Kim nanghihingi pa rin ng dasal!

In fairness, Salve A., tipong artista ang karamihan sa mga Filipino-Chinese contestant, both male and female, na sumali sa katatapos na Mr. and Miss Chinatown na ginanap sa Resorts World Manila at na-air ng live sa Sunday’s Best ng ABS-CBN last Sunday.

“Must” nga kasing may taglay na good looks, lalo na ang mananalo ng prime titles, dahil kasama sa worth P4M prizes ang paglulunsad sa kanila bilang mga talent ng Star Magic, the discovery and talent arm ng ABS-CBN at Star Cinema.

Star material pareho ang napiling Mr. and Miss Chinatown na sina Randy See at Rolini Lim Pineda, respectively. Runners-up included, from the male side, Jerome Eduard Tan (1st) and Sheng-han Sy (2nd).

Sa female candidates, ang mga runner-up naman ay sina Maricon Cho (1st) at Michelle Marie Sy (2nd).

Thirty two male and female contestants lahat ang nag-via for the title.

Tatlo sa mga judge na natatandaan namin ay sina Cory Vidanes, head of Broadcast department ng ABS-CBN, Janine Tugonon, first runner-up ng Miss Universe 2012, at Richard Yap ng top series na Be Careful With My Heart.

Dapat pala kasama nina Enchong Dee at Xian Lim, bilang hosts ng programa, si Kim Chiu. But because of the recent death of her mother, Louella Chiu, Alex Gonzaga had to replace her.

Gretchen Ho, a Filipino-Chinese, was the noncelebrity host ng programa. And happily, she deli­vered.

Speaking of Kim, how sad that at the time when she and her siblings were grieving for the death of their mom, social media subscribers kept bashing her on their accounts, simply because she had to leave for Thailand dahil naka-commit siya for a commercial shoot.

For those ignorant kung paano nabubuo ang isang minuto o ilang seconds lang na commercial na napapanood sa TV, those behind it will tell you that a lot of days are spent preparing for a shoot. Too much money is also involved lalo’t kung kukunan ang commercial sa ibang bansa because foreigners representing the agency involved in the shoot are hired. With these foreigners, every minute counts. Professionalism is the name of the game.

’Yung tipong kahit may sakit ka you have to be present during the shoot. Hindi lang dahil you were paid for it kung hindi dahil mara­ming kasama mo sa commercial, who have been paid as well, ang maaapektuhan.

Being the youngest in a family of four, si Kim ang labis na na-miss ang kanyang ina nang maghiwalay ito at ang kanyang ama.

Napakabata pa nilang magkakapatid noon. At ang lola nila on her father’s side ang nagpalaki sa kanya dahil nagkaroon naman ng sariling pamilya ang kanyang ama.

Dahil may clothing store sa Cebu ang kanyang lola, tumutulong sila sa pagbenta ng paninda nito. Kay Kim itinoka ang pagiging cashier.

Curious lang siya how an audition takes place when along with some classmates ay sumali siya sa audition for Pinoy Big Brother (PBB).

Pinalad siyang maging housemate. And inside Kuya’s house, she expressed the wish na masilayan ang ina.

Never did we remember na nabasa o nalaman natin na nagkita silang mag-iina. Hanggang sa manalo nga siya at naging artista.

Kumalat ang balitang biglang binawian ng buhay ang ina ni Kim due to aneurysm na unang lumabas dito sa PM, thanks to entertainment editor Ricky Lo who has a friend na nagtatrabaho sa PAL (Philippine Airlines) na kilala ang isang kapatid na babae ng young actress na nagte-train bilang flight stewardess. Si Ricky ang source ng balita.

Sa corner na ito rin unang lumabas ang pakiusap sa mga reader na ipagdasal natin ang kaluluwa ng mother ni Kim na nasa ICU pa noon.

Well now, muli nating tulungan si Kim na ipagdasal ang kanyang ina na, thank God, nang inilibing ay tamang-tamang nakabalik na ng Pilipinas pati na ang kapatid niyang si Likam who served as her chaperone.