Page 22 - LM Confidential Issue September 2014

Entertainment
GMA’s Strawberry Lane to Inspire Bea, jake Fans+ other news
SMALL TOWNS BOOM continued from page 1
as President Benigno Aquino tries to reverse decades of migration to Manila and abroad. New airports, roads and ports are drawing property developers, retailers and business processing companies that fueled a decade of growth in the capital, like U.S. call-center operator StarTek Inc. and hotel chain Marriott International Inc. (MAR)
“The government has been working hard to develop secondary cities, recognizing them as critical centers of economic growth,” said Alexandra Vogl, an urban development specialist at the Asian Development Bank in Manila. “Many are rapidly becoming tourist hubs and centers of trade, services and
industry.”
Construction continues at the site of the 6,400 square-meter Iloilo Convention Center, being built for the APEC meetings in 2015, in Iloilo,
Panay Island, Philippines, in this undated handout photograph released to the media on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014. It can accommodate 3,700 people and is located inside Megaworld Corp.’s Iloilo Business Park.
From Jakarta to London, governments are trying to counter the draw of dominant capital cities that soak up the lion’s share of workers and investment. In the Philippines, that means spreading some of the wealth from Manila, an urban sprawl of about 22 million people that accounts for more than a third of the nation’s economy.
Iloilo is among those leading the charge. Downtown, it seems like any other provincial city -- with jeepneys, motorbikes and pushcarts weaving through narrow streets of old churches, shops, peddlers and faded low-rise buildings.
On the edge of town, the contrast is stark. The old airport, replaced by a new one in 2007, is a construction site, where developer Megaworld Corp. is building a 35 billion-peso ($800 million) business park with a Marriott hotel and condos sporting names like One Madison Place and Lafayette Park Square.
A mile down the road, the planned hospital, shops, hotel and homes of Ayala Land Inc.’s Atria Park District may create 10,000 jobs on former salt pans. For Ilonggos and Ilonggas, as the city’s residents are known, the growth brings new opportunities.
Julius Valderrama, 48, was unemployed for two years and couldn’t afford to send his daughter Jonalyn to college.This year, the father of six got a job as a driver for a property company, while Jonalyn works at McDonald’s Corp.’s fourth outlet in the city, giving them the chance to pay for her studies.
“Now she’s even helping us,” Valderrama said in the restaurant, which opened in June, as 19-year-old Jonalyn serves burgers and fries to customers. “Hopefully, she can be a working student so she can get an education.”
“It takes a lot of planning and vision to turn Iloilo into what it is today,” Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog said. “We built roads and bridges and the big investments started to come in.”
This year, Iloilo completed 14
SMALL TOWNS BOOM continued on page 25
MANILA, Philippines - Kilig alert, JaBea love team fans: Bea Binene and Jake Vargas will make primetime viewing even sweeter as they star in the upcoming series, Strawberry Lane. But make no mistake, Bea and Jake’s characters in the light family drama will not only leave fans
swooning —
but will also
inspire and
tug at the
heartstrings.
Guaranteed
to awe and
delight
viewers,
Strawberry
Lane makes a
case for why
it is possible
to redeem
oneself despite
the adversities
life throws. Bea’s character is Clarissa, a 17 year old who aspires to become a fashion designer. In the series, Bea’s character also leaves no room for romance — until she meets Jake’s character, Gabo.
Gabo, 18, is part of the cleaning crew at Angel’s Haven. He befriends Clarissa and eventually finds himself secretly falling for her.
For the on and off-screen pair, their latest project inspires them to continue to be at their best as a love team. The real life couple was dubbed as the Most Promising Love Team for Movies and TV in the 42nd Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation Awards in the year 2012 — and Celebrity Couple of the Year at the 2014 Yahoo! Celebrity Awards just last July. “Proud ako sa Strawberry Lane dahil marami talagang matutunang aral dito, at siyempre mas inspired ako kasi makakasama ko ulit si Jake. Definitely, wala ‘yung part na naiilang kami sa isa’t isa,” says Bea.
“Sa ganda ng istorya, bata man o matanda, maaantig. Nandoon din siyempre ‘yung kilig factor. Masaya ako na kami pa rin ni Bea ang magkasama,” shares Jake.
