Gabby facing another lawsuit

"I really felt insulted that they did not value our friendship and they have no word of honor," says Jobert. "She earlier gave me P20,000 as gift daw for my birthday, but I returned it to her. Gabby later told me that when he saw the other contract, his manager had already signed it and he had no choice but to sign it also as instructed by her. He was asking for my understanding dahil naipit daw siya sa dalawang nag-uumpugang bato. Ang masakit, they later issued press releases and said in interviews that I’m just a sore loser kasi nawalaan daw ako ng commission when I’m not really getting any at labor of love lang ito for me. Pino-provoke nila ako. . I just narrated the chronology of events of what happened to us. Idedemanda raw ako ng libel. Kumuha na raw ako ng pinakamagaling na lawyer, so I got a brilliant one, Atty. Jorge Miravite, at nagdemanda na ako para matigil na ang dakdakan at takutan. Let’s go to court para legal na ang lahat. Sa kanila pala, pera-pera lang ang lahat, no element of friendship and palabra de honor involved. O, ‘di sige, let’s settle this in court. Open naman ako for settlement, basta pag-usapan na lang sa korte ang lahat."

Jobert is asking P2 million as moral damages, P500,000 as exemplary damages, P200,000 for attorney’s fees, P100,000 as litigation expenses and the cost of the suit. No matter what happens, it’s Gabby who is at the losing end of this brouhaha. People would say that he’s making a comeback and yet he’s starting on very negative vibes where he seems to be making enemies instead of friends. If he’d ask for a rewind, we’re sure he’d wish he would have started on a clean slate.

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James Blanco continues to be busy as an actor. He was in "Lastikman" playing the villain Alingasawa and is now in new fantaserye, "Utoy," with Dolphy and Makisig Morales. He also plays Bea Alonzo’s husband in an episode of "Maalaala Mo Kaya" which they just finished taping. But James is also busy as an entrepreneur and after going into "buy and sell" of cars, he’s now a concert producer. "I’ve always been fond of concerts and I’ve noticed that there’s always a sizeable crowd if you have a good and reputable artist," he says. "My manager, Arnold Vegafria, has also influenced me after he brought in some of the biggest names from abroad to do concerts here like Mandy Moore, Norah Jones, Hanson, Swing Out Sister, and many more. He’s supportive of my aim to grow and he supports me now that I’m going into concert production. With his experience and expertise, I’m sure we’re off to a good start."

For his initial venture, he’s producing two concerts at the Captain’s Bar of Mandarin Oriental Hotel. First is Geneva’s "Back in Time" tonight, May 2, followed by Jay-R’s "Soul in Love: Revisited" on May 3, 9 p.m.

"I’m very confident of our two performers. They’re both great concert artists and I’m sure they’ll bring the crowd in. Geneva is a high-energy livewire performer and Jay-R as ‘Prince of R&B’ has a strong following among today’s yuppies.

So will he give up his acting career now that he’s a producer? "Of course not. I love acting and I’ll never give it up. Being a producer is part of my plan to diversify as an actor and entrepreneur."

James, Geneva and Jay-R are all managed by Arnold Vegafria, who’s now also managing Hale Band.

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Champ Lui Pio, heartthrob vocalist of the rock band Hale, is currently being linked to Bianca King, who’s managed by Arnold Vegafria. Now, Hale is also being managed by Arnold. Was Bianca instrumental in this?

"No," says Arnold. "Bianca has nothing to do with it. It’s Champ himself who called me up as his dad, Nonoy Tan, has been a good friend of mine from way back."

"We rested for ten months," says Champ. "For three years, all-out kami touring and promoting so we got fatigued. Burnout. We did three to four gigs in one night and our performances became automatic. Even our friendship suffered. It all started as fun, with us wanting to share our music, then it became work and we’re not that happy anymore. We needed to be inspired again."

The other band members are Sheldon Gellada (bass), Omnie Saroca (drums), and Roll Martinez (guitar). During the ten months that they were resting, they bonded by building their own music studio in Las Piñas.

"At the same time, we composed new songs for our new album and we bonded well again," adds Sheldon. "It was a period of soul-searching."

They tried to manage themselves for a couple of months after they left EMI Music but finally decided it’s best to get someone who could handle them and Arnold was their choice. "The last band I managed was Alamid," says Arnold who now manages Pops Fernandez, Dina Bonnevie, Jay-R, and other top celebrities. "That was ten years ago. Iba ang pagma-manage ng banda. I want Hale to reach a wider audience, but we have to maintain their image as rock stars, not pop stars. They’re very creative and sensitive."

