What, Ryan, no ‘closure’ with your girlfriend?

Ryan Agoncillo and Judy Ann Santos: Is their romance hurting a non-showbiz girl?

If you’ve been following the love story of Ryan Agoncillo and Judy Ann Santos, I’m sure that, like any romantic, you’re titillated by every detail and every development (Are they getting married? How soon? You know...).

But did you know that one girl is hurting – terribly, terribly! – and she’s none other than the "other girlfriend" of Ryan, the non-showbiz girl mentioned in write-ups as having gone to the States. I say "the other girlfriend" because, according to the girl’s mother who happens to be my friend and schoolmate, she and Ryan haven’t formally broken up and her daughter learned about Ryan and Judy Ann’s relationship only from the papers. In short, Ryan and his other girlfriend haven’t had any "closure" yet.

Oh my God, Ryan, how could you?

Stories about the romance between Ryan and Judy Ann, who became close on the set of the just-concluded ABS-CBN teleseries Krystala have been coming out early this year. But in April, to mark their anniversary, Ryan’s "other girlfriend" called her mother long distance from the US and asked her to buy three bouquets of tulips and have them delivered to Ryan’s condo unit, to his bar and to ABS-CBN.

"My daughter didn’t migrate to the US," explained the mother who is hurting like her daughter. "Ryan knew why my daughter left and that was to work so that she could buy the stuff she needed for her job... so that when she came back she would be set for life. Ryan knew she was coming back. If he was really courting Judy Ann at that time, he should have told my daughter the truth and broke up with her formally instead of my daughter learning about him and Judy Ann only from the papers. It hurt me as a mother to read stories quoting Ryan as saying that ‘his other girlfriend’ left him.

"I am truly happy for Ryan if he has found new happiness with Judy Ann; they belong to the same world. But he should have been man enough to close the ‘other chapter’ first before starting a new one, don’t you think? As a mother, it hurts me even more to see my daughter in a daze, not knowing how to face her friends who have been asking her whatever happened to her and Ryan."

The girl wasn’t supposed to come home yet but she did, purposely to find out the truth, straight from Ryan, and not just listen to the rumors. But, sob and sigh, according to the mother, Ryan didn’t want to talk to her daughter – just because he has found a "prize catch" in Judy Ann Santos?

Come on, Ryan, face the truth because, as The STAR blurb says, "Truth Shall Prevail," and it will set you free.

No, the girl or her mother is not running after Ryan. They simply want the truth and nothing but, even now that the girl has started to move on.

Can the Barako Boys offer anything more than their sexy bodies?

The trail blazed in the early ’70s by the American macho singing group Village People (remember their hit song In The Navy and YMCA?) is a crowded avenue today. Clones have been sprouting in other parts of the world. In the Philippines, we saw the rise – and demise – of the first Pinoy Village People copycat, the Hagibis, which has inspired similar groups since then. There were the short-lived Powerboys, The Hunks, the Masculados and the Viva Hot Men. Now come the Barako Boys composed of six hunky-masculado-hot powerboys: Jay Manalo, Luis Alandy, Christian Vasquez, Reggie Curley, Carlo Maceda and Paolo Paraiso.

When you see them on TV or, "live" (and alive) like yesterday at Dish during the launch of the Barakos’ eponymous debut album (released by BMG Records Pilipinas, Inc.), the first question that pops in your mind is: Can these boys offer anything other than their sexy, to-die-for bodies? They can sway and swing this way and that way, and that can pass for dancing. But can they sing?

Maybe to prove their worth on that aspect (singing, that is), the Barakos did two cuts (Hot na Hot and Barako) from their five-song album for the benefit of the movie press. The Barakos didn’t seem to be lipsynching so they must be singing "live" (look, Ma, no "ghost" singers, unlike one group whose members were discovered – uncovered! – to be merely moving their lips sans sound).

But Luis claimed that the Barakos had voice lessons (from Tony Carpio) before they dared record the album.

"I really sing," said Luis, although mostly in private before he joined the Barako Boys. "I know that Jay, Carlo and Reggie also sing. The four of us sing mostly ballads while Christian and Paolo are more into rock."

The birth of the Barako Boys came during the staging of the hit musical revue All About Men at the Music Museum. Three of those behind the production – Manny Valera, Arnold Vegafria and Leo Dominguez, managers of some of the boys – cooked up the idea because they saw "chemistry" among Luis, Christian, Paolo and Carlo who were all in All About Men. Jay and Reggie were brought in to complete the group.

BMG Records saw the potential of the Barakos as recording artists, thus the album. (Hot na Hot and Barako were composed by Lito Camo while the other original cut, Binibining Pilipinas, is by Edwin Marollano. The remaining cuts are remakes – Randy Santiago’s Babaero and Juan dela Cruz Band’s No Touch.)

If you want to see for yourself how the Barako Boys perform, watch the album launch on Aug. 7 on GMA’s S.O.P. Or better still, buy a copy of the album.

IPS giving Pinoys good livelihood

Through the invitation of his PRO and adviser/manager, Aster Amoyo, Funfare had lunch with the self-effacing, soft-spoken and dynamic president/CEO of IPS, Inc., Koji Miyashita, who put up his company in 1991 right after he finished International Economics at a university in his native Japan. The local company, Pilipinas International Marketing Services, Inc. (PIMS), was set up in 1997.

According to the brochure, IPS, Inc. is a dynamic and rapidly-growing marketing company with a wide array of innovative products and services, all designed to deliver total client satisfaction. Its strength lies in understanding the needs of the Global Citizen, its primary market. Global Citizens are the driven individuals who leave their home country to seek greener pastures overseas. They are composed of the Brazilian businessmen, Chinese migrant families, Korean graduate students, Filipino IT professionals, Thai entrepreneurs, Indian systems analysts and factory workers from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh residing in Japan. One of the basic needs of these Global Citizens is to feel closer to their homelands anytime, anywhere. ISP has defied traditional business precepts to meet the challenges of satisfying this need. Through its in-depth market knowledge, IPS provides strong connections between these Global Citizens and the people, traditions and comforts they have left behind – in effect strengthening the ties that matter most.

Through his companies, Koji has been helping provide jobs for Pinoys (and citizens of other Asian countries as well).

PIMS alone employs in its Manila office more than 300 Pinoys, headed by Miss Amoyo. Among the services offered by IPS Inc./PIMS are an international call center (with local actors as endorsers, including Aga Muhlach, Richard Gomez and Piolo Pascual whose faces smile back at you from the call cards) and Access TV, the company’s broadcast division which, in association with GMA 7, launched last April the GMA Pinoy TV which now telecasts several shows all over Japan, and Mabuhay Channel (which carries shows of ABC 5, IBC 13 and NBN Channel 4).

Koji’s companies have also been producing concerts, open to the public and purposely to drum up IPS/PIMS services, topbilling local artists such as Regine Velasquez, Rachel Alejandro, South Border, Ogie Alcasid and Ariel Rivera.

Although he can stay in Japan and run his business(es), with Miss Amoyo as his trusted woman in the Philippines, Koji prefers to live in the Philippines with his family.

"I love it here," he said, shyly.

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