The other Tulfo

Curtain-raisers:

• I just got a "flash" report from Toronto that Regine Velasquez’s sold-out concert slated at Massey Hall Saturday night (Aug. 31) was cancelled. How come? Stay tuned for a report from Funfare’s Toronto DPA.

• The sister of a TV host (just as pretty and as slim) realized her secret dream of being kissed by Martin Nievera when she watched Martin’s show at Onstage. During the audience participation (where Martin hung upside-down like Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man), the sister volunteered to be Martin’s kissing partner. It was supposed to be just a smack – you know, an innocent, fleeting lip contact – but the sister savored the moment, turning it into a passionate kiss. It was a good thing Martin didn’t get carried away.

• Dingdong Avanzado and Jessa Zaragoza are now on a two-week holiday in the States in time for the reunion of Dingdong’s maternal relatives. The couple might take advantage of their vacation by finally starting on their "joint venture" – their first baby, that is. "After all," said Jessa, "we’ve been married for more than one year at dapat may baby na kami, di ba?"

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Mention the name Tulfo and three daring men at once come to mind – Ramon (who’s on RPN 9), Raffy (ABC 5) and Erwin (ABS-CBN).

But wait a minute. There’s another – a fourth – Tulfo who’d rather be known not so much as the three other Tulfos’ brother but simply as "a formidable foe." He’s none other than Ben Tulfo who is hosting his own show called Bitag on ABC 5, 5:30 p.m., starting on Sept. 14 (Saturday).

No problem, really, because the more "fighting Tulfos" we have, the better for victims of crime who feel that they can get justice more promptly and more speedily by asking the help of the media’s crime-busting sector than by filing a case in court.

But there’s a little hitch, as Ben Tulfo himself revealed at the presscon for Bitag last Friday at Max’s Restaurant (Quezon Avenue).

Ben disclosed that Bitag could have gotten off the launching pad much earlier hadn’t "somebody" blocked it.

Said Ben in Tagalog, "Kung sino pa ang kadugo mo ay sila pa ang salot at humadlang para huwag makapasok ang Bitag sa mga istasyon kung saan sila’y napapanood. Buti na lang may isa pang natitirang nakakaunawa. Siya pa ’yung pinaka-sikat sa higanteng channel."

Fighting words, those.

A case of sibling rivalry, perhaps, or professional jealousy?

Added Ben, who can’t drop his surname for another one, "Ayokong masama sa nakapaketeng (packaged) image ng mga Tulfo sa media."

Like Ramon, Raffy and Erwin, "the other Tulfo" also writes a hard-hitting column (for the tabloid Saksi Ngayon) and hosts his own radio program (Imbestigasyong Bahala ni Tulfo on DZME 1530, 9 a.m.). He’s also fearless in pursuit of justice especially for poor victims, just like his brothers, but Ben promises "something new" in Bitag (meaning "trap").

In the opening spiel of Bitag on Sept. 14, Ben will air some kind of a "disclaimer" that goes: "Sa industriyang aking ginagawalan, halos nagkakapare-pareho na. Hindi sa nais naming maiba pero makikita ang kaibahan ng Bitag."

Hmmmm! Who is Ben Tulfo making parinig to?

The Sex Bomb ‘issue’

There are 13 Sex Bomb Girls all in all, count ’em, launched and popularized on Eat, Bulaga, and "baptized" so (after Tom Jones’ hit song) by Bulaga host Joey de Leon.

Outside of Bulaga, however, the girls have been split into two groups, one simply known as the Sexbomb (one word) Girls who have recorded an album called Unang Putok (a very suggestive title, don’t you think?) for BMG Pilipinas, Inc. and the other the Sex Bomb (two words) Dancers who are currently promoting the album I Like and Other Dance Hits for Universal Records.

Whether they are one big group (of 13) or two groups, the girls look – and sound – the same to all of us (don’t they?) because they are as bombastic singing as they are dancing. So you can’t blame the media sometimes for confusing one group (the singers) for the other (the dancers).

BMG’s singing Sexbomb Girls are Rochelle, Izzy, Jopay, Monique, Weng and Yvette; while Universal Records’ dancing Sex Bomb Girls are Eiraliz Bermudez, Miavelle Pangyarihan, Grace Nera, Cheryl Tolentino, Sandy Tolentino, Jacquiline Rivas and Nathalie Imperial.

Hadn’t cooler heads intervened, including Danny Olivarez (of the Philippine Association of the Recording Industry or PARI), a clash over the Sex Bomb "issue" between BMG and Universal could have reached, gasp, the court. Thank God, it was aborted.

Meanwhile, Universal’s I Like promo goes on at SM Pampanga on Sept. 8, SM North EDSA on Sept. 14, SM Fairview on Sept. 15, Ever Ortigas on Sept. 21 and SM Southmall on Sept. 27. All shows are at 4 p.m.