Congressman of the province?

Fresh from a “honeymoon” in the US with wife Sunshine Cruz (yes, things are back to normal between them), Cesar Montano, a native of Baclayon town in Bohol, appears to be deadset on running in the 2010 elections, although he isn’t saying for what position.

I just came from a weekend in Tagbilaran and Boholanos I talked to said that Cesar, after he lost his senatorial bid in last year’s elections, has been visible in the province, organizing medical missions and entertainment activities.

If he runs for governor, Cesar will collide head-on with incumbent Rep. Edgar Chatto, now on his last term and is said to be interested in running for governor. If he runs for congressman (in the province’s first district), Cesar will be pitted with “a Veloso” who happens to be Edgar’s in-law.

A tough fight is looming in the land of tarsier and Chocolate Hills. Exciting!

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The invitation was worded in Spanish and the Escudero twins Maria Cecilia and Joaquin Cruz were pictured in cowboy garbs. The occasion was the twins’ first birthday bash held cowboy-style at Club Filipino in San Juan City last Sunday, Sept. 7. The twins’ birthday is Sept. 8, same as that of Richard Gomez and Lucy Torres’ daughter Juliana who celebrated with a swimming party at the Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong City that same day.

As usual with the Escudero couple Sen. Chiz and Tintin, the affair was subdued, masaya but not showbiz na showbiz, even if the twins’ parents are virtually showbiz (Tintin is a theater performer and Chiz is movie star-ish, isn’t he?) and most of the very few invited guests were showbiz, including Susan Roces and daughter Grace Poe-Llamanzares, Rizal Gov. Jun-Jun Ynares and wife Andrea Bautista (with their daughter), Eddie Garcia, Regal Matriarch Mother Lily Monteverde, Sen. Loren Legarda, Sen. Mar Roxas (minus his girlfriend Korina Sanchez), art patron/banker/STAR columnist Danny Dolor, Paul Cabral, Sen. Migz Zubiri and wife Audrey Tan (with their child), Marichu “Manay Ichu” Maceda, Speaker Prospero Nograles and Rep. Salvador “Sonny” Escudero III (Sorsogon, Chiz’s father).

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Had he fallen the wrong way, knock on wood, Ricky Davao could have sustained serious injuries.

It happened at a ranch during the shooting of a rodeo scene in Star Cinema’s Land Down Under (tentative title), the first movie team-up of Piolo Pascual and Angel Locsin, directed by Rory B. Quintos.

“The horse I was riding on suddenly stood on its hind legs,” Ricky (playing Angel’s father) told Funfare during a brief phone chat. “And I was there hanging on the air, hugging the back of the horse for dear life.”

And then, he fell and the bull actually stepped on him — not so hard, fortunately.

“It was scary,” said Ricky, perhaps at that moment remembering what happened to Christopher Reeve and Amalia Fuentes (who was confined to a wheelchair for months after she fell from a horse during the shooting of the Sampaguita movie Tulisan with Susan Roces).

Ricky is all right now, back on the saddle.

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Feeling lovesick, lover boy Dr. Hayden Kho flew to Paris the other day to join his ladylove Dr. Vicki Belo who rushed to the City of Lights Friday last week for some “soul-searching” after their LQ (Lovers’ Quarrel, ehem!) that actually didn’t last longer than 24 hours.

“For the first time in my life I cried over a woman,” confessed Hayden who is, as you know, a mere boy at 28, a good 22 years Vicki’s junior. “I realized that I couldn’t live without Vicks, and vice-versa.”

By now, the lovers must be locked in a conciliatory embrace, crying on each other’s shoulders and vowing to love each other forever and ever. Huwag na kayo mag-LQ ulit, huh?

You see, the rich are different from you and me. When poor couples fight, they usually hie off not to Paris but to Pasig where they make a “fast turn” (as in biglang liko, if you know what it means) toward a private place for a kiss-and-make-up tryst.

Trust Hayden and “my Vicks” to come home as sweet and as loving as ever, smiling widely, when they come home.

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A US-based Funfare DPA said that, keeping his fingers crossed, Oprah Winfrey might end up as manager of Charice. Big deal, ‘no?

Oprah has become so endeared to Charice, especially after the Philippines’ Girl with a Golden Voice guested on her show early this year, that she sent a TV crew to the Philippines to follow Charice around, including Charice at-home activity in her native Laguna.

The clips were shown on Oprah’s show yesterday when Charice guested for the second time.

Don’t look now but Charice will perform next with another bigwig — yes, Celine Dion, no less, at the Madison Square Garden in New York any day now. I guess Oprah will air on her show footage of that event. Stay tuned.

Briefly noted

• The Philippines’ One Hundred directed by Chris Martinez is one of the 14 films selected for the New Currents Award competition at this year’s Pusan International Film Festival. All the films are either the first or second works of the competing directors. Only last week, Lav Diaz’s Melancholia put the Philippines on the film-world map when it won Best Film in the Orizzonte Section at the 65th Venice International Film Festival.

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