3 presidents are sponsors at Richard-Sarah wedding
It will be the showbiz event of the year…oops!...of the decade. The wedding of Richard Gutierrez and Sarah Lahbati will surely make history for having not just one but three Philippine presidents among the 25 pairs of Principal Sponsors — incumbent Pres. DU30, and former Presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Joseph “Erap” Estrada.
The wedding will be solemnized in the afternoon of March 14, Saturday, at a five-star hotel (exact address withheld for security reasons).
Here’s the complete entourage:
Principal Sponsors (as their names were printed)
• President Rodrigo Roa Duterte & Former President Ma. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo;
• Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III & Mrs. Helen Gamboa Sotto;
• Secretary Narciso Santiago, Jr. & Senator Cynthia Villar;
• Secretary Salvador S. Panelo & Ma. Rosario Santos Concio;
• Senator Emmanuel D. Pacquiao & Mrs. Jinkee J. Pacquiao;
• Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa & Mrs. Mariquita S. Yeung;
• Congressman Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez & Congresswoman Yedda Marie K. Romualdez;
• Congressman Jesus “Bong” C. Suntay & Mrs. Sheila G. Suntay;
• Mayor Richard I. Gomez, DPA & Congresswoman Lucy T. Gomez;
• Mayor Luis “Chavit” Singson & Mrs. Sharon Cuneta Pangilinan;
• Former President Joseph E. Estrada & Mrs. Lily Yu Monteverde;
• Mr. Carlo Lopez Katigbak & Mayor Arlene B. Arcillas;
• Mr. Mark Lagdameo Lopez & Mrs. Marissa E. Laude;
• Atty. Felipe L. Gozon & Mrs. Teresa M. Gozon;
• Mr. Vicente del Rosario, Jr. & Ms. Maria Lourdes “Malou” N. Santos;
• Mr. Carlos S. Gonzalez & Mrs. Nenita R. Licaros;
• Mr. Kevin Andrew L. Tan & Ms. Lovelyn M. Nuevo;
• Dr. Z’Shen “Z” Teo & Dra. Aivee Aguilar Teo;
• Mr. Julio A. Ledesma IV & Mrs. Maria Assunta Ledesma;
• Mr. Ben L. Chan & Ms. Cory V. Vidanes;
• Mr. Jaime G. Baltazar & Mrs. Mary Ann B. Opeña;
• Mr. Rajiv Chandiramani & Ms. Alice G. Eduardo;
• Mr. Peter G. Coyiuto & Ms. Clavel B. Bendaña;
• Mr. Dominic Zapanta & Ms. Cathy O. Valencia; and
• Mr. Felipe A. Cruz, Jr. & Mrs. Ching C. Cruz.
Best Men: Raymond Gutierrez and Elvis Gutierrez
Matrons of Honor: Ruffa Gutierrez and Alexa Uichico
Maids of Honor: Gladees Bermudez and Queenie Neuner
Groomsmen: Rocky Gutierrez, Ritchie Paul Gutierrez, Sean Fariñas, Adrien Uichico, Mikko Inocando, Charlie Leviste, Miguel Umali, Tonton Gutierrez, Monching Gutierrez, Eugene Enriquez and Scott Gutsy Tuason
Bridesmaids: Boom Sason, Bela Padilla, Graciela Chiara Pesito, Janine Gutierrez, Sambie Rodriguez-Tung, Yassi Pressman, Vicki Chandiramani, Mikaela Martinez, Coleen Garcia Crawford and Karraminah Clarisse Jefri Bolkiah
Junior Groomsmen: David Gutierrez and Simone Enriquez
Junior Bridesmaids: Lorin Gutierrez and Venice Gutierrez
Secondary Sponsors: Aga Muhlach and Charlene Muhlach (Candle), Robin Padilla and Mariel Padilla (Veil), Vice Ganda and Angel Locsin (Cord)
Coin Bearer: Zion Lahbati Gutierrez
Ring Bearer: Kai Lahbati Gutierrez
Flower Girls: Aria Gutierrez, Ezra Gutierrez and Kara Gabrielle Audine Enriquez
Meanwhile, let’s wish Richard and Sarah best wishes and, (as usual) as the Chinese would say, one hundred years of blissful togetherness.
The Fil-Italian model who blew the whistle on Weinstein
When the news broke that Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 29 years in jail for sexual assault and rape, I remember Fil-Italian model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez who was said to have broken the “Pandora’s Box” of sexual-harassment accusations against the Hollywood mogul.
“I did what I thought was right,” Ambra told The STAR when she came for a short visit in Oct. 2018. “I have no regrets.”
Wire agencies interviewed Ambra in New York after the court handed down the verdict. In 2015, Ambra reported to the police that she was groped by Weinstein during a meeting. Ambra’s dad is Italian and her mom is a Filipina from Calamba, Laguna. No, said Ambra in that 2018 interview, she didn’t consult her parents before she told the story that led to the birth of the #MeToo movement.
“Nobody listened,” she had recalled. “Nobody believed me. I was called a liar, a blackmailer, a prostitute and so many names that I was not. I was a victim of fake news. The media wasn’t kind to me. I was in bad health and I fell into depression. I was jobless but I was contented with the thought that I did a good job in telling my story and saving other people in the process.”
In an interview with a US paper, Ambra clarified, “I was never a #MeToo,” she was quoted as saying, “I was a ‘fight back.’ I went to the police and everything. It’s not that I sat down until, it was safe for me to speak.”
She felt kind of “vindicated” when big-name Hollywood actresses came out to tell their own stories kept “on hold” for years and perhaps would have been in secrecy until Ambra spoke up.
She added in that US paper interview, “The #MeToo movement has two different faces. Some people use #MeToo in the wrong way. I feel that #MeToo is for the collective benefit. Somebody speaking bad about someone else to ruin their careers is not good.”
Born in Turin, Italy, Ambra and her brother Klaudio, also a model, were raised single-handedly by their mom.
“She went to Italy when she was 19,” said Ambra, “and that’s where she met my father.”
It was also in Turin where Ambra studied. At 18, she competed in the Miss Italy pageant and finished among the finalists. After graduating college, she went to London to pursue a modeling career (starting with the Elite agency) that brought her to Paris and then New York where she met her, so to speak, date with history.
In 2016, Ambra came back planning to stay for good. She took the chance to compete in the Century Tuna Superbods pageant and finished a runner-up. Then she went back to New York. Her recent homecoming was delayed by the filing of the case against Weinstein. One of these days, she just might be called to testify, that’s why she said she couldn’t talk too much about the case. (Note: No report that she was called to testify.)
“I was signed up by Victoria’s Secret,” revealed Ambra, 25, probably the first Filipina to have scored the honor before a Fil-Am followed suit. “Two months ago, I did a pictorial for Victoria’s Secret’s catalogue (for lingerie). Something good is happening to my career, to my life, and I am in a happier place now.”
(For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)
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