‘Don’t worry about the pandemic or the onslaught of Chinese warships at the West Philippine Sea or the rampant corruption committed by our public officials.’
TOM Rodriguez is officially facing the altar on October 21 with Carla Abellana at the Madre de Dios church in Tagaytay City. That’s barely four months away. But it looks like Carla will have to attend to their wedding preparations by herself for a while, since Tom is now busy with his lock-in taping for his new assignment with GMA, “The World Between Us.”
He will be gone for three weeks so Carla is all on her own while he’s working. Tom will be sharing top billing with Alden Richards and Jasmine Curtis Smith and they have already shared their respective rooms at the location where they will stay during the duration of their lock-in taping.
They have a stellar supporting cast headed by Dina Bonnevie, Jaclyn Jose and Glydel Mercado, under the direction of one of GMA’s veteran directors, Dominic Zapata. They all underwent the usual health protocols that include swab test and quarantine before actual taping, which no doubt increases the budget of today’s TV shows.
Tom and Carla have been going steady for six years now. They previously played husband and wife in GMA’s hit teleserye, “My Husband’s Lover.” They’ve shared on YouTube the footage of their wedding proposal which happened at the home of Carla’s mom, former actress Rhea Reyes. They’re just supposed to have a regular dinner but Carla instantly had an inkling that something was afoot because the house was filled with flowers. “Kayo ha,” she said.
Then Tom bent down on one knee and got the ring for Carla, saying: “I’m sorry that it took this long, but you know there was never any doubt in my mind, ‘di ba?”
Carla then screamed “Yes!” And it surely would be one of the most memorable moments in their lives. They announced their official engagement last March. Incidentally, “Love of My Life,” Tom’s last series, has been bought by Netflix and it will be shown on the streaming channel starting this May 28. The original series is top-billed by Miss Coney Reyes as Isabella Gonzales; Rhian Ramos as Kelly Generoso; Carla Abellana as Adelle Nisperos plus Mikael Daez as Nikolai and Tom as Stefano.
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Pinoys are so obsessed with beauty pageants and our country’s representative, Rabiya Mateo’s loss in the Miss Universe pageant, is a big deal for them. Some folks insinuate that it’s “lutong macaw” since most of those in the Top 5 were Latinas from Brazil, Peru, Dominican Republic and the winner, Miss Mexico.
The only Asian who made it to the top 5 is Miss India. Someone said this should not be surprising as the pageant was held in Miami, which is Latino territory, and the broadcast is carried by the Hispanic TV station, Telemundo.
In local social media, everyone is asking why Mexico won. Even local celebs like Kim Chiu expressed her disgust in her own account, asking: “Ano raw nangyari? Bakit naging ganun? Please enlighten me.”
Some Pinoys lambasted 2012 Miss Universe, Olivia Culpo, for her lack of energy in hosting the show. Vice Ganda twitted: “Naku ha. Wala sa sarili si Olivia. Balisa! Bukas ba 3rd eye mo ‘te?” Other Pinoys made fun of the fact that Janine Tugonon, Olivia’s first runner-up in the 2012 Miss Universe, was in the audience.
Someone quipped: “Olivia cannot concentrate as Janine is in the audience. Janine, palitan mo na ‘yan, kasi if for any reason, the Miss Universe cannot perform her duties well, the first runner-up should take over. Miss Olivia, kaya pa ba o you need back up?”
Others say Olivia is not in the mood because 2017 Miss Universe Demi Leigh Nel Peters, the woman her ex-boyfriend, athlete Tim Tebow, chose to marry last year after dumping her, was also present in the event. Trust Pinoys to come up with all stories and all sorts of angles in scrutinizing events like this.
So now, they’re looking forward to the next beauty pageant to bring their hopes up once again. Pinoys are so pageant-conscious that they follow even small newly organized beauty contests in obscure countries.
So onward, Filipino beauty pageant fanatics! Don’t worry about the pandemic or the onslaught of Chinese warships at the West Philippine Sea or the rampant corruption committed by our public officials. Let’s just be more overly concerned on how we fare in beauty pageants.
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Ken Chan has played a transwoman in “Destiny Rose” and a mentally challenged man in “My Special Tatay,” but he now faces an even more demanding role as a husband with multiple personalities in the new GMA series, “Ang Dalawang Ikaw.”
“The illness is called Dissociative Identity Disorder, a complex psychological condition caused by severe trauma in early childhood like repetitive physical, sexual or emotional abuse,” Ken says. “Masasabi kong isa ito sa pinakamahirap na roles assigned to me by GMA 7. Sabi ko nga, napaka-blessed ko talaga dahil nabibiyayaan ako ng mga proyektong may advocacy. Sobrang challenging niyang gawin kasi hindi lang isang tao ang ginagampanan ko dito kundi dalawa.”
No doubt Ken has really come a long way since he was a struggling newbie in “Walang Tulugan” of the late German Moreno. “Hindi madali ang mga pinagdaanan ko sa showbiz pero binigyan ako ng pagkakataon ng GMA para buuin ang mga pangarap ko bilang isang aktor. Proud akong sabihin na dahil sa GMA, nakagawa ako ng mga teleseryeng may mga kakaibang istorya at maraming tao ang sumaya at na-inspire. Talagang minahal nila ‘yung mga proyektong ginawa ko. Na-try ko ring maging host in ‘The Clash’.”
One thing with Ken is he knows how to invest his earnings and does not just squander them. He has put up his own gas station and his own restaurant called Made in Wok.
“‘Ayokong sayangin ang blessings na binibigay sa akin ng Panginoon, dahil alam Niyang marami akong mga taong matutulungan through my businesses. Naaalala ko noong mga 10 years old ako, sabi ko sa sarili ko na balang araw magkakaroon din ako ng sarili kong gasoline station at restaurant. Nagdilang-anghel nga siguro talaga ako dahil I am very proud to say na naabot ko ‘yung pangarap ko na magkaroon ng sariling gasolinahan.”