It’s with renewed enthusiasm that they’re launching their new album, "Above Over and Beyond," which has 13 cuts and with a Tagalog song, "Pitong Araw," as carrier single. "It’s composed by our friend, Howard Espiritu," says Roll. "But all the other songs are composed by us. We ourselves produced the album, but still distributed by EMI. It will be launched this Sunday in ‘ASAP.’ One song, ‘Sundown,’ is now being used as Close Up’s new jingle."

As a band, Hale does charity work through their Treehouse Productions. They’re now involved in an anti-smoking drive, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance, where they stress that cigarettes sold in the Philippines have double the nicotine that makes them more addictive.

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Star Magic’s Dino Imperial turned 20 on April 9 and he celebrated his farewell to his teen years with a foam party at the Prince of Jaipur at The Fort. Some of the photos taken during the affair are now posted on the internet called The Dino Imperial Scandal showing him drunk on the floor-covered foam and kissing some girls. "Okay lang," he says when informed about it. "There’s nothing objectionable in what I did. I was just having fun with my friends. Nag-e-enjoy lang kami."

Dino is a much sought-after endorser of various products and he’s one of the few who has continuous acting assignments. He was in "Abt Ur Luv" and "Volta," now he’s in "Astigs" and "Prinsesa ng Banyera." Despite his busy schedule, he has not neglected his studies and is now a sophomore at St. Benilde taking up Multi-media Arts.

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Friends are trying to patch things up between William Martinez and Baron Geisler but William is adamant in his decision to pursue the sexual harassment case they filed against Baron, who they said mashed the breast of their eldest daughter Patricia and asked her to have sex with him while they were in a bar.

"Ayaw ni William ng amicable settlement," says someone close to the former matinee idol who used to be the rival of Gabby Concepcion in the early ‘80s. "William got even madder when Baron was interviewed on radio and denied harassing his daughter. Pinalalabas daw na liar at malisyosa lang ang anak niya. Nagpupuyos sa galit si William as they treated Baron as a family friend dahil naging close sila ni Yayo Aguila sa PBB. They never thought he’d do something like that to their own daughter."

Meantime, we got some letters that all expressive negative opinions about Baron. They all say that it’s clear that Baron is sick and should seek professional help. Obviously, he has not yet been fully treated of his alcoholism even if he underwent rehab and he should undergo psychiatric treatment before he does more harm to himself and to others.

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Romantic fans of "Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition Plus" are thrilled by recent developments on the two most-watched love teams inside Kuya’s most famous house: Ejay-Valerie and Josef-Nicole. Promdie Hottie Ejay from Mindoro has always been attracted to Dazzling Doll Valerie from Germany. He finally had the guts to tell what he feels for her through a special "harana" he prepared with the help of Jr. Kengkoy Nan, his Daddy Erning, and Gentle Giant Jolas’ Daddy Ike. Valerie was so overwhelmed with Ejay’s romantic efforts that she actually cried. She said that it was the very first time she felt so special. Ejay did go all-out with it and even blurted out "I love you" to the apple of his eye.

Lethal Lasallite Josef and In-Chick Nicole’s budding romance, on the other hand, was put to a halt, as Nicole’s Mommy Sandy made it clear that she does not approve of the two teens’ closeness. Earlier this week, Mommy Sandy told Big Brother that she does not feel comfortable with the actions of her daughter and Josef. She reiterated that their family is conservative and that if ever there would be a courtship between Josef and Nicole, they would have to do it the old-fashioned way. Kuya understood Mommy Sandy’s maternal concern and let her spend the night at the teens’ area to talk things out with her daughter. During her stay, she told Nicole that her closeness with Josef does not look good because they’re under one roof and Josef has a girlfriend waiting for him outside.

Will Ejay’s efforts to win Valerie’s heart pay off? Will Nicole listen to her Mommy Sandy’s advice to take things slow with Josef?

Find out in "PBB Teen Uber," 5:30 p.m., and "PBB Teen Edition Plus Primetime," after "Lobo" on ABS-CBN. You can also watch the housemates on Studio 23, 12-2 p.m. and 24/7 online via TFCNow Video Stream. Don’t miss the eviction tonight and find out who among Robi, Josef, Jolas or Rona will stay.