Arnel Pineda’s humble roots inspire jingle; Plus: Mother Lily backs Koko Pimentel; Vice Ganda pressured for second concert

International rock star Arnel Pineda has joined the family of Puregold. In line with the 10th anniversary of Puregold’s “Tindahan ni Aling Puring,” the company tapped Arnel to sing the newest jingle entitled “TENkyu Po.”

This is also the title of the newest TVC of “Tindahan ni Aling Puring,” a campaign that aims to celebrate and salute the success of the Ka-Asenso heroes who are primarily the sari-sari store members of Puregold’s “Tindahan ni Aling Puring.” The campaign captures each sari-sari storeowner’s unique success story and simple beginnings in order to inspire more Filipinos to carve their own success stories with the help of Puregold’s “Tindahan ni Aling Puring” membership.

Arnel is the perfect artist to perform “TENkyu Po” as he is a living testament on what hard work, determination, and faith in God can do to achieve one’s dreams. It should be noted that Arnel rose to international acclaim when he was handpicked to be the new lead singer of the iconic international rock band Journey. Before that, he was the lead singer and front man of a local band in Manila.

“I have so much to be thankful for,” Arnel says. “I, too, came from humble beginnings before I became a part of Journey. Puregold and ‘Tindahan ni Aling Puring’ continues to be an inspiration to countless sari-sari store owners and I feel honored to be part of the team who help people make their dreams come true.”

At the launch of the “TENkyu Po” campaign and its TVC, Arnel disclosed that before he achieved success as a singer, he used to cook food and sell them. “After my gig, I would go to the market to buy food stuff that I would cook like kare-kare. Even if I just came from a gig the previous night, I didn’t mind making time to cook so that we could sell it,” he recalled. But when he was discovered by Journey, things changed for Arnel but despite his success, he remained level-headed and humble and he feels proud to have been tapped by Puregold in their campaign.

On May 22 to 25, Puregold will hold its annual Sari-Sari Store Convention entitled Puregold – Tindahan ni Aling Puring “TENkyu Po Ka-Asenso Sari-Sari Store Convention 2013” to be held simultaneously in three locations – Manila, Malolos and Tagaytay. The event will give members of Tindahan ni Aling Puring the chance to experience an exclusive, worthwhile, and interactive “entrePinoy” gathering: to enjoy discounts and rebates and to be entertained by variety shows featuring well-known endorsers and celebrities.

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Reelectionist Senator Koko Pimentel believes it’s a big deal to be endorsed by Regal Entertainment producer Lily Monteverde who tendered a luncheon get-together for him and the members of the entertainment press the other day at Imperial Palace Suite in Quezon (owned by Mother Lily).

Also at the presscon was Mrs. Bing Pimentel, the mother of Sen. Koko, who said that Koko proved to be an efficient public servant. With barely two years as senator, he was able to sponsor a number of bills that later became laws.

Now that election is barely a week away, Sen. Koko can’t help but think of the unfortunate incident in 2007 when he was robbed of his mandate after he was allegedly cheated in the elections. No wonder his campaign is anchored on the need to be vigilant and to fight cheating. He is hopeful that cheating won’t be much of problem since the election is automated. Still, Koko and his supporters want everyone to be vigilant and to guard their votes. He vows to continue his fight for clean and honest elections once reelected.

He also said that it would be a big boost to his candidacy to be endorsed by Ms. Kris Aquino who is joining several sorties of the Liberal Party to help campaign for Grace Poe and Chiz Escudero, among others. While his busy schedule prevents him from meeting Kris, Koko says President Aquino’s youngest sister told him that she is endorsing him.

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Box-office star and record-breaking concert artist Vice Ganda is all set to conquer the Big Dome once again on May 17, Friday, as he treats his avid fans with a night to remember in his 3rd major solo concert entitled “I-Vice Ganda Mo ‘Ko Sa Araneta.”

As an early gift for his fans, Vice recently went to Smart Araneta Coliseum to personally meet and hand over the tickets to those who are looking forward to watch his concert. “I had a fun time bonding with them but at the same time it made me feel more pressure to perform better because I don’t want to waste the money that they’re spending to support me,” Vice says.

For his third concert at the Big Dome, the box-office star says he has prepared a different string of surprises and gimmicks including his non-stop mind-blowing production numbers and the never-before-seen version of Vice Ganda that will surely shock everyone.

Joining Vice on his upcoming concert are some of the biggest names in the industry such as Daniel Padilla, Enrique Gil, Paulo Avelino, Dawn Zulueta, and Ai Ai delas Alas.

“I-Vice Ganda Mo ‘Ko Sa Araneta” is directed by Bobet Vidanes with Marvin Querido as musical director.

Tickets are now available at Ticketnet outlets and at Smart Araneta Coliseum Box Office. Simply call 911-5555 or log on to www.ticketnet.com.ph. For more updates, log on to www.abs-cbn.com or follow @abscbndotcom on Twitter.