Jolina defends boyfriend

"I hope tigilan na nila saying Bebong is using me," she adds. "If he were, ‘di dapat noon pa. Six years na kami at never did he announce na he’d get into politics. At any rate, kung totoong he’s using me, willing naman ako magpagamit simply as I love him. Mas pangit naman kung ibang artista pa ang gamitin niya to help him in his candidacy. The reason why he returned from the US is para magkasama na kami. Bagong development lang ang decision niya to run for public office. Basta, kahit anupang intrigang ganyan, our relationship won’t be affected."

Jolens now hosts "Starstruck 4" with Dingdong Dantes and Raymond Gutierrez. She’s happy that it’s rating very well. The Final 14 have been chosen and we got to interview them. The girls are really more impressive than the guys. Renee Lascuna is a charming combination of beauty and brains. Born on November 18, 1988 and an international studies freshman in Ateneo de Davao, she stands 5’7" and many people urge her to join a beauty pageant. "I don’t feel I’m ready," she says. "Dapat, mas matuto pa ko in many things." The eldest of four kids, she looks better in person than in photos. Who does she think is her chief rival? "Stef Prescott." Who will win among the boys? "Aljur Abrenica and Prince Stefan."

Jesi Corcuera, who turned 16 on Christmas Day, is one of the prettiest girls. Viewers now know she’s an admitted lesbian. How does she feel when she hears people saying "Sayang ang ganda pa naman." "I’m flattered when I hear maganda ako kasi I lack self confidence. My parents separated when I was very small. May isa kong kapatid ko sa mom ko and four sa dad ko. I had a hard time coping with family problems kaya wala rin ako ganang mag-aral. Now, when I hear na kaya lang ako pumasok sa final 14 dahil kakaiba ko, hindi ko na lang pinapansin. Basta masaya kong napasok ako sa showbiz." Who does she think is her biggest rival? "Kris Bernal." Who’ll win among the boys? "Aljur and Paolo."

We’ve asked the finalists and most of them are placing their bets on Aljur. "Ang dami na niyang fans," says Paolo Avelino. Born on March 24, 1990 in Angeles, Pampanga, Aljur stands 5' 9" and has clean-cut moreno good looks. Where did he get his name? "Al is from my dad, Alfonso, and Jur is a contraction of Junior." He’s a high school senior at Don Bosco Mabalacat and took the audition at SM Clark. He has a good voice and started singing when he was in 1st year high school. He thinks Prince is the biggest threat to him and that Stef and Kris will win among the girls. We’ll give you more of the finalists later.

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The first 007 movie, "Dr. No," was shown in 1963 and there were many local versions like "Agent 69" starring the late Alberto Alonzo, "Dr. Yes" with Dolphy, and "James Bondat" with the late Chiquito. But the best known secret agent in local films was Tony Ferrer’s Agent X-44.

Tony, younger brother of Tagalog Ilang-Ilang Pictures producer Espiridion Laxa, was introduced in the early ‘60s in war films like "Mga Tigreng Tagabukid" and "Suicide Commandos." He was launched solo in "Marcong Bagsik," but it was as Tony Falcon, Agent X-44 in "Sabotage," the top grosser in the 1966 Manila Filmfest that he became a box office star.

"I became very popular because of Tony Falcon," he says. "Let’s face it, I’m not as handsome as other matinee idols then, but because I’m Agent X-44, girls got attracted to me."

"Sabotage" had a hit sequel, "Sabotage 2," and was followed by more than a dozen other X-44 flicks. "But I also did drama. I won best actor at the Quezon City Filmfest for ‘Sapagkat Sila’y Aming mga Anak,’ which I did with Boots Anson Roa. Some of the X-44 films were shown all over Asia and this led to me doing some international movies, like ‘Cosa Nostra Asia’ which I did with Chris Mitchum, the son of Robert Mitchum and ‘The System’ with black Hollywood actor Fred Williamson."

He was paired with Mutya ng Pilipinas Alice Crisostomo in "Golden Child" and they fell in love. They had two kids, Mutya Crisostomo (who also did some movies in the early ‘90s) and Falcon. He also has a daughter with actress Imelda Ilanan, Maricel Laxa. Mutya is now a top executive in Unilever, while Maricel is an expert on parenting now taking her Ph. D. How many grandchildren does he have? "I have four with Maricel and one with Falcon. Si Mutya, wala pa ring asawa."

"Agent X-44" now stars comedian Vhong Navarro in the title role. How did he feel when they made it a comedy? "Well, kilala si Vhong sa comedy and I think this will now have wider appeal as even kid viewers can watch it. I have a small participation in it as the boss of Vhong at ipinamana ko sa kanya ang pagiging Agent X-44. The movie not only has lots of action scenes but also lots of laughs. I told Vhong that if this movie would be a hit and there’s a sequel, dapat kasama uli ako."

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Diehard fans of the Bea Alonzo-John Lloyd Cruz tandem were shocked when they saw John Lloyd doing a torrid kissing scene with newcomer Denise Laurel in "Maging Sino Ka Man."

"I don’t mean to be contravida to their fans but they should thank me kasi, it’s because of me that Bea realized in the story na in love siya with John Lloyd," says Denise. "Nagselos siya when she saw us kissing."

A scion of the Laurel clan, what did her parents say when they saw the kissing scene? "My mom was watching with my dad and she was shocked, telling my dad, ‘Look, look, your daughter!’ Ang dad ko naman, quiet lang daw. I think he accepts that it’s part of my job as an actress. This isn’t my first kissing scene naman. I also kissed Sam Milby in an episode of ‘Star Magic Presents’ that rated very well so it was even replayed."

Denise got good training in theater. Now, she is a mainstay in "Abt Ur Luv" every Saturday at 5 p.m. In the last episode, "Bukingan Wednesday," there were some revelations that affected her character as Celine and that of PBB’s Joaqui Mendoza, who plays Vince. In the story, Denise is the girlfriend of Rayver Cruz but she feels he’s neglecting her since he is attracted to Shaina Magdayao. Joaqui is the best friend of Rayver, but he’s got a big crush on Shaina. In this Saturday’s episode, "Thursday’s Choice," Joaqui and Rayver have a falling out and Shaina feels she’s the reason for this. Denise is also affected when she sees Rayver and Shaina together, even if Shaina tries to be closer to Joaqui so as not to hurt more people. More realizations and confrontations happen and the four young stars prove they are sensitive actors who can portray a variety of emotions on screen.

"I love my role as Celine," says Denise. "She’s a gym instructor that other boys in the show like Chris Gutierrez, Aaron Agassi and Angelo Patrimonio desire, pero si Rayver lang ang gusto ko."

So after the fans of Bea and John Lloyd got annoyed at her, now it’s the turn of Shaina-Rayver fans to feel that she’s the obstacle in the love affair of their idols. "Sa screen lang naman ‘yun," she laughs. "In real life, I don’t meddle sa boyfriend ng may boyfriend."

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We saw the pilot episode of "Makabayang Duktor" of Drs. Willie and Liza Ong and we want to commend them for a revolutionary show where the doctors just don’t stay in a studio but actually go to depressed areas to serve needy patients. The episode started with them talking to Boy Abunda, their adviser for the show who’s not charging them anything since he believes in their noble goals. Boy gives them their assignment and they went to a crowded area in Tondo and helped three kids. One is Ronwell Dionisio, the two-year-old son of a janitor who has a hole in the heart but has no hole in his anus. He needs P200,000 for his operation and the Ongs promised to help them find the funding for this. It’s later showed that there are other 3,000 charity patients waiting for a similar heart operation.