John: I'm so blessed

John Estrada celebrated his birthday with family and close friends. And the birthday party looked like an early Father’s Day celebration for John who was euphoric with the presence of his children by his first wife Janice de Belen. John has a new baby girl Anechka with wife Priscilla Meirelles.

“I am so blessed and I’m just thankful to God,” John says, adding that his children Moira, Yna, Yuan and Kyla are happy and excited of the new addition to their brood.

Of Anechka, this is what John’s children have to say:

Yuan: “I am very happy we have a new family member. Everything else is new beginning.”

Yna: “She’s a baby so sobrang nakaka-excite. You get to play with her.”

Kyla: “When she’s full at hindi puyat, tawa lang ng tawa so masaya naman siya.”

John says that his children love babies. “Kahit kaninong baby love nila. So ano pa kung kapatid nila? With my four kids with Janice, I don’t have problems. Whenever they are free, anytime yon, sabi ko sa kanila kahit 30 minutes lang, let’s have dinner, let’s talk about your school or whatever.”

Priscilla has only good words for her husband. “He has been doing a good job. He’s been very loving with the baby. This is the first time that we are spending his birthday as a family, the three of us. Thank you so much for being a great husband and a great friend.”

John Prats: No third party in break-up

While Bianca Manalo chose to keep mum on the real reason why she and ex-boyfriend John Prats broke up, the latter opened up to answer allegations why they called it quits.

Alleged reasons floated around. That there was a third party in the person of Angelica Panganiban who recently went her separate ways from long-time boyfriend Derek Ramsay; and that John’s family was a party to his and Bianca’s separation.

In The Buzz, John was in high spirits as he faced the television cameras. “There was no third party. Kumbaga yong problema namin minsan sa relasyon di lang kayo nagkakasundo.” But Angelica’s name is being linked to the fray. “Nakakatawa talaga. Pangit talaga na pag-isipan na bata pa lang kami magkasama na kami. We are so close to each other at siya talaga ang best friend kong babae.”

No, he does not see in the foreseeable future that he will be courting Angelica. “Masyado kaming friends. Too much familiarity at masyado alam niya yung sikreto ko at masyado ko ring alam ang sikereto niya,” John says.

It is also not true that his family got in the way of his relationship with Bianca. “You cannot compare and kahit naman ako sa kanya never ko naman siyang papipiliin kung ako o pamilya niya. Always, dapat piliin mo pamilya mo because for how many years pamilya talaga ang nag-alalaga sa iyo at dapat di talaga sila kino-compare.”

John is not putting the blame on anyone, not on himself, not on Bianca. “I am the kind of person who gives everything, who gives my all, so I cannot have regrets.” He also has not tried going back to a former lover. “Di ko pa na-try. Di ko naman pina plano o kaya iniisip siya. Right now I am enjoying my work, my job.”

John says Bianca is “sobrang maalaga and very sweet. That is what I tell people because not everyone knows that Bianca is like that.”

John is beautifully handling the break-up. “May mga moments na minsan magsi-sink in na lang sa iyo and that’s part of the healing process and eventually, happy na.”

And how does John look at love relationships now? “Noong una nakakalungkot. Nakakalungkot na ganun ang nangyayari sa akin. Siguro totoo nga yong sinasabi ni Ms. Kris (Aquino) na pag-blessed ka sa isang bagay, sometimes hindi lang talaga mag-wo-work ang isang bagay. But I’m hoping for our happiness. Sana maging okay na ang lahat. Sana maka move on. My status today is moving forward and trying to enjoy my singlehood and my work.”

Is being friends with Bianca part of John’s moving on? “Oo naman. Possible talaga yon. Never ako nag-close ng door. Everything that has happened to us nakakatuwa naman na feeling ko darating yong time na magiging magkaibigan kami.”

PPO’s Ang Ating Orkestra

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) performed to various young audiences at the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) Phinma Theater recently. Billed as Sining Alamin’s Ang Ating Orkestra: An Arts Education Program, the PPO, under the baton of Maestro Herminigildo Ranera played Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and George Bernard Green’s Overture on Philippine Folksongs. Abner Delina Jr. acted as narrator at the event. The PPO is the country’s leading orchestra and widely regarded as one of the top musical ensembles in the Asia Pacific Region.