Why Toni is a ‘rarity’ in showbiz

Ask Toni Gonzaga about affairs of the heart and she’ll go beyond saying that she hasn’t had a boyfriend even if she’s already "a ripe 22," a pronouncement that never fails to make eyebrows soar.

"I’m untouched," said Toni (who actually used another word to describe her state of being), "and I’m proud of it. My friends say that I’m being ‘left out’ but I don’t really care. Am I holding back – you know, pinipigilan ko ba? No, I’m not. Eh, hindi ko pa maramdaman; I still don’t feel the ‘need.’ So what can I do?"

And that’s what makes Toni a "rarity" in a field where denizens are perceived to be, well, "daring" and "adventurous."

Coming from a conservative family, Toni has been given by her parents the go-signal to have a boyfriend but she doesn’t "feel the need" for it just yet.

"It will come," she said, assuring her family.

The matter of Toni’s "innocence" came up during a group interview because in Crazy For You, the new ABS-CBN soap slated for airing next month, Toni agreed to wear a two-piece suit in a beach scene shot in Ibiza, Spain. The teleserye was also shot for three weeks around Barcelona. Toni’s co-stars are Luis Manzano, John Prats and Pokwang who was almost arrested by the Spanish police when she wore a bikini during the shooting of a street scene.

"People have been asking me if I’m choosy," said Toni who has been romantically linked not only to Luis but also to Sam Milby, her leading man in Star Cinema’s You Are The One which is opening tomorrow (Aug. 30) in Metro theaters. "No, I’m not. I’m not even particular about a guy’s looks. Okay na sa akin if he’s God-fearing, a gentleman, passionate about life and his work, has a well-toned body, has sex appeal, has beautiful eyes, with a striking personality, madiskarte and neat. ‘Yan ba ang pihikan?"

Asked who between Luis and Sam comes close to being her ideal man, Toni demurred.

"It’s for them, or for any other guy, to know and for me to find out," she said.

In Crazy For You, Toni plays an OFW who works as a day-hire maid in Barcelona to help support her family back in the Philippines. Luis plays a Filipino student who hires Toni to clean his apartment. John plays Luis’ friend and Pokwang, Toni’s friend.

In You Are The One, Toni meets Sam when she applies for a visa at the US Embassy where Sam works as a vice-consul. He denies her application and she gets back at him by giving him a hard time when he obtains a copy of his birth certificate at the National Statistics Office (NSO) where she works as a clerk. They eventually fall in love. It’s the first movie of Toni and Sam who first worked together in the Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition where she was the host and he one of the housemates.

WWE’s Batista is half-Pinoy

Filipino blood runs not only among Hollywood actors (Lou Diamond Phillips, Tia Carrere and Rob Schneider among them) but also in some sports celebrities, including Dave Michael Bautista, popularly known as Batista, who’s considered World Wrestling Entertainment’s biggest star.

Batista proudly shows off his Filipino-ness, together with his Greek heritage, through one of his numerous tattoos showing a Philippine flag and a Greek flag merged into one.

The ultimate winner of last year’s Royal Rumble, Batista is known for his signature move which is a maneuver that slams his opponents down so hard in a sitting position. It’s called The Batista Bomb.

Local wrestling fans will have a chance to watch Batista deliver The Batista Bomb when he performs at the WWE SmackDown! Survivor Series Tour on Oct. 21 and 22 at the Araneta Coliseum, together with fellow WWE superstars Rey Misterio, The Undertaker, The Great Khali and other wrestling greats.

But before that, Batista is arriving on Sept. 7 to promote the show.

(Note: Tickets to the SmackDown! are priced at P10,500, P5,250, P3,675, P3,465, P2,100, P945 and P420. For inquiries, call the Ticketnet at 911-5555.)

Bulaga!’s knock-knock portion not funny at all

Here’s a letter from Theresa Galvan, a Filipino subscriber to Pinoy TV in the US which airs, among other GMA shows, Eat, Bulaga!:

We have just finished watching the August 19th episode of Eat, Bulaga!. I wish to express my disgust over the Bulagaan portion for this particular episode. When it was Vic Sotto and Jose Manalo’s turn to sing the knock-knock answer, they had a person with a harelip sing the lines of a song and Vic and Jose tried to interpret it with movements. The hosts and the audience of course had a grand time listening and watching the whole thing.

It was not amusing at all. We felt it was very disrespectful not only to people with a disability like him, but to all persons with disabilities in general. We have been avid watchers of not only Eat, Bulaga! but most of GMA Pinoy TV’s programs through Direct TV. My husband and one of my sons love the Vic and Jose tandem. In fact, we do have the other Filipino channel but we just prefer watching GMA programs.

That particular spiel may be funny to a lot of people but having to care for a person with a disability (my other son is autistic), I feel disturbed that the writers thought that entertainment was more valuable than respect. That portion of the show is already funny, honestly, without Vic and Jose having to resort to that type of tactic. The writers may feel that I am over-reacting, but it was pure disgust that I felt while seeing and hearing all those people laugh at another person’s speech defect.

Aren’t people with disabilities entitled to the same respect that should be accorded to all other people? This is one of the reasons (aside from better educational opportunities and medical care for my son) that made us decide to leave the Philippines for another country.

As it is, we will still continue watching the program hoping that this will not happen again.

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