Featured Stories

USUALLY much too early sa tuwing meron kaming appointment, bago pa mag-alas kuwatro ng hapon ay dumating na kami sa scheduled press visit sa set ng Celebrity Bluff. Tuwing Huwebes ang taping ng weekly comedy game show ni Eugene Domingo. Dalawang episodes ang binubuno ng programa, whose brainchild—Loi Landicho—ay dati naming co-writer sa GMA aside from our previous working relationship in a radio program many years ago. Lampas 4:30 na’y kami pa lang ang nasa lobby ng Studio 7 which also serves as a pantry. Baka raw matapos ang unang itineteyp na episode an hour later, pero nakiusap kami kay Ms. Coleen dela Rea of GMA CorpComm if we could leave after at least makainterbyu man lang kami ng kahit na sino from the program. Sashaying toward our table ay ang tinaguriang Catwalk Queen na si Sinon Loresca. Sa isip-isip namin, not a bad subject. First time naming nakita nang personal ang mabalbong macho gay, he seemed interesting to exchange pleasantries with. Through a program staff ay kinaladkad niya si Sinon patungo sa aming mesa which we shared with one of our senior colleagues we hold dear, si Tita Len Llanes who arrived next to us. “Basta huwag lang controversial, ha?” pakiusap ni Sinon who had to excuse himself dahil pupunta lang daw siya sa CR. Again, sa isip-isip namin, after coming out of the comfort room ay titiyakin namin that Sinon—in the course of our casual talk to follow later—would come out of his comfort zone, too. Clad in sando which matched what looked like p**kp**k shorts (his trademark) revealing his hairy chest na mistulang alpombra, magiliw na umupo si Sinon sa aming mesa. Umpisa lang ay napansin namin agad that he spoke good English (bagama’t may minor lapses nga lang), kaya tinanong namin kung anong college degree ang kanyang tinapos. “Naku, high school lang po ang natapos ko,” mukhang flattered na sey ni Sinon, “Nag-stay lang po ako sa London for seven years, baka du’n po ako natuto.” A native of Masbate, bagama’t wala ni katiting na British accent si Sinon despite his long years of stay in UK ay obvious na hindi lang pagsasalita ng Ingles ang magandang ibinunga sa kanya roon. Sa lugar na rin kasing ‘yon niya natagpuan ang lalaki (yes, you read it right) who would later become his husband, “He’s 38 years old, six-footer. He’s a doctor-psychiatrist, pero hindi ko na po siya papangalanan. He values po kasi his privacy so much.” Sa UK rin nagkaroon ng “sexual awakening” si Sinon, “Dati po kasi, hindi ko alam na puwede pala ‘yung man-to-man relationship until I saw a pair of male lovers kissing each other there. Mga macho gay sila, so sabi ko, ‘Aba, puwede pala ‘yung mukha kang lalaki pero bakla ka pa rin.” This realization clearly explains kung bakit anuman daw ang mangyari, hinding-hindi siya sasailalim sa sex change. “Although noong bata po talaga ako, gusto kong maging girl. Once I joined a gay beauty contest kaso natalo ako. Eh, kasi naman batu-bato na noon pa ang katawan ko,” aniya. Married to a Briton pero malayo sa isa’t isa—add to this ay ang mundo ng showbiz na ginagalawan niya where temptations seem difficult to resist—paano napapanatili ni Sinon ang pagiging faithful? “Simple lang po. I follow the Golden Rule. Eh, kung sa akin niya rin ‘yung gagawin, siyempre, masakit,” he quipped. There goes our hypothetical question. But if there’s one actor Sinon would love to go out on a date with (date na may kasamang you-know-what), who would he be? “Hypothetical lang naman, ‘di ba? Piolo Pascual! Choosy pa ba?!” mabilis niyang sagot. Ang tanong, would Piolo also be amenable to the date?