Willie & Liz to divide properties

Tita Cory guest on Deal or No Deal

FLASH: Of course, former Pres. Cory Aquino (photo) couldn’t say no to her daughter Kris Aquino (who’s heavy with her and husband James Yap’s first child, a boy due last week of May).

So on Feb. 14, Kris’ 36th birthday, Tita Cory will play on Kris’ ABS-CBN game show Deal Or No Deal in which other bigwigs have guested, including Vice Pres. Noli de Castro and ‘politically-ambitious’ Manny Pacquiao.

It wasn’t the first time Tita Cory is guesting on Kris’ show. She had also appeared on Kris’ Sunday show The Buzz, also to celebrate Kris’ birthday.

Tita Cory taped the show’s Valentine episode yesterday.

Asked if she’d be ‘biased’ and let her mom win (millions of pesos at stake), Kris told Funfare, ‘How can I do that?’

Meaning, unlike in Philippines elections, there’s no cheating.

Okay, Tita Cory, deal or no deal?

Curtain-raisers:

• A sexy starlet was asked why she broke off with her politician-boyfriend. She replied, "I saw him in swimming trunks one day. He looked different without his wallet."

Is that a blind item? No, it’s a text joke forwarded to Funfare by former DZMM boss Lito Balquiedra (the same guy who was once "killed" by another broadsheet. Har, har, har!)

• This one is a blind item: A handsome newcomer, said to be an emotional weakling, tried to commit suicide by slashing his wrist inside the toilet at the house of his actress-girlfriend who wanted to split from him. The poor guy had to undergo psychiatric help to come to terms with the situation. The traumatized girlfriend landed in the hospital due to shock.

• And this one, too: A Beautiful, Seductive Actress, now well-ensconsed in a plush village, said the reason why she couldn’t forget her ex-actor-lover was his "great talent" in the bedroom. "Unforgettable!" is the way she describes the experience. "It’s as if I was in heaven!" Is that why she wouldn’t leave the actor’s wife in peace? "Mabuti pa siya," the BSA told a cantankerous talent manager during a phone call, referring to the actor’s actress-wife. "She can have him any minute she wants to." Why, can’t the BSA’s beloved elevate her to, ehem, "heavenly heights"?

• Yes, a Filipina is one of the beauties competing for the Miss World Australia crown at grand finals set for late this month. She’s none other than Gloralea King, 2006 Miss Philippines-Australia. The winner of the grand finals will represent Australia in this year’s Miss World contest to be held in China. Gloralea plans to visit the Philippines in June or July to see if there are opportunities for her in the field of fashion or entertainment.

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BREAKING NEWS: Unless there’s a change in schedule, the protagonists in the annulment case filed by Liz Almoro against her estranged husband Willie Revillame will meet today "out of court" to thresh out ways of dividing the un-couple’s conjugal properties.

"I presume that the properties in question include that house in Ayala Heights, Quezon City, where Willie and Liz (and their son) used to stay," said the Funfare DPA who got wind of the hush-hush meeting from the Quezon City Hall of Justice. "But I guess it doesn’t include Willie’s new house, also in Quezon City, which he built – or is he just renting it? – because it came after their violent separation."

If you recall, Willie was practically "driven out" of the Ayala Heights house last year after Liz filed the case against him.

Said one of the cops who was assigned to the eviction, "Willie wasn’t able or allowed to bring anything with him, except for the shirt on his back and his car."

For a while, Willie (as Funfare had reported) used one of the dressing rooms at ABS-CBN as his "home," which was very convenient for him because he didn’t have to cope with the traffic going to Wowowee, his daily game show.

"But the ‘amicable separation of properties’ will not affect the annulment case," added the DPA who is a Law dropout. "Tuloy ang kaso."

Which only means that the un-couple have burned the bridges between them, that there’s no more turning back.

Gladys to Janno: Hope you sleep well!

For almost a month now, following her resignation from Eat, Bulaga! ("scooped" by Funfare) due to, she said, health reasons, Gladys Guevarra has been fielding questions (which have started to sound like a broken record) about her true relationship with Janno Gibbs.

Like a CD played in reverse, Gladys said, "Janno is just a friend. We were never lovers," adding in jest, "How I wish nga that he really courted me. Eh, di sana sinagot ko kaagad!"

Still and all, Gladys has a special Valentine wish for Janno.

"I hope he can sleep soundly now. He usually stays awake until 4 in the morning."

Asked why she knew that Janno is suffering from sleep disorder (you know, has she, uh, slept with him?), Gladys said, "We were friends and friends are supposed to know each other well, aren’t they?"

No, said, Gladys, she’s not heart-broken.

"Nobody has broken my heart," she swore.

On Valentine week, the boyfriend-less Gladys is treating her estranged parents and a brother to a holiday in Hong Kong.

"I’ve long been planning to go on a trip with them," said Gladys who’s co-starring with Verni Varga and Rico J. Puno in the Valentine show Love Affair on Feb. 10 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (dinner at 7:30 and show at 9). "For a long time, since he broke up with my mom, I wasn’t on speaking terms with my father. He now has another family. My mom is being matched with a man who’s a US citizen. The man might petition for her."

