Arnell Ignacio: Change has come!

When Arnell Ignacio’s appointment as PAGCOR’s VP for Community Relations & Social Services (with Jimmy Bondoc as his counterpart for Entertainment, taking over from Bong Quintana) was announced, eyebrows automatically soared, but they hardly fazed Arnell.

“I understood,” said Arnell, “because maybe they doubted my qualifications.”

Not many people know that Arnell is a UP graduate (with a degree in Architecture and Music) and they must have gotten to pigeonholing Arnell as, you know, only a comedian. His father is a retired head of a bank.

“Besides,” added Arnell, “I wasn’t even close to Pres. (Rodrigo) Duterte (who campaigned on the ‘Change is Coming’ platform), so some people must be wondering, ‘Why him?’ But even if my college degree might seem irrelevant to my PAGCOR position, actually my heart is in public service.”

A few years ago, my friend and I were at a KFC branch on Quezon Ave. when we saw Arnell being surrounded by street children. It turned out that he was feeding the kids with chicken that he bought from the restaurant.

“One time,” recalled a GMA artist (name withheld upon request), “a sick man approached Arnell for medicine money. He was going to the Music Museum for a show and he told the man to wait, promising to give him the money. The man was insistent, sounding desperate, so Arnell asked him, ‘Ilan piraso ba yan?’ The man said 14. ‘Iilan lang pala, akong bahala.’ When he went back to GMA, the man was still there. Imagine Arnell’s surprise when he learned that each tablet costs P2,000-plus! He had to borrow to complete the P30,000-plus needed.”

Since he assumed office four weeks ago, that has become Arnell’s daily routine ­— attending to the sick who needed money for medicines, most of them senior citizens.

“They feel relaxed with me kasi nakikipagharutan ako sa kanila,” related Arnell who is friendly by nature. “It’s a bit tiring, nakakapagod, pero it’s so rewarding at the same time.”

Getting up close and personal with the masa (described during the campaign by Vice Pres. Leni Robredo as those “nasa laylayan ng lipunan”) isn’t that far removed from Arnell’s role as an entertainer. The only difference is that his government position has radically changed his lifestyle.

“Now I have to wake up early so I can be at the office (on Roxas Boulevard) on time,” said Arnell. “As soon as I arrive, marami nang nakapila. The employees with me are serious workers, masisipag sila, and they make things easier.”

Sometimes, he goes around, visiting hospitals and schools.

“We checked what the patients needed, lalo na ‘yung mahihirap, and we promise them help. I am so grateful that many of my friends have volunteered to help us financially, some of them Gretchen Barretto, Ai-Ai delas Alas, Ian King (now Angelina King) and Willie Revillame. I didn’t go to them, sila mismo ang tumawag sa akin para tumulong.”

The question most everybody is asking: If Arnell is not, as he claimed, close to Pres. DU30, how did he get appointed to PAGCOR (headed by Andrea Domingo)?

“During the campaign,” recalled Arnell, “attend ako nang attend sa mga rally ni (then Davao) Mayor Duterte even if he didn’t know me kasi nga bilib ako sa kanya. When I attended his miting de avance sa Luneta, hindi pa rin niya ako nakikilala. When he won and held a rally in Davao, andoon din ako. I didn’t have an I.D. but I forced myself in. The people around him must have been wondering kung bakit akong hindi taga-Davao, na isang taga-Maynila, ay sumusuporta kay Duterte. Didn’t you notice that I was beside him in the pictures pero hindi siya nakatingin sa akin?”

Then, DU30’s common-law wife Honeylet saw Arnell and thanked him.

“Yon pala, Honeylet saw what I was posting on social media. I was defending Duterte from his detractors. Honeylet introduced me to Duterte who told me, ‘Don’t worry, I will fix this country.’ I admired him all the more.”

And, as they would say, that was that.

Showbiz will henceforth take a backseat to Arnell’s government job.

“Believe it or not but I really enjoy it,” swore Arnell. “Sabi ko nga, puede na ako tumanda dito sa trabahong ‘to.”

California-based make-up artist Marlou Colina with recent Manila visitor Selena Gomez (left) and Kylie Minogue, two of his Hollywood clients

Pinoy make-up artist with Hollywood stars

There’s a Pinoy make-up artist who is becoming known as “Pinoy L.A. beauty guru” and he’s none other than Marlou Colina who owns and manages the Colina Salon & Spa in Long Beach, California (#3505 Long Beach Blvd., Suite 2E, telephone 562-9883101), and who counts Kylie Minogue and recent Manila visitor Selena Gomez among his Hollywood clients.

Marlou’s Hollywood “connection” was established after he did the make-up of the ladies from the company of film producer Harvey Weinstein, who were attending a Golden Globe awards.

“It was the receptionist, a Pinay, of Peninsula Beverly Hills who called me,” said Marlou, a Visayan based in the US for several years. “Weinstein’s daughter Lily was with the group pero hindi ako ang nag-ayos sa kanya. Hindi nagustuhan. She decided not to attend the event.

“The next day, somebody from Weinstein’s company called me. Magpapaayos daw si Lily. She liked what I did and since then, for more than years already, ako na ang palaging nag-aayos sa kanya. It was Lily who introduced me to Lorraine Schwartz, a well-known jeweler, who in turn introduced me to Kylie and Selena. Among Lorraine’s other clients are the Kardashians and Lady Gaga.”

Filipino stars who go to California for shows also enlist Marlou’s services, among them Iza Calzado, KC Concepcion, Pops Fernandez and Ai-Ai delas Alas.

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