Yes, Pacman ‘did flirt’ with Valerie

Despite his “cross my heart and hope to die” denial, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao “did flirt” with Valerie Concepcion on the set of his 2007 Metro Filmfest starrer, Anak ni Kumander (which he himself is producing with a — tsk, tsk, tsk “chicken feed” — budget of P30M). The movie’s female lead is Ara Mina who has also been romantically linked to Pacman, turning his wife Jinkee greener than The Hulk with jealousy.

The admission came from Valerie’s manager Becky Aguila no less when she called early yesterday morning, reacting to Funfare’s “curtain-raiser” item which dismissed Becky’s objection to Valerie and Pacman’s “passionate” kissing scene as a worn-out “gimmick” to promote the movie destined, according to cynical non-Pacman fans, to be a tail-ender in the Metro Filmfest.

“Valerie tells me everything; she doesn’t hide anything from me,” said Becky. “Valerie told me that Pacman flirted with her but she cut him short by politely telling him, ‘Wala pong ganyanan!’ Pacman knew that Valerie has been saving to buy a house and, according to Valerie, he insinuated that he was ready to help her get one. Fortunately, my alaga is not ‘like that.’ She wants to own a house, all right, so she and her family — of which she’s the breadwinner — can move out of the small apartment on Tayuman Street (Tondo, Manila) they have been renting for years, but she wants to buy it with her hard-earned money.”

Maybe Jinkee is hearing about Pacman’s “flirtation” for the first time but, according to Becky, Jinkee did get jealous of Valerie, although perhaps not as passionately as the way she reacted to the rumor linking Ara and Pacman.

Becky confirmed that on the night the controversial Valerie-Pacman “passionate” kiss was reported on TV Patrol, Valerie sent her this text message: Tita, don’t react po muna on this, OK? We’re not sure pa if this is really from her. But somebody texted me this just now — Dis is Jinkee Pacquiao. i saw u on tv w my husband in a kissing scene. How sweet! Ito lng ms2bi ko kung isa k rin s may blak n manira at sirain pamilya ko hndi kita uurungan o kya gu2 m punthan kta s wowowee at ipagsigwan ang kalandian mo. Blta ko nagpa2hanap k rw ng bahay. So pera b kailngan mo? Subukan mo mga binblak mo lalaban kta.

“We checked and that text message didn’t come from Jinkee,” said Becky.

Regarding that controversial kissing scene, Becky clarified that when she accepted that “half contract” for Anak ni Kumander, when Valerie was still with the GMA soap Sinasamba Kita, she made it clear to Kaka Balagtas, the movie’s director, that Valerie would not have any kissing scene with Pacman, only holding hands and a hug during their goodbye scene.

The “only holding hands and a hug” turned out to be a torrid kiss and when Becky got wind of it, she got so angry that her blood pressure shot up to 180/110.

“If it was a gimmick,” she asked, “maha-high-blood ba ako?”

Valerie, turning 20 soon and a mother of five-year-old love child, could have said no. In the TV Patrol newscast, she was shown giggling after the shoot and didn’t act at all as if she was forced to do anything against her will.

“Valerie can be naive and gullible,” said Becky. “Maybe she was being taken advantge of without her knowing it. Just because she’s an unwed mother doesn’t mean she’s an easy lay. Hindi naman sa nagmamalinis kami, ha. Like my other talents (Angel Locsin among them), she’s really a wholesome girl. Ayokong may nambabastos sa mga talent ko. After Valerie joined Wowowee, which is viewed mostly by children, she has maintained a sweet and wholesome image.”

But didn’t Valerie pose sexy for the cover of FHM two years ago?

“But she’s not ready to go sexy in the movies for now. In fact, we turned down two offers because the roles were too sexy.”

How soon will Valerie be ready to go, uh, bold?

“When the right project and the right leading man come along,” stressed Becky, adding, “In Anak ni Kumander, she’s not the bida; she is only second lead.”

(Note: Becky has “ordered” that the kissing scene not be included in the movie’s final cut.)

Will Jordan beat Rico mano mano?

And now only two men remain standing in the ring — Jordan “The Jaguar” Herrera and Rico “The Truth Behind the Booth” Robles who are pitted against each other in the final round of Pinoy Mano Mano: The Celebrity Boxing Challenge, hosted by Cesar Montano and Bayani Agbayani, and aired Saturday nights (after XXX) on ABS-CBN (with a replay Sunday morning after Princess Hours).

How did Jordan prepare for the showdown (to be staged at The Arena in San Juan City)?

“By boxing and jogging,” said Jordan, 5’9" who now weighs 153 lbs. (from 168), adding with a laugh, “I am also on a sex ‘diet,’ so that when I go to the ring, talagang galit na galit ako. Since the start of the Mano Mano telecast, I haven’t had sex and it has been months now. I will resume my sex life after tomorrow night (Dec. 15, the show’s final telecast).”

Jordan is married to Michelle Lopez (non-showbiz) with whom he has two children. He has another child with another woman.

At stake in Mano Mano is a condo unit, a car and P500,000.

“It’s a good thing that I am into sports, that’s why I am fit,” added Jordan. “I also play volleyball and basketball. I’m a member of the all-star team which plays in exhibition games. I also join the motocross.”

Pinoy is new lead singer of Journey

I would like to thank Funfare readers Aughust Constantino and Christine Carlos for calling my attention to the choice of Arnel Pineda, member of the Filipino band Zoo, as the new lead singer of Journey, one of the best rock bands of the ’80s and early ’90s. The good news was made public only last Dec. 6.

Here’s the short item written by Bruce Northam, sent to Funfare by Christine:

After performing for 25 years in dimly lighted bars in the Philippines, Arnel Pineda, 40, has been hired as the new singer for the 1980s rock band Journey. The band’s guitarist, Neal Schon, was impressed by footage of Mr. Pineda performing Journey covers on You.Tube and flew him to California for an audition. He is Journey’s third vocalist since Steve Perry left in the late ’90s.

Mr. Pineda replaces Jeff Scott Soto, who departed earlier this year.

“It will be a lot of hard work on my part, and I’m actually looking forward to the scrutiny I’ll get from the hard-core Journey fans,” Mr. Pineda, who also fronts the Manila band the Zoo, said in a statement. “I know they’ll expect me to sound exactly like the voice,” he added, referring to Mr. Perry’s, “but that will never happen. I know there’s only one Steve Perry in this world.”

Journey is working on an album with Mr. Pineda, and the band is scheduled to tour early next year.

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