AREL Marquez is happy to be with GMA-7. “My contract with ABS-CBN expired last year then I got Tita June Torrejon to manage me,” she says. “Heto nga, she got me to work with GMA-7 in ‘SOP' and ‘Pati Ba Pintig ng Puso', and I'm also doing a movie with Regal, ‘Tiyanak'. I'm really happy to be this busy.”

In the afternoon Sine-Novela “Pati Ba Pintig ng Puso,” she plays Agatha, originally played in the movie by Dina Bonnevie. “Contravida ako rito kay Yasmien Kurdi, pero okay lang. The family of JC de Vera wants him to marry, but he chooses to marry Yasmien instead kaya kami ng mommy ko, Pinky Amador, try to make life miserable for Yasmien. In ‘Tiyanak' naman, barkada kami nina Rica Peralejo, Mark Herras, Jennylyn Mercado and JC de Vera. Our car conks out in the middle of nowhere and we seek help in this house na hindi namin alam, bahay pala ng mga tiyanak. It's directed by Mark Reyes and really scary.”

Is it true she's now going steady with Jeremy Marquez, son of Joey? “We do go out, but we're not really on yet.”

Incidentally, her daddy, Dr. Ed Santos, is with Jessica Rodriguez's Beverly Hills Cosmetic Surgery as chief medical officer and we asked him what's the real score between Karel and Jeremy? “I think they're still in the getting to know each other stage. Nagkukuwento sa'kin ang anak ko and she doesn't keep secrets from me, so I'm sure she'd tell me kung sila na nga.”

Karel's mom is singer-actress Pinky Marquez. Her parents broke up when she was still a little girl and she now lives with her dad and stepmom, Dolly Syquia. “I have two half brothers, aged five and two, but I don't consider them just half brothers as they really look like me so much, especially the two year old. Ate nila talaga ako.”

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FANS MORE EXCITED FOR PIOLO THAN REGINE

THE call time for the “Paano Kita Iibigin” original soundtrack launch at SM The Block last Wednesday was 6 p.m., but its stars, Regine Velasquez and Piolo Pascual came at almost 9 p.m. They came from their last shooting day in a waterfalls in Majayjay, Laguna. Piolo arrived first and we noticed that the screams and shrieks for him were louder than when Regine arrived later.

Piolo is excited as it's his first soundtrack album and Regine herself produced it for Star and Viva Records.

“Regine also served as my coach while we were recording it,” adds Piolo. “I'm really thankful to her for teaching me how to interpret our songs best. I never thought she'd produce an album for us. Grabe ang professionalism niya when it comes to music. She's really a true artist.”

“In my case, I'm really more of a singer than actor kaya naman ibinuhos ko lahat ng musicality ko in producing this album,” says Regine. “What's nice is it has nine original songs and only one revival, at lahat, pinaghirapan namin ni Piolo.

Maganda na ‘yung movie, pero idagdag mo pa ang songs sa soundtrack and it's really something we can be proud of. Piolo is such a pleasure to work with so I'm looking forward to doing more projects with him.”

The carrier single is the title song, “Paano Kita Ii-bigin,” a duet composed by Ogie Alcasid. (And we hope all the talks about Regine's off cam romance with Ogie will not hurt her movie with Piolo at the box office.) Other Regine-Piolo duets are “Sana Nga,” “Muling Magmamahal,” and “My World With You.” Piolo's solo numbers are “Lalala,” “With You”, “Angel Eyes”, and his own version of the title song.

Regine's solo numbers are “Manhid,” “Tahan,” “Pare Ko” (revival), and her own version of “Paano Kita Iibigin.” Watch them promote the album at SM Cebu on May 18, Market Market on May 25, Glorietta on May 26 and SM Sta. Rosa on May 27. The film opens May 30.

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BELO ON TFC

DR. Vicki Belo is going international. She now has her own show, “Belo Beauty 101,” a 30-minute telemagazine to be aired on TFC (The Filipino Channel) in the U.S. starting May 20, Sundays at 10:20 p.m. and Mondays at 6:45 a.m. She will have a different male co-host for each episode. For the first one, “The Amazing Face,” her co-host is Willie Revillame. (Does he have an amazing face?) Special guests are Zsa Zsa Padilla who talks about PanGee, the non-surgical treatment for sagging facial skin, and Beverly Salviejo, who undergoes stem cell auto-grafting for facial scars and blepharoplasty for laser eyebag removal.

Future co-hosts are Sam Milby, Piolo Pascual, Albert Martinez, Troy Montero, Ogie Alcasid and Edu Manzano. The show will also help attract visitors to the country by featuring various scenic spots and wonderful events tourists can join. “This will help foreigners realize that the Philippines is safe and a fun place for them to visit,” says Dr. Belo. For details, you can email beauty101@belomed.com.

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SOLAR LOSES P20M IN RPN SHOWS

WE feel bad for the shows of Solar Entertainment on RPN-9 that are folding up: “Kemis (Ke Misis Umaasa)”, “Dalawang Tisoy”, “Sabi ni Nanay”, and Pat P Daza's “Showbiz Ka.” They didn't even last for one season (13 weeks). Many stars will lose their jobs, including Sandara Park whose only show now is “Dalawang Tisoy.”

“Kawawa talaga si Sandy who's the breadwinner at dito lang umaasa ang family niya,” someone close to her says. “Ni hindi nga niya mapag-aral ang dalawang nakababatang kapatid niya. Wala naman siyang assignment ngayon sa ABS-CBN mula nang matabunan siya ni Kim Chiu sa popularidad.”

It's good that Bayani Agbayani of “Kemis” will have a new show with Aga Muhlach on ABS soon. We can't blame Solar as no advertisers are coming in and they have already lost P20 million for producing these shows after only two months. The only show that will be retained is “ Philippines ' Next Top Model” of Ruffa Gutierrez.

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