How Richard saved Cristine

Curtain-raisers:

•  Too late to be cancelled, the Air Supply concert will be pushed through as scheduled on Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Araneta Coliseum, mounted by Steve O’Neal Productions. In fact, the duo, Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell, are here, ready for the lunch presscon today at the Hyatt Hotel & Casino-Manila where they are billeted. “Proceeds from the concert are earmarked for the Typhoon Ondoy victims,” said Steve O’Neal (a.k.a. Danee Samonte). (For ticket inquiries, call Ticketnet at 911-5555.) By the way, Stephanie Reese will also donate to the typhoon victims proceeds from her show on Friday, Oct. 2, at the Music Museum.

•  Also going on is the concert of Dionne Warwick (photo) on Friday, Oct. 2, at the Big Dome, with Jay-R as special guest. Dionne will perform her classic hits including Say A Little Prayer, Do You Know The Way To San Jose, Don’t Make Me Over, Walk On By, Alfie and many others. Showtime is 8 p.m. Producer is ALV Events International. (For ticket inquiries, call Ticketnet at 911-5555.)

• But three shows have been postponed: Those of the APOs (originally scheduled Sept. 25 and 26), with new dates to be announced shortly; Rockatropa, put up by the camp of Sen./Presidentiable Manny Villar, from Sept. 26 to a date also to be announced soon but still at the SM Mall Of Asia concert grounds; and the Katy Perry show, also at the MOA, from Oct. 3 to Oct. 16.

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Because she was the first celebrity victim to be featured on the front pages and newscast perched precariously with her mom and two little pamangkin on the roof of their house in Provident Village in Marikina City, one of the hardest-hit areas, Cristine Reyes unwittingly put a face to the devastation wrought by the killer typhoon Ondoy.

As the whole world must have known by now (thanks to CNN, Fox News and even The New York Times), it was Richard Gutierrez who came to Cristine’s rescue using a borrowed speedboat more than 12 hours after she and company climbed to the roof through the water tank after they slipped through a window.

For sure, Richard’s training for his GMA starrers (Captain Barbell, Mulawin, Lupin and Asero, among them) and hosting environment-friendly GMA docus Full Force Nature and Planet: Philippines prepared him for that kind of emergency.

“It was pitch dark when I went to Provident Village,” related Richard who refused to let one of his brothers accompany him because the speedboat could accommodate only four more people. “To locate Cristine and company, I told her to blink a small flashlight.”

It was a risky rescue. Richard said he took extra care in navigating the flooded area to avoid hitting people and he sometimes had to stop the motor to clear the debris that got entangled in it.

“I saw for myself how difficult it was to rescue people,” added Richard, “that’s why I feel for rescuers from the government and private sector. Sa dami ng dapat i-rescue, hindi mo malaman kung sino ang uunahin.”

The whole time that she was on the roof, Cristine texted as many people as she could for help, turning her celfon off after sending each message to save power.

“She was hysterical when she texted me,” said Richard. “The raging floodwaters continued to rush at nadadala na daw sila ng agos. At one point, she became so hopeless at parang nagpapaalam na siya. Since I couldn’t get to her in my car, I called all the friends I know who own a speedboat and luckily, he had one na hindi niya ginagamit. At first, I wanted to borrow a helicopter but we decided against it because it would be risky to use one.”

To make a long, nightmarish story short, Richard did save Cristine but her mom decided to stay with the two kids to wait for the guys on a jetski dispatched by Cristine’s sister Ara Mina’s non-showbiz boyfriend upon Ara’s request.

Richard and Cristine are starring in the movie Patient X which Richard himself is co-producing with GMA Films, directed by Yam Laranas (also the director of The Echo, the Hollywood remake of Regal Films’ Sigaw).

This noon, Richard and Cristine will host a thanksgiving lunch for the media.

A show not only for OFWs

Crossing Borders, hosted by Michael “Mike” Templo (son of semi-retired actress Mildred Ortega and Retired Gen. Mitch Templo), has been airing on the ANC Channel for only two seasons and it’s already gaining more followers. The 30-minute show airs at 10:30 p.m. Thursdays and replayed four times on different timeslots (tune in to ANC for the schedule).

A law graduate from a New York college, Mike has been specializing in immigration cases. On the show, he gives pieces of advice for people with problems related to immigration, and tips on obtaining a visa (to US and other countries) and related cases.

“My show also discusses anything that concerns Filipinos abroad,” said Mike, “especially OFWs.”

The good news is that OFWs have been coordinating with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in building schools for the benefit not only of their relatives back home but for those in need.

Mike holds office in Makati City. (For inquiries, call 893-5964 or 759-2985.)

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