Liezl to Robin: Magpakalalaki ka!

Strong words, I must admit, but those were Liezl Sicangco’s exact words, spoken in Tagalog and addressed to her ex-husband when I asked her at the end of a phone interview for Startalk last Saturday. She was in Australia. From her voice, I could sense that Liezl was hurting. Divorced from Robin two years ago, Liezl is now married to a New Zealander. She remains in Australia with daughter Zherilen while the couple’s three other children — Queenie, Kylie and Ali — are with Robin here.

And that’s the bone of contention between the ex-couple, not so much the two daughters who are of age but especially Ali who is a minor (he’s 10).

The word war has broken out on national television at the same time that Robin, who has (temporarily?) quit the new ABS-CBN show Pilipinas Win Na Win in observance of the Ramadan, capped the rumor linking him to PWNW co-host Mariel Rodriguez by giving her a P1.2-M diamond ring in last week’s edition of the ABS-CBN Saturday afternoon show E-Live!

Is Liezl jealous of Mariel?

“No. Robin also gave me a ring pero hindi nga lang ganoon kamahal.” Unfortunately, added Liez, “na-misplaced ko lang po.” Then she laughed.

In fact, when she came to check on their children a month ago, Liezl said that Robin asked her, “Okey ba sa’yo si Mariel?” and she answered, “Ikaw naman ang makikisama, hindi ako.”

No, Liezl clarified, she didn’t stay with Robin who has moved out of his house in Fairview, Quezon City.

“He rented a place for me and Queenie in Eastwood para daw po malapit ako kay Ali who’s staying with him.”

 So she isn’t insecure with Mariel?

“I decided to speak up only because a lot of people were texting me. Bitter daw ako, loser daw ako. Hindi po totoo ‘yan! Loser po ba ang Nanay na gusto lang makapag-aral ang mga bata? Ako po ang nagpalaki sa mga anak ko. For 20 years that Robin and I were together, I didn’t say anything even when there were issues raised about and against us. Wala kayong narinig sa akin.”

Liezl revealed that Ali is leading “a second life” after he almost died four months ago when his appendix ruptured.

“I got mad because I was told that Ali was in the hospital only the following day. Ayaw po ipakausap sa akin. Ali didn’t complain that he was in pain kasi kapag umiiyak siya, ayaw po ni Robin. He would tell Ali, ‘You have to be strong. Kahit may pain kang nararamdaman, huwag kang iiyak. You’re a man; you’re not gay.’ Ganoon si Robin magsalita kay Ali, so Ali is scared of his dad.”

 Reacting to Liezl’s statement, Robin’s manager/confidante Betchay sent Funfare Update this text message: Gusto i-correct ni Robin ‘yung sinabi ni Liezl about being gay. Kahit kailan, hindi po nasabi ‘yon ni Robin dahil may kapatid din siyang gay, si BB. Gandanghari po, at mataas ang respeto niya sa mga gay.

In sum, Liezl said that all she wants is “ilaban po ‘yung karapatan ko kay Ali.”

She explained, “Kapag kausap ni Robin si Ali, gusto ng bata d’yan sa Pilipinas para mag-artista dahil may gagawin daw silang pelikula. But when I talk to Ali, he would cry and say, ‘I wanna go home, Ma.’ I said, ‘Why don’t you tell your Papa?’ Sabi ni Ali, ‘I’m scared’.Bini-brainwash n’ya si Ali.”

Queenie and Kylie have opted to pursue showbiz careers here.

Confused. That seems to be the situation of Ali. I suggested to Liezl that she and Robin sit down and discuss the matter seriously, but Liezl said that Robin doesn’t want to talk to her. Thus, her appeal to Robin.

“Magpakalalaki ka.”

(Note: Funfare Update will get more of Robin’s reaction as soon as the Ramadan is over. Let’s hope that during this holy season among the Muslims, Robin as well as Liezl will pray for guidance so there will be peace in the family.)

Krista confirms: I’m five weeks pregnant!

As Funfare Update reported as a “scoop” a few issues ago, Krista Ranillo is pregnant — “Five weeks na,” she confirmed during a phone interview from L.A. after she and brand-new husband Nino Jefferson Lim got home Friday night from the hospital for check-up because Krista was suffering from mild “spotting.”

Which means that Krista and Niño will welcome their baby sometime in April next year, the same month they are celebrating their birthdays (they’re both Taurians).

Childhood sweethearts who reconciled after several years of separation, Krista and Niño first got married on July 14 at a civil rite with only a friend as witness. They got married again at a ceremonial Jewish-interfaith affair on Aug. 8 at a hotel in L.A. and they plan to get married in church in the Philippines sometime in November — “So that we could invite our friends who were not there during the first two times, kasama na rin ang family members namin na hindi nakarating dito.”

Initially, the couple planned to invite only around 30 people to the supposedly private affair last Aug. 8 but they had to increase the number of invited guests to 300 when news leaked out.

“Niño and I are so in love and we couldn’t wait to settle down and start our own family.”

Edu wants to co-host Kapuso show with Gibo

Like Cesar Montano who recently signed up with GMA where he started his TV career, Edu Manzano said that when he too signed a three-year exclusive contract with the Kapuso Network, he was just returning home.

“I also began my TV career at GMA. I hosted the show Not So Late Night with Edu and Emergency. I even co-hosted Unang Hirit.”

After that, he spent 24 years with ABS-CBN with hardly any contract, except during the last few years.

Under his new GMA contract, Edu will host the game show Asar Talo Pero Laging Panalo. But didn’t he say during the recent presidential campaign when he was presidentiable Gibo Teodoro’s running-mate that, win or lose, he would quit hosting that kind of show?

“What I said was that I would stop dancing in a show,” said Edu, referring to his last ABS-CBN show Pilipinas, Game Ka Na Ba? in which he would dance at certain segments to the tune of Papaya Dance.

What Edu has in mind is to co-host another show with Gibo with whom Edu proved to be a hit tandem. Gibo has his own star appeal which became evident during the campaign.

Perfect tandem, aren’t they?

“If ever,” said Edu, “it wouldn’t be a showbiz-oriented show but just as interesting. Gibo and I blend very well and we could come up with something exciting and interesting.”

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