Gladys herself is thinking of migrating to the US. In fact, her application for an extraordinary-ability visa is now being prepared by L.A.-based immigration lawyer Jemella Agraviador-Nettles.

Now starring in Magic Kamison, the new GMA fantaserye which premieres tomorrow, Gladys said, "I am happier now, masayang-masaya even if I am loveless. I am rested. I have peace of mind."

Love Affair pits Gladys for the first time with Verni and, said Gladys, "I’m nervous; kinakabahan ako."

But she’s ready to face Rico J. and his usual sex-laced jokes (for sure, Rico J. will rib Gladys about Janno).

"I dare him," said Gladys poker-faced. "If he’s malaswa, mas malaswa ako sa kanya. Let’s see who will give up!"

(Note: Produced by Royale ERA Entertainment in cooperation with GMA, Calayan Surgicenter and Bench, Love Affair also features Rufa Mae Quinto, Erik Santos and the Sexbomb, directed by Al Quinn with Gerry Matias as musical director. Other sponsors are Don Henrico’s, Salt & Pepper and One Card International. Beneficiary is the Asilo Medalla Milagrosa. For ticket inquiries, call 727-2534, 727-2536 or 0919-8191389.)

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After two brief visits to Bohol, I thought that I was familiar with every nook and cranny of one of the country’s most serene provinces. I have to think again.

My first visit was in January 2005 to attend the wedding of Tagbilaran City Councilor Toto Veloso, brother of my friend Betty Veloso-Garcia, a nurse based in New Jersey, USA. (She was a member of the medical team which treated victims of 9/11 brought to the New York hospital where she works).

At that time, Betty took me and Raoul Tidalgo (the entertainment editor/columnist of the New York-based The Filipino Reporter) on a quick tour of Bohol, with stops at the Chocolate Hills, the Loboc River (where prominent Boholano Cesar Montano filmed his movie Panaghoy sa Suba), the old churches in several towns including that of Baclayon town (where Cesar comes from) where also is located the lighthouse, near which Cesar proposed on his knees to Sunshine Cruz at sunset, with the Loboc Children’s Choir serenading them. (Very romantic!)

Raoul and I revisited the same places on our second visit to Bohol in July last year during the Sandugo Festival chaired by Betty, including a look-see of the Panglao Island Nature Resort owned and operated by the family of Raymond Ong (who also owns The Metro Centre adjacent to which is the Metro Hotel, said to be the best in Tagbilaran; call 63-38-411-2599 for more information).

Two weeks ago, Raoul (here on indefinite leave from The Reporter) and I were back in Bohol, upon the invitation of the Veloso Family which was celebrating the feast of Sto. Niño. Betty’s mom, Dr. Primitiva Veloso, has built a Sto. Niño Chapel on a lot beside the Veloso residence in Sitio Tubod, and the family treats the residents every January to a fiesta, complete with games galore, after the morning Mass officiated by Bishop Leonardo Medroso, Archdiocese of Tagbilaran.

We spent our spare time exploring more of Bohol.

First stop was, as usual, Raymond Ong’s Panglao Island Nature Resort which has a new feature – the Mit-hí Spa – which will formally open anytime now in time for bakasyonistas on Holy Week and all of summer. The sprawling spa faces the sea. Lying on your stomach for, yes, a "Blissful Medley" massage, you get a breath-taking view of the beach, lulled into a brief slumber not only by the gentle touch of the masseuse but also by the musical sound of the waves. Heavenly! The Mit-hí Spa offers various other services (name the kind of massage, you get it!) including waxing and other body-pampering treatments.

What Raoul and I like about the Panglao Island Nature Resort is its serene ambience, very ideal for bone-weary people from Manila like us who have to grapple with deadlines day in and day out; so serene and laid-back is the resort that, as I’ve been saying, you could listen to yourself think and hear every beat of your heart. (For inquiries about the resort, call 63-38-411-5875 or 502-2451.) No wonder Raymond’s family advertises the place as "Paradise Found," which it is.

The next day, Betty and her brother Toto brought Raoul and me to the Mag-aso (roughly meaning "to smoke") Falls in Antequera, with the town’s eightyish former mayor, Billy Tongco, and now chief of staff of Bohol Rep. Eddie Chatto (Betty and Toto’s brother-in-law), as guide. You have to go down more than 200 winding steps to reach the falls which is reminiscent of a nook in Hidden Valley in Laguna. Take a deep breath before going back up and, warned Billy, "don’t sit at once, just remain standing" to let your blood circulate.

Last stop was the Punta Cruz watch tower, built in 1796, in Maribojoc (the same town featured in the ’60s movie Lagablab sa Maribojoc). FPJ fans should be familiar with Maribojoc because it was one of Da King’s favorite locales for his movies, among other places in Bohol that is.

Well, we left Bohol feeling that we hadn’t really had enough of its attractions.

There’s always a next time.

By then, I won’t forget to have an eyeball-to-eyeball encounter with the tarsier (and its large, lonely eyes) like I did the first time I was in Bohol. I will, soon!

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