ANGEL Locsin has no current or upcoming show but she’s always very much in the news because of her philanthropic activities. But it’s apparent that you cannot please everyone even if you do positive things. Now, Angel is in the news again as someone threatened to kill her and blow up ABS-CBN, offering a reward of P200 million to whoever would succeed in doing it.
We all know this should not be taken seriously since no one would pay such a ridiculous amount for killing a celebrity. But since there isn’t much worthy news stories these days, even such pranks hit the headlines and given importance by news outlets.
Someone from Davao came up to say that his cellphone was used in making the threat, but he adds that he doesn’t own the Twitter account on which the threat was posted. This is the full statement on Twitter which is apparently just a silly figment of the sender’s imagination:
“Isa ka ba sa mga supporter ni Pangulong Duterte at GMA? Pwes, I will give P200-million sa sinumang mga Duterte at GMA supporters ang makapatay kina Kim Chiu, Coco Martin at Angel Locsin. Makakasama nyo ang NPA para pasabugin ang ABS-CBN Compound.”
The NBI sided with Angel and she wrote about it: “Thank you NBI for reaching out. For now, ipag-pray ko muna tong mga taong to. Ayoko silang pahirapan pa, sa hirap ng buhay ngayon, sa kung anong pwede kong ikaso sa kanila. Pag umulit, hindi ko na sila aatrasan.”
But Angel has other detractors because of her proposal for mass testing. On Twitter, someone lambasted her saying: “Ipagpalagay nating ikaw ang pangulo, Ms. Angel Locsin, tapos meron kang 110 million na tao sa bansa mo at lahat sila nagdedemand ng mass testing. Pero alam mo sa sarili mo na hindi kakayanin ng health care system na meron ka na gawin yun dahil limitado lang ang kaya nyong mai-test. Ano ang gagawin mo? San ka kukuha ng 100 million na test kits? We salute you for always helping those people in need in time of disaster. Pero sana kapag nagbibigay kayong mga artista ng sentiments nyo, ginagamitan nyo rin ng UTAK.”
Angel answered back: “Ang lakas ng loob mong magsabi ng common sense eh hindi mo nga alam ang meaning ng ‘mass’ hay. Kung may mass burial ba na gagawin, kasama ka ba sa ililibing bilang buong 110M ng population ang inilalaban mo? Hindi naman, di ba? So anong kinagagalit mo? Kumalma ka.”
The basher was obviously shamed and quickly deleted his statement.
**
Sam Milby celebrated his 36th birthday last Saturday and finally admitted that he and former Miss Universe Catriona Gray are now going steady. He posted a photo of him kissing Catriona on the forehead in his Instagram account and wrote: “Worth every second of the wait. Most special birthday yet.”
The rumor mill started buzzing that they are an item when Sam was seen as a special guest in Catriona’s birthday last January 7. But they insisted they are just good friends since they belong to the same talent management team, Cornerstone Entertainment, and they also attend the same Christian church.
As expected, tongues have now started wagging after the cat is out of the bag and some bashers say Catriona should have been choosy as she’s a former Miss Universe no less. A fan pointed out that Sam is 10 years older than her as he’s 36 and she’s only 26 years old.
Another fan opines that Sam’s career is on the wane after he played contravida to Jericho Rosales in “Halik” and to Coco Martin in “3pol Trobol,” an entry in the last Metro Manila Film Festival. But someone else points out that “Hindi natuturuan ang puso. Kung na in love si Catriona kay Sam, ano magagawa nyo? Let’s give them a chance.”
Catriona’s last boyfriend was Clint Bondad, who is now with GMA. Sam, in turn, was linked before to Anne Curtis and to model Mari Jasmine, who has later admitted that she is bisexual and was also linked to Samantha Lee, director of the lesbian themed independent films “Baka Bukas” and “Billie & Emma.”
**
Kris Bernal just celebrated her 31st birthday with a live workout session with her fans called #TheHappyBirthdayKrisBWorkout” and her followers liked it.
“They were the ones requesting it so pinagbigyan ko lang sila at nag-enjoy naman daw sila working out with me online,” she said. “And now, ang request naman nila, to make it regular, kahit once a week man lang daw, to keep us all physically fit sa panahong ito ng corona lockdown.”
