V host Boy Abunda has now a rival in the person of John Lapus who is now co-hosting with Pia Guanio and Raymond Gutierrez in “Showbiz Central.” Can John outdo (at times) outlandish costumes Boy wears on “The Buzz”?

When we briefly talked to John he informed us that the budget allotted to his wardrobe is only P2,000 and he is very grateful to his designer friends who are helping him out.

Interestingly, the manager of John is none other than Mr. Johnny Manahan or Mr. M.of ABS-CBN. He has remained very loyal to him for the past six years.

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MOTHER LILY BENEFITS FROM ANGARA

FOR a while we thought Mother Lily Monteverde would never hold a get-together for re-electionist Ed Angara. Was she disappointed with the senator whom she endorsed a couple of years ago?

On the contrary, Mother Lily was more than satisfied with Angara 's achievements especially with the Senior Citizens Act which is her favorite and one that she benefitted from most. (Does Mother Lily need that?—Ed.)

The friendship of Mother Lily and Angara started in the 80s when she got the services of Angara's law firm ACCRA to attend to some legal requirements of her movie outfit. Angara then was the president of the University of the Philippines and only has the best lawyers in his firm.

It helped that Ed and Mother Lily were both passionate about education and culture. At that time Mother owned a preschool at Valencia St. Ed supported the creation of the New National Museum and the National Commission on Culture and the Arts.

Mother Lily believes that everything that Senator Angara does is for the Filipino people. For babies, he authored the breastfeeding act. For the youth, there's the Free High School Act and for those who are 60 years old and above, there is the Senior Citizens Act.

And there's more. When you get sick there's the Philhealth and the Generics law. Angara has not forgotten the basic necessities— health, education, food and agriculture. Mother Lily thinks he has a master plan for the Filipino people.

Should Angara be able to serve in the Senate once more, he will definitely push for an increase in discounts as much as 34 percent.

This should make the elderly very happy especially Mother Lily but this is not the main reason why she is endorsing Ed Angara.

The night Mother Lily presented Senator Angara to the entertainment press, singer Sarah Geronimo was also visible. She represents the youth which is why Angara chose her to be his endorser. “She is wholesome at champion sa kabataan,” Angara states.

Young as she is, Sarah believes that the senator has a good track record and one who delivers what he promises to do. “Ang nakakatuwa pa nito ay nakatutok siya sa kabataang tulad ko. Concerned siya sa aming edukasyon, kalu-sugan at kinabukasan,” she says.

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GRINGO STILL A HERO

ANOTHER senatorial candidate whom Mother Lily favors is Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan whose role in the 1986 EDSA Revolution made him a household name. He ran for senator was in 1995 and won.

Gringo is a soldier then and a soldier now. He is probably the only candidate who believes in dying for his country.

He is not that keen on having his life story filmed but you can be sure that when such a project pushes through, it would be Mother Lily who would finance it.

One asked Senator Honasan whether pork barrel should be scrapped. “I am in favor of pork barrel as there is nothing wrong with what it is being used for. Ang masama ay kung hindi mainam ang pinaggagamitan nito,” he says.

There are those who say that people who played a major role in the EDSA Revolution has lost their magic and their following. Not so with Mother Lily who have always considered Gringo a hero since the People Power uprising in 1986. She credits Gringo for “waking her up” and showing her that the worst crime a Filipino can commit is apathy.

In her parting shot, mother exclaims: “He has sacrificed so much to keep freedom afloat in the Philippines . People may not agree with his tactics but no one can question his constant desire to always fight for what is right. I want to make sure he ends up in the Senate once more.”

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