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IT seems
conflicts rule showbizlandia these days. Without people
fighting over something, life does seem a bore.
Most
recent is the filing of a P10-million libel case against
TV-radio host and tabloid columnist Jobert Sucaldito by
talent manager-real-estate businesswoman Rose Flaminiano.
The war started when Sucaldito, in his column and on his
radio show, called Flaminiano as mukhang pera
(greedy for money).
 Flaminiano stands as the manager of comebacking actor
Gabby Concepcion, who went to self-exile in the
US
for more than a decade following the infamous Metro
Manila Film Festival scam. In her statement, Flaminiano
reasoned out that Sucaldito is furious because of a
product endorsement for Concepcion that Sucaldito served
as middleman, which she refused over a rival product.
In an
interview for the Philippine Entertainment Portal,
Flaminiano revealed that the product being brokered by
Sucaldito was the skin-whitening soap Met (Methathione),
which had earmarked a P2.5-million talent fee for
Concepcion. The other one was Lucida Gluthathione, which
offered him P5 million. Flaminiano said she agreed to go
with Gluthathione because, unlike with Met, she had yet
to meet up with the advertiser.
She
added that as talent manager, she needed to be sure and
secure in her business deals. As for Sucaldito, she
said, “I don’t know what or how much he lost that he
would be so furious over the contract [with Met] not
pushing through.”
Show’s
surname is “business” after all.
Flaminiano filed the case at the Hall of Justice in
Tarlac City, where she officially resides. In his
columns, Sucaldito kept on attacking Flaminiano and
Concepcion. The actor will also file another case
against Sucaldito in the following days.
In an
interview for TV Patrol Monday night, the furious
Sucaldito said, “Laban kung laban.”
A bit of
trivia. Eons ago, Sucaldito was the same columnist who
broke the news about the sexual abuse done by talent
manager-turned-politician Jojo Veloso against his
talents. All were recorded on video. Those were the very
first sex scandals caught on tape. The most prominent of
which involved a model-host, who also went back to the
Philippines
after a self-exile in the US. His career as
model-host-actor has seen better days, yet we can’t even
remember his name.
Deformed
IN
another court, Drs. Manny and Pie Calayan are on to
battle a former client who filed a P26-million lawsuit
against them. The case filed by a certain Louem Martinez
reads: “Commission of estafa and reckless imprudence
resulting to serious physical injury as well as
obstruction of justice.”
On
September 25, 2007, Martinez reportedly was operated on
for penile enlargement in one of the high-profile
cosmetic and beauty surgeons’ clinics. Dr. Manny said in
an interview for GMA’s Showbiz Central that he
instructed
Martinez not to engage into any sexual act for a month.
Martinez
was also instructed to come back on October 1 to remove
the dressing and sutures, which Martinez never did.
Martinez
was quoted as saying, “I have three girlfriends, one
Filipina, one American and one Brazilian. How can I
abstain that long?”
On
November 19 of the same year, the Calayans received a
letter of complaint from Martinez, informing them of the
unsuccessful operation, resulting to the deformity of
his penis.
As the
case was filed in court, Dr. Pie, in return, accused
Martinez of “crimes of perjury and unjust vexation.” In
her affidavit, she stated: “The Complainant instituted
this malicious criminal complaint knowing fully well
that it is utterly bereft of any factual and legal
basis.”
Martinez,
in an interview also on Showbiz Central, said he
is ready to face the couple in court. For Dr. Manny, he
directly pointed out: “Be a man, stick with the facts,
okay, and stop the fiction.”
At this
point, we are reminded of the immortal line from the
centuries-old play The Mourning Bride by William
Congreve, which goes, “Heaven has no rage like love to
hatred turned/Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.”
With
Martinez’s case against the Calayans: “Hell hath no fury
like a man [or manhood] deformed.”
For
sure, the court battle will be one for the books. The
bigger—no pun intended—question is: Will the evidence
stand up in court? |
