A Rashomon kind of close encounter

Curtain-raisers:

• Fans and friends of Vice Ganda (photo) need not worry, according to somebody close to the It’s Showtime host. Is there something wrong with Vice’s kidney (due to taking reducing/slimming pills)? Is there a small cyst in his throat (due to too much talking)? Is Vice suffering from acute ulcers? “No to all those questions,” Vice’s friend told Funfare. “It’s true that Vice was hospitalized (and took a few days leave from Showtime) and it was due to acid reflux. He’s okay na, thanks to antacid medication.”
• JM de Guzman is back in tip-top shape as you must have seen in episodes of the ABS-CBN drama shows Ipaglaban Mo and Maalaala Mo Kaya. Now that he has recovered from drug addiction, JM has even become a better actor (with more depth). No, he hasn’t reconciled with his former girlfriend Jessy Mendiola who attended JM’s recent birthday bash; they claimed that they are only friends now. If plans don’t miscarry, ABS-CBN might cast the two JM’s in a teleserye. Would that lead to a rekindling of their rudely-interrupted romance? Wait and see.
• A singer is pricing himself out of the market. Would you believe that he charges P100,000 per song? That was the talent fee he (rather, his manager) quoted when a publication (that has been helping the singer with his press releases and other stories) invited him to sing at its special event. Not worth it. Thank you and goodbye!...Same with an actress past her prime, who charged a producer-director, brace yourselves, P2M for a movie. Not worth it. Thank you and goodbye!
• Scene: The recent wake for the Santiago family matriarch Cielito Legaspi-Santiago at La Salle Greenhills.
• People involved: Marjorie Barretto, her estranged husband Dennis Padilla and their daughter Julia Barretto, with Marjorie’s Ate Gretchen in a “special participation.”
• Background: In the long-running Barretto family feud, Inday and daughter Claudine are on one side against Marjorie and Gretchen on the other side, with Claudine’s estranged husband Raymart Santiago and Dennis caught in the crossfire.
• Subplot: Raymart and Claudine are entangled in a separate issue, and so are Marjorie and Dennis who vehemently objected to Marjorie’s filing a case to have their children’s surname changed from Padilla to Barretto.

As in the classic film Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa, there are three versions to what happened when the main protagonists bumped into each other at the wake.

• Account No. 1: When Dennis tried to greet Julia, the daughter simply ignored the father. Dennis called Julia outside to give her a piece of his mind. Julia said sorry and that was it.
• Account No. 2: When Dennis tried to greet Julia, the daughter simply ignored the father, and so did Marjorie (“Parang wala silang nakita,” said an eyewitness), so Dennis, his fatherly pride deeply hurt, called Julia outside to dress her down. Marjorie followed them. Shouting match followed and Marjorie slapped Dennis. Gretchen’s bodyguards pacified them. Dennis quietly left.
• Account No. 3: When Dennis tried to greet Julia, the daughter simply ignored the father. Dennis called Julia outside to give her a lesson in courtesy. Marjorie followed them. They talked briefly, not in fighting stance, and broke up without any incident.

As in Rashomon, which is about three versions of a murder, there’s no resolution which version/account was true. Only the people involved can, if they ever will, tell (and they are not…yet).

End of the story with a lingering puzzle.

They will sing to raise funds for the Red Cross

Set for tonight is Blood Samaritan, a benefit concert to mark the 66th founding anniversary of the Quezon City Chapter of the Philippine National Red Cross, starting at 6:30 at The Valencia Place (#36 Valencia St., Barangay Valencia, Quezon City).

The performers are Jose Mari Chan, Raul Sunico, George Yang, Lovi Poe, Rachel Alejandro, Ryan Cayabyab, Cris Villonco, Celeste Legaspi and Regal Matriarch Mother Lily Monteverde (who owns the venue) with a solo piano performance.

The show aims to raise funds for the Blood Services of the Philippine National Red Cross-Quezon City Chapter to ensure that indigent and charity patients avail safe blood whenever necessary. The Blood Samaritan Fund shall be used to cover the cost of the blood processing and testing fees of the blood units issued to indigent and charity patients.

Ticket price is only P5,000 per. Go. Watch it!

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)