• Aren’t you glad that Dong Puno is back at ABS-CBN ("where he belongs") with his own 30-minute show, Dong Puno Nightly, 11:30 p.m. after Headlines, Monday through Friday? It seems that politics is not where it’s at for Dong who failed in his senatorial bid in last year’s elections.
• The addition of Ryan Agoncillo as showbiz-tsismis purveyor on Morning Girls is a plus factor for the show which has finally found a better direction with the inclusion of Carmina Villarroel as co-host (of Zsa Zsa Padilla and Pops Fernandez who’s currently on a US concert tour). One more tsismoso in tsismis-land won’t hurt, will it? Ryan is now also a member of the Whattamen cast, along with GMA recruits Dennis Padilla and Earl Ignacio, and that’s also a plus factor for the show.
• A Funfare DPA saw (soon-to-be-sweethearts?) Claudine Barretto and Raymart Santiago watching Signs at the Greenhills Theater last Sunday night. Is it a good "sign" of beautiful things to come? No, they weren’t alone. They were in a foursome with Claudine’s sister Marjorie and husband Dennis Padilla.
The feedback from Toronto is that the producer complained that Regine was "masyadong mahal sumingil" and that she was making "many demands." (In effect, Regine’s concert in Winnipeg was also cancelled.)
Yes, Regine was never able to leave for Toronto (and Winnipeg) and it’s good (thank God!) that she didn’t.
In fairness to and in defense of Regine, she and her group did all their best to push through with the concerts, but to no avail. All their best efforts were futile.
"Until the very last minute," according to Boy Abunda, Regine’s adviser, "the producer (unnamed) couldn’t come up with the agreed-upon 50 percent down payment, with the balance to be paid after the concert. They (producers) were making all sorts of alibis, kesyo they were short of cash blah-blah. If the concerts were sold out, how could they not have cash?"
At this point, let me point out that several Filipino artists (including Ariel Rivera, Gary Valenciano and Martin Nievera) have had sad experiences with concert producers abroad who would leave them, so to speak, holding an empty bag. They’d go to a foreign land for the concert, hoping to be given the down payment before leaving home (as the usual procedure is), but end up with no down payment, no "full payment" (kung walang "down," e, "full" pa kaya?). They are forced to go on with the show anyway because those who bought tickets would surely blame them if the show is cancelled, and not the producers.
Maybe Regine has learned her own lesson. Funfare knows Regine to be a professional; she has had several shows in various parts of the world, including L.A. and other parts of the West Coast, lately produced by couple Michael and Mely Gurfinkel, and in New York with producer Alice and Red Martinez, and they have nothing but praises for Regine’s professionalism and niceness as a person.
"Regine really wanted to go to Toronto and Winnipeg," added Boy, "and, even without the down payment, she was willing to settle for a promissory note from the producers but they couldn’t even give her that note. Toronto and Winnipeg are not just in Makati or Caloocan, ang layo-layo n’un. If you were in Regine’s place, would you risk going there even if you want to please your fans in those sold out concerts? Regine never had any problems with previous producers; ngayon lang. Can you blame her if she’s only protecting herself?"
Regarding the complaint that Regine was "masyadong mahal sumingil" and making "many demands," Boy has this to say: "Any artist, especially of Regine’s caliber, would want nothing less than a great show. That’s why she has to hire her own back-up singers and/or band. The producers knew all about these in the beginning. If they couldn’t afford Regine’s talent fee and meet her ‘demands,’ why did they hire her in the first place?"
Other (Filipino) artists have lessons to learn from this experience, I’m sure. One of them: Look before you leap.
To Regine’s fans in Toronto and Winnipeg, Boy is extending his apology in behalf of Regine.
"I’m sure that in the future," assures Boy, "Regine and they will be together in a great show under better circumstances."
One week after his beloved Kris Aquino (with whom he has agreed to go on a "cool-off period") came back from a week-long shopping spree, er, "soul searching" in L.A., Parañaque Mayor Joey Marquez himself left for the same US city without the fanfare and headline-making to-do surrounding Kris’ departure and arrival.
There were all sorts of speculations why Joey left for L.A., such as, 1). did he go there to have a much-needed relief from the media, 2). did he do his own shopping spree, er, "soul searching" or 3). did he seek further medical treatment after that well-publicized angiogram at the Asian Hospital where that infamous confrontation between Kris and Joey’s estranged wife Alma Moreno took place?
Yesterday, I heard a radio announcer say that Joey might have to undergo a bypass, so first thing I did was to check with Douglas Quijano, Joey’s manager-confidante-etcetera. Joey is back and keeping a low profile.
Explained Douglas: "At the Asian Hospital, Joey was found to be healthy. Doctors said that his heart is okay, that it is as strong as that of a child. He went to the States to sign important papers and not for a possible bypass, not even for further treatment. Joey is okay. Mas malakas pa sa kalabaw ’yan, e."
There. Record set straight.
Joey’s admirers, Kris included, can now sit back and relax.