Is all forgiven between Manny and Jinkee?

Manny Pacquiao may have boxed himself out of tight spots in the ring, but can he knock out the persistent rumors linking him to sexy starlet Krista Ranillo?

The rumors have somehow tarnished the historic feat Pacman achieved last week, when he became the only boxer to win seven titles in different weight divisions.

Right after he returned to Manila last Friday, Pacman tried to dispel the rumors by kissing wife Jinkee lips to lips.

That does mean all is forgiven between Manny and Jinkee? Pacman insists that the stories were probably a publicity gimmick for his forthcoming movie with Krista, “Wapakman.”

But a friend of mine who has a spy in the Pacquiao entourage shared with me recently juicy morsels about goings-on between the boxer and the starlet.

My friend told me that even when Manny was training in Baguio, he and Krista were practically inseparable. At a dinner in a private room in a Baguio hotel, for example, the other diners were surprised at how lovey-dovey the two were.  

And there was the episode when Ara Mina went to Baguio to see Manny, probably to ask for support for her candidacy as a councilor in Quezon City. Ara, of course, was also once bruited to be really close to the champ. According to my friend, she waited for three hours before finally seeing Manny. Ara must have had the surprise of her life when she found Krista with Manny.

When Manny flew to Las Vegas to complete his training, Krista, as everyone knows by now, flew with him. But only a few people know that she shopped till she dropped at a Nike outlet in Vegas, courtesy of the gallant champ. Manny is a Nike endorser, so he even arranged for the store to temporary close while Krista went on a buying spree.

And when Manny sang “Sometimes When We Touch” at the Jimmy Kimmel Live show, Krista was in the studio audience.

But here’s the topper: The champ is said to have given the lucky girl a whopping $2 million so she could start her own business in the States! That’s a staggering 100 million in pesos. Eat your heart out, Ara.

No wonder Jinkee was on the warpath. Even before the fight, she had confronted the executives of GMA-7 after learning that Krista was always present at the taping of Pacman’s show, Show Me the Manny. Jinkee thought the network people were tolerating what was going on between Manny and Krista, but they explained that they were not remiss in reminding the lovestruck champ that he behave properly.

So will a kiss do it for Manny? Tune in.

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Close at the heels of the proclamation of Edu Manzano as the runningmate of ex-Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro in next year’s presidential derby came the news that Edu and girlfriend Pinky Webb have split. That was quite a surprise, considering that the two, who had been together for five years, had announced that they were going to get married next year.

So what triggered the break-up? Tito Ricky Lo, who broke the news in his column in the Philippine Star, says it was not politics but something “very private.” And it’s not because of a third party either.

“There are just some things that will not always go the way we planned it,” Edu told a news correspondent after he formally accepted his nomination last week at the convention of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD. Pinky did not attend the convention.

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Showbiz lost another beloved member last week. Movie and television actor Johnny Delgado passed away at age 61 Thursday after a long bout with lymphoma.

Delgado, whose real name is Juan Marasigan Feleo, was one of the wacky cast of Goin’ Bananas, a hit comedy show in the 1980s. Later he took on serious roles, winning a FAMAS statuette and taking the best actor plum at the Metro Manila Film Festival in 2000 for his role in “Tanging Yaman.”