Kris & Herbert back together?

If we are to believe the statement made by Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte, then Kris Aquino and Quezon City Mayor Herbert ‘Bistek’ Bautista – who were romantically linked – are reportedly back in each other’s arms, even if they have yet to admit they were an item.

Vice Mayor Joy was at the Pandesal Forum held at Kamuning Bakery last week, where she talked about the projects of the Vice Mayor’s office of Quezon City. Since there were only two of us showbiz writers in the forum, we asked the vice mayor about Kris and Mayor Herbert.

While Kris and Bistek are mum about the status of their relationship (granting they have one although we believe otherwise), whoever gave the Vice Mayor the information that Kris and Bistek have reconciled probably know more than us nosey showbiz writers.

We asked Vice Mayor Joy if she believes the rumors that Kris is running for mayor of Quezon City in 2019 and that Mayor Bistek will support her.

She doesn’t think that Kris will run for Mayor of Quezon City. “We’ve talked before and she told me that if ever she would seek an elective position, Kris said she will run in Tarlac,” the Vice Mayor said.

“I even have a text message from Kris wherein she said she is not running for Mayor of QC and I believe I saved that message on my phone.”

Vice Mayor Belmonte’s family is close to the Aquino family. Her dad, former Speaker Sonny Belmonte, was among Cory Aquino’s staunch supporters. She believes Kris will not sacrifice the closeness of their respective families in favor of politics.

And since her family also supported the candidacy of Mayor Herbert, she thinks the good mayor will support her when she runs for mayor in 2019.

One of the pet projects of Vice Mayor Belmonte is the annual Quezon International Film Festival set in October. Now on its fifth year, she said they are giving a P2 million grant to filmmakers whose films will be selected as entries.

She also added that according to a survey, the QC International Film Festival is the second much-awaited film event among cineastes, after the Metro Manila Film Festival. In terms of awareness, it has reportedly surpassed Cinemalaya.

While we don’t want to burst the Vice Mayor’s enthusiasm, we feel that the QC International Film Festival needs to do more in terms of making the public aware that there is such a festival held annually. The people behind the QC International Film Festival need to work doubly hard to stir public awareness.

We laud the efforts of the Vice Mayor in continuing the festival. But we suggest that they invite entertainment writers to cover the press conference and opening night of their festival so that more people may be informed about it. They should also invite TV crews from the major broadcast networks to do coverage. That will be a big help to create awareness for the festival.

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Premier property developer Ortigas & Co. celebrated a full-packed Independence Day weekend in all Ortigas malls with exciting undertakings that served to promote national pride.

First was the special one-night only performance of the smash hit comedy musical “Rak of Aegis” on June 12 at Frontera Verde’s newly completed Tiendesitas Food Hall (Ground Floor Bldg. B).

“Rak of Aegis” is one of PETA’s (Philippine Educational Theater Association) longest-running and most successful productions. It was inspired by the vocal chord-blasting music of the Filipino rock band Aegis.

Also part of the Independence Day reverie was the traveling exhibit “My OPM Playlist” that featured playlist and photos of 30 influential Filipinos from different sectors and industries. Providing additional treat to the exhibit is the chance to listen to the featured personalities’ personal favorite songs.

Another exhibit, this time featuring the works of talented and brave photographers, will be on display in each of the three Ortigas malls (Greenhills Shopping Center, Tiendesitas and Estancia).

The Pinoy Photography Organization (PiPho) Exhibit kicked off at Tiendesitas on June 12. It will then transfer to Greenhills Shopping Center, with the last stop at Estancia.

Both exhibits shall be at the following Ortigas Malls on the said dates: Tiendesitas June 12 –July 12; Estancia July 14 – August 13; Greenhills August 15 –September 17.