It’s common knowledge that Kris is now officially engaged to businessman Perry Choi, who she met when he became a supplier for her restaurant, Meat Kris and later, House of Gogi.
“He grew up in the food business, so he gave me some tips on how to run my own business and I really learned a lot from him,” she said. “He became my mentor who personally guided me.”
At her age, she has not stopped learning. As a matter of fact, the pandemic lockdown has brought her so many personal realizations about life. “Marami talaga akong natutuhan sa two months na pananatili sa bahay,” she said. “Unang-una, live each day like it’s your last. Don’t take it for granted, use it, be grateful for it. Then, just take things day-by-day. It’s not a race. There’s no competition! Learn to reflect and reinvent your life. Nobody has the same quarantine experience, so connect with others with kindness, understanding, and empathy.”
**
A lot of senior stars are complaining because of the ruling in the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) guidelines about shootings or tapings that discriminate against them.
It says: “For any person more than sixty (60) years old, or of any age with co-morbidities or pre-existing illness, i.e., hypertension, diabetes, cancer, or with immunocompromised health status; or with a high-risk pregnancy, producers are highly discouraged from allowing these workers to work on-set.”
We have many senior stars playing parents or grandparents of younger stars who appear in existing shows. Eddie Gutierrez, who is in ABS-CBN’s “Make it With You,” said he no longer expects to be called back when the show resumes taping because of this ruling.
But what if the senior star is actually playing a lead role, like Coney Reyes as the domineering matriarch in GMA-7’s hit primetime drama, “Love of My Life”? If you’d take out her character from the show, the whole story will collapse because of the conflict between her and her son, played by Mikael Daez, and her daughter-in-law, played by Carla Abellana.
Alangan namang kumuha na lang sila ng mas batang aktres at lagyan ng aging make up para patandain ang hitsura. Coney Reyes is Coney Reyes and we think her superb acting as Isabella is one of the primary reasons why the show is clicking with viewers.
Other senior stars who’d lose the chance to work include Gloria Romero, Perla Bautista, Divina Valencia, Luz Valdez, Dante Rivero, Ronaldo Valdez, Tommy Abuel, Chanda Romero and even Nora Aunor, Tirso Cruz III and Christopher de Leon, who are all now in their 60s and are bonafide senior citizens.
What will happen to Nora’s well-followed series, “Bilangin ang Bituin sa Langit,” if her character would be removed from the show? It would surely suffer. We think FDCP has to review this ruling as it’s quite unreasonable. There are surely other means to protect senior citizens on the set and it’s so unfair to just ban them from earning a living through the only job they do best, which is acting!
**
Jeric Gonzales is looking more fit and lean these days compared to his looks before lockdown in his hit GMA afternoon soap, “Magkaagaw.”
“Noon kasing may taping, you need energy lalo kapag hatinggabi na o madaling araw at hindi pa tapos ang taping,” he said. “So sa set, we eat sweets and junk food to give us energy para magawa namin ang trabaho namin sa harap ng camera. Dahil sa lockdown, naging mas tama ang diet ko. And my mother, mostly puro vegetables ang niluluto niya, so healthy eating talaga.”
How about exercising?
“Yes, mas nagagawa ko ‘yun ngayon. Kasi before, puyat ka sa taping, so matutulog ka na lang to rest. Kaya hindi ako araw-araw na nakakapag-gym. But now, I have more time to work out so regular akong nakakapag-exercise.”
So how would he deal with the new normal when they return to taping?
“Lahat kami ng co-stars ko in ‘Magkaagaw’ will have to learn how to adjust, pati ang staff and crew members kasi we will still practice social distancing. In all honesty, miss na miss ko na ring magtrabaho uli sa harap ng kamera. I miss my co-stars in ‘Magkaagaw’ na sina Klea Pineda, Sheryl Cruz and Sunshine Dizon, kasi masaya kami lagi lahat sa set. Maraming nagtatanong kung kailan kami babalik sa ere with new episodes, but in the meantime, you can watch our throwback episodes online sa GMANetwork.com or sa GMA Network App.”
