Will F-4 endorse candidate GMA?

If things go as planned, President Arroyo’s next caller could be the main man of a Taiwanese boy band that has made waves in the Chinovela "Meteor Garden."

Jerry Yan of F-4 has expressed his desire to pay a courtesy call on the President when he comes to Manila for a concert on Nov. 29.

Yan, who plays Dao Ming Zhu in "Meteor Garden," will perform with fellow F-4 member Vic Zhu at the Fort in Makati City. It is not known whether Zhu, who plays Wah Sei-Lei in the same soap opera, will also pay a courtesy call on Mrs. Arroyo.

Yan’s fellow F-4 members, Van Ness, who plays Mitsuo, and Ken Chu, who plays the role of Xiemen in the same Chinovela, were in Manila last month for a concert at the Ultra Stadium in Pasig City. They were here with "Meteor Garden" star Barbie Xu, who plays the character San Cai, and Dee Xu.

Sources told The STAR that official representatives of Yan and Zhu have requested a formal audience with the President through the office of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

This was confirmed last week by Mr. Arroyo before he left for the United States for his annual medical checkup.

"One of the F-4 guys... would like to see the President," Mr. Arroyo said excitedly. "I think his name is Jerry Yan."

He did not say why the two Taiwanese stars, who have swept Filipino audiences off their feet with their music and acting, want to pay a courtesy call on the President.

The newest visitors to Malacañang, he said, would certainly be most welcome.

Filipino audiences have shown an overwhelmingly positive response to foreign soap operas, beginning with Spanish-language telenovelas "Marimar" and "Maria del Barrio," starring Mexican actress Thalia, and extending fandom for and preference to Chinese soap operas, including "Meteor Garden." The telenovelas and Chinovelas are aired with dubbing in Filipino.

"Meteor Garden" is aired from Mondays to Fridays at 5:30 p.m., with replays at 11:30 a.m., over ABS-CBN.