ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Celebrities devider GOSSIP GIRL: Aiko Melendez shares her birthday wish

GOSSIP GIRL: Aiko Melendez shares her birthday wish

Published Dec 19, 2023 03:17 am

At A Glance

  • Speaking of projects, there are talks on the grapevine that Aiko will portray Vice President Inday Sara Duterte in the third trilogy of Direk Daryl Yap's "Maid in the Malacañang" series. 
aiko3.jpeg
Aiko Melendez

On the eve of her birthday, Dec. 15, actress and Quezon City councilor Aiko Melendez won the star of the night at the QC City Hall Christmas party. It was a Heroes and Villains party, and she arrived as the Ice Queen, the evil stepmother of Snow White, Queen Grimhilde. 

Gossip Girl asked the public servant her birthday wish. “I claim to be healthier, and may God protect me and my children from unwanted sickness. Kasi it’s not only my family who depends on me but my district. I won't be an effective public servant if I am sick. That is why my advocacy is an effective health program in my district. I give my constituents Guarantee letters from 10 hospitals all over Quezon City. Free medications, hospitalization, and labs. I enjoy every bit of my service to the people and am  very hands-on.”

aiko1.jpeg
Vice President Sarah Duterte (right) and Aiko Melendez

Recently, Aiko received an award from Dangal ng Lahi as one of the most outstanding public servants of the year, together with QC Mayor Joy Belmonte.

Next year, Aiko is set to do another soap opera due to the success of the Flower Sisters in GMA. “I cannot take a back seat to acting. What I usually do from my earnings is that 90 percent of it goes to my projects sa district. Maganda kasi na tuloy tuloy pa rin ang income kasi di ko naman bread and butter ang politics. I am very careful kasi sa  judgement ng tao na kapag nasa politics corrupt and kapag artista there is nothing else that you can do but just sit. Lalo na now that many people are all free to criticize because of the online setting, that they can post pictures, observations about a certain public figure kaya, I see to it that in every field I get into, I give my best."

aiko2.jpeg
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte (right) and Aiko Melendez

Speaking of projects, there are talks on the grapevine that Aiko will portray Vice President Inday Sara Duterte in the third trilogy of Direk Daryl Yap’s "Maid in the Malacañang" series. 

“Nothing is definite yet, although I already met with Direk Daryl Yap, and I was told na I am VP Sara’s personal choice :)  I am very open and a fan of Ma’am VP Sara. Mayor palang sya I have been a silent follower. I admire her strength, dedication, and work ethic. It takes a lot to be in her shoes. Every person has their conviction, and based on VP Inday’s contributions to our country, I know I made the right choice.  We all have our bets in life, and VP Sara is one of my bets :) So it will be truly an honor to play her :) 👊🏻 I know next year will be a busier year for me regarding my showbiz career, and I am blessed and excited for that."

ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.