Strawberry Lane will air on the GMA Telebabad block this month.
Robin Padilla Is The Johnny Depp of the Philippines
Robin appears in an event in Tondo, Manila to encourage youths to take advantage of DepEd’s Abot Alam to seize education opportunities. Robin Padilla seems to be making the right moves.
While the sun might not have always shone throughout his career of over three decades, who would have thought he would stay on top of his game?
But Robin Padilla is the Johnny Depp of the Philippines, a Hollywood actor who takes different roles to challenge
him and still manage to stay on top of the business.
He has transformed himself through the years—from
comedian (La Visa Loca) to TV host (Pilipinas Win na
Win) to dramatic actor (Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw), even to
rom-com heartthrob (Till I Met You). Robin’s other
amazing trait is his willingness to take big risks. His
roles may not be as appealing to the mainstream audience, but they are too significant, provocative and meaningful to pass over.
His big comeback after a lull in projects in 2012 , was this kind of gamble that paid off. His unconventional role – that of a senator
Ashley Softbay’s Birthday
Ashley Softbay (STANDING AT LEFT, FIRST PHOTO) celebrated her 30th birthday at Prestige with friends. The wonderful and exciting evening was planned by Candace Mallari
David of Pinta and producer of Lakambini Pageant.
exposing government corruption in the 2013 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entry 10,000 Hours earned Robin rave reviews and best actor plums.
Robin has also spread his wings from his comedic TV appearances to being part of the avante-garde suspense drama Jasmine on TV5, where he’ll portray a former police officer attempting to apprehend and unmask Jasmine Curtis Smith’s stalker.
But the most-anticipated film in Robin’s recent string of ambitious projects is his upcoming entry to this year’s MMFF, Bonifacio: Gusto Mo Ba Siyang Makilala?, which Robin sees as the most substantive, refreshing and engaging tale on the life and tragic death of the nationalist and revolutionary hero every Filipino must experience. Robin, who is at the forefront of film production, revealed that he has been pulling out all the stops just to tell Andres Bonifacio’s “true story” for more Filipinos to understand and appreciate.
‘Abot Alam’
Robin has also been so admired by the people he entertains not only because of his talent and prominence, but also with his advocacies, from his drive against malaria to an education initiative to help build a free pre-school for Muslim children. He further pushes this education advocacy with his recently- announced support of the Education Department’s “Abot Alam” program that brings back out-of-school youth to the classroom, and assists them in employment opportunities. Robin is actively involved in awareness campaigns about “Abot Alam” through his continuing commercial endorsement of Talk and Text, the program’s key corporate supporter. Talk and Text organizes on- the-ground community events where Robin talks about how “Abot Alam” can help out-of-school youths regain education opportunities.
Indeed, there’s no stopping Robin, whose family is nominated in the 2014 Yahoo! Celebrity Awards as the Celebrity Family of the Year. Clearly, he is here to stay and deserves to remain on top, not only due to his undaunted quest to achieve, but also because of his unrelenting efforts to reach out and help.
Iza Calzado’s BF isn’t the jealous type
Iza Calzado is happy she has an understanding boyfriend in Ben Wintle he didn’t mind that she brought Piolo Pascual as her date in the 8th Star Magic Ball. She revealed that her “Hawak- kamay” co-star asked her to go with him to the
ball, since Ben is not attending the annual event. “Napag-usapan lang sa set. I wasn’t sure kasi if I’m going to bring Ben. Normally kasi kapag mga showbiz gatherings, I go alone. Sabi ko sa kanya, ‘Uy, Peej (Piolo), baka naman pwede tayo magkasama sa table?’ Tapos sabi niya, ‘Let’s just go together,’” Iza explained at the
press conference of Star Cinema’s newest horror movie “Maria Leonora Teresa.”
Iza even joked about making Ben jealous, for once. “Pagkakapehin ko nga, para kabahan.”
She is glad Ben supports and understands her work, where she gets paired with different leading men. Iza even joked that her boyfriend is only envious of Piolo’s calves.
“He’s a very understanding guy. I guess he’s secure with our relationship. Alam din naman niya na sobrang crush ko si Piolo at isa itong pagkakataon na hindi basta-bastang dumadating sa buhay ko or any other girl.”
22 L. M. Confidential SEPTEMBER 2014