In a telephone interview the other day, former Miss International Melanie Marquez boldly stated: “I’m not afraid of Kris Aquino!” This is in reaction to statements made by the former presidential daughter in defense of Mrs. Marissa Lapid, Senator Lito Lapid’s wife which was printed in the tabloids.
“Kris doesn’t have the right to say anything. Wala siyang karapatang magsalita dahil hindi niya alam and puno’t-dulo ng lahat ng ito,” Melanie said. “Ayusin niya muna ang buhay niya bago siya makialam sa buhay ng iba.”
Kris reportedly said on “The Buzz” that she thinks “Tita Marissa is a very decent woman” and that she isn’t what she is being pictured of by Melanie. But Melanie insisted that what Marissa did to Manuelito was what irked her so much. “Pinalayas niya ang anak ko when Manuelito went to live with them for a while. She did not want Manuelito to go around with his father, like when Lito invited my son to go with him to play golf. Ayaw ni Marissa ng ganun. Devastated ang anak ko noong pinalayas siya at hinamon ng suntukan ng kapatid niyang si Mark. Hindi siya (Marissa) minura ng anak ko. Mama Marissa pa nga ang tawag niya sa kanya eh..” Melanie also said she knew of Manuelito’s letters to his dad and stepmother. “Sinabi sa akin ng anak ko na may mga sulat siya sa kanila which put me in a bad light. Humingi siya ng tawad sa akin.”
Melanie said the issue here is Senator Lapid’s responsibility to their son Manuelito. “I’m not after anything except this. Dahil kung gusto ko ng pera, sana nagpayaman na ako when I was with a sheik. At noong international model ako when I was earning $3000 an hour. Gusto ko lang tulungan ni Lito ang anak namin na makatapos ng pag-aaral niya sa America. But I couldn’t get in touch with Senator Lito. Di ko alam kung paano ko siya makakausap kaya sa TV at print ako nag-appeal sa kanya.”
When Manuelito decided to heed his mother’s plan for him to study in the US, he wrote Lito asking him for help. That instead of buying him a car after his graduation from high school, “bigyan na lang siya ng R1 million para sa pag-aaral niya sa States. Pero walang kotseng ibinigay si Lito, hindi rin siya nagbigay ng pera sa anak ko. Kaya si Manuelito nagtatrabaho habang nag-aaral sa Nevada, and that was when I told my son I will talk to his father, to ask him for help,” Melanie said.
She added that she has sacrificed a lot, “kaya hindi na ako magpapaloko sa kanila. I just gave birth when I learned that Lito has a wife already. I said hindi ako maniniwala kung hindi ko makita ang wedding picture nila. The papers put out their wedding picture noong nasa ospital ako. So I told Lito, go back to your wife and family. Love your wife as much as you loved me. I’ve seen Marissa before I learned na asawa siya ni Lito. At sa isang okasyon, kinantahan ko pa siya kasi akala ko fan siya ni Lito.”
In conclusion, Melanie said “wala akong kinakatakutan, hindi ako puwedeng takutin ng kahit sino. Sa Diyos lang ako takot. My life has always been an open book. I worked very hard for my name. Hindi ako nanloko ng kahit sinong tao. Ako ang niloko nila...”
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Rachel Alejandro never wanted to have a child
She has said it before and Rachel Alejandro is repeating it now: She never dreamed of having a child. To be a mother is not in her agenda and so she doesn’t mind if her reproductive clock is ticking real fast. Rachel is now 30 years old.
She doesn’t know if she could find someone who doesn’t want a child, so Rachel may never get married at all. She is loveless at the moment, she said. Her romance with Robin Lee Salazar (they were togther for six years) has ended and right now, her focus is on her career.
“I’ve been very busy with work, and I don’t think my schedule permits a love affair at the moment,” Rachel said. She just arrived from London where she and Geneva Cruz performed for The Filipino Channel at the Philippine Barrio Fiesta event. Rachel, who now has a green card (given to her on account of her being an “artist of extraordinary ability” like Lea Salonga and Gina Alajar and family among others) also did recent shows in various cities in the US. Rachel bought an apartment in Midtown Manhattan, near her mother’s (who is married to a Japanese-Italian) place. So now, Rachel’s base will be New York. And she won’t be having any problem performing in the US with her green card.
A versatile concert and recording artist like Geneva, Rachel has so far made more than 10 albums starting in l989 (with “Just a Minute” under Alpha Records). In 2002, she came out with “The Very Best of Rachel” under Warner Music. Among her most successful and memorable songs is “Paalam Na,” which she and former lover Dingdong Avanzado wrote together.
Tonight, Rachel and Geneva will perform at the Casino Filipino-Parañaque in a Live Artists Production billed as “Re-Match.” This is a follow-up to their suc cessful US tour of “Showdown.” She and Rachel first staged “Showdown” in 2002 at the Music Museum, then at the Star Cruise in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore in 2003. Their last “Showdown” performance was in 2004 in Los Angeles, CA.
In their repertoire tonight are today’s most requested pop, R&B, dance music and Rachel and Geneva’s very own hit songs. The show will have something for everyone - a mix of fast and slow, old and new.
Tickets are available at all SM Ticketnet outlets and at Live Artists Production (920-2643)
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Bored, rich housewife produces Jay-R concert
Yes, Jay-R’s forthcoming concert at the Folks Art Theater is being produced by a bored but rich housewife who’s married to a very successful businessman in Japan. She is Nicole Sison Okuda whose father was formerly from San Carlos, Pangasinan.
Nicole told us she went to Japan as a performing artist “but I did not work long as a talent, kasi nakilala ko na nga ang naging asawa ko. Hindi na niya ako pinagtrabaho after we got married,” she said.
With nothing to do, it’s understandable if Nicole gets bored most of the time. “Kapag bored na ako, I go home to the Philippines. Pinapayagan naman ako ng asawa ko kasi busy naman siya lagi. Siguro in a month’s time, I go home five or six times.”
Nicole’s teenage daughter who studies at the International School is a big fan of Jay-R and one time she persuaded her mother to watch Jay-R’s show at the Music Museum. “Siguro mga more than 30 kami, kasama namin mga friends ko from local showbiz,” Nicole said. She herself was impressed by Jay-R’s performance and so she decided to produce a big show for him. This will be on Sept. 23 at the Folk Arts Theater. Guest performers will include Ai Ai delas Alas and Kyla among others.
By the way, the producer is sexy and exotic enough to be in showbiz herself. But of course she’s rather be a producer and she intends Jay-R’s show to be just the first of many future productions she will mount to combat boredom.
Good luck Nicole!
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Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings today, July 30, go to rapper Andrew E, Viktoria “Yeyet” Agbayani, Yvette M. Ocampo, Wally Chua, Troy Montero, Cecille de Castro, Rufing Oreta of Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, Redenta S. Castro, Rein T. Escaño, Ann Bermudez Livioco and Mrs. Evita L. Tabora of San Jose City...Belated b-day greetings to Charlie V. Estrada of UK (July 28)...
