Karla Estrada, former That’s Entertainment star in the ‘80s and currently co-host of the top-rating morning talk show Magandang Buhay, is back on the big screen. She topbills the still-in-theaters comedy Familia Blondina.
Tagalog movie fans last saw her in the comedy Gandarrapido: The Revenger Squad, an entry to the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival with Vice Ganda and Daniel Padilla, Karla’s son by Rommel Padilla, brother of the famous and controversial Robin Padilla.
Jerry Lopez Sineneng directs the film that revolves around Cindy (Karla), a woman who leaves her family behind to move to the US to marry an American soldier. The marriage produces three children, all blonde.
When the American husband dies, he leaves her deep in debt and she has no choice but to fly back home to the Philippines with her three blonde children where she could eke out a living to support them.
She goes through a series of misadventures looking for a job. She meets, a widower (Jobert Austria a.k.a. Kuya Jobelt) who also has two blonde children.
Together, they raise their children and impart to them what it means to be a Filipino.
Written by Mel Mendoza-del Rosario who wrote the hit movie series Tanging-Ina, Familia Blondina is a comedy for all ages and every Filipino family.
Joining the “Queen Mother” (a title bestowed on her by the local movie press) in the movie are some of the most followed young stars in social media today—Marco Gallo, Kira Balinger, Xia Vigor, Chantal Videla, Heaven Peralejo, and Awra Briguela.
Produced by Arctic Sky and distributed by Cine Screen, Familia Blondina opened on Feb. 27 in cinemas nationwide.
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Brit Invasion at the Marco Polo Ortigas Manila
Celebrate some of Britain’s best bites and brews this month at Marco Polo Ortigas. Foodies from all over the metro are invited to sample choice flavors in the hotel’s dining destinations as masterfully prepared by the culinary team, led by Executive Chef Alisdair Bletcher.
Tickle your senses with Café Pronto’s selection of tarts and pies, which are best enjoyed at the start of the day or in the afternoon paired with a cup of coffee. At Cucina, a wide array of traditional dishes awaits featuring Smoke Atlantic Salmon, Ploughman’s Salad, Shephard Pies, and Fish and Chips.
Nothing spells British faire more than afternoon tea with scones and pastries. The Connect Lounge breathes new life to this delightful pastime, along with the seasonal feature of a refreshing Pimm’s cocktail.
A good day’s work deserves a rewarding bite and a pint at Vu’s Sky Bar and Lounge. Sample choice British classics like fish and chips and bangers and mash matched with a glass of San Miguel Draft Beer for P699 from Wednesday to Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m.. And when the clock strikes “Gin!,” toast to a fab time while enjoying the breath-taking metroscape with your very own gin and tonic.
For more information about ongoing promotions at Lung Hin and the hotel’s other dining destinations, please call (02) 720-7720 or e-mail restaurant.mnl@marcopolohotels.com. For more information about Marco Polo Ortigas, contact (632) 720-7777 or visit www.marcopolohotels.com. and @MarcoPoloManila on Twitter and Instagram.
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Mid-Term Polls as referendum on Pres. Duterte?
“The Philippine mid-term election is a referendum on the leadership of President Duterte” and whether voters still want him to continue with his policies and reforms, Institute for Political and Electoral Reform Executive Director Ramon C. Casiple said recently at the non-partisan Pandesal Forum in Quezon City’s pioneer 80-year-old Kamuning Bakery Café.
Casiple added this election offers President Duterte the opportunity to consolidate political power in order for him to fulfill his various 2016 campaign promises in the remaining three years of his administration.
Casiple also stressed that the mid-term elections offer the Duterte government and the opposition the opportunity to prepare for the 2022 presidential elections, with political parties, coalitions and potential candidates now campaigning in this May 2019 election with the goal of also influencing the next 2022 election. The pro-Duterte forces are consolidating their influence, while the opposition forces are also seeking to keep their 2022 chances alive.
Casiple also noted that due to the perceive high popularity of the incumbent President and the resulting strength of his senatorial bets, two opposition senatorial candidates from traditional political clans, former presidential bet Manuel “Mar” Roxas III and Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, seem to be conducting their own election campaigns apart from that of their “Otso Diretso” team.
Casiple noted that even in his past election bid, Roxas had used his own blue color instead of the Liberal Party’s yellow color, while Bam Aquino nowadays often wears black color also instead of yellow. Casiple noted that during the inaugural proclamation rally of Otso Diretso’s eight official candidates, Mar Roxas was conspicuously absent and held his own rally in his home province of Capiz.
In the case of President Duterte, Casiple noted that among the senatorial candidates he has endorsed, two are non-politicians and also totally new names in national politics—his former loyal aide Bong Go and the former police chief General Bato de la Rosa.
Kamuning Bakery Café’s Pandesal Forum is a non-partisan forum with leaders and newsmakers having a platform for a dialogue with members of the mass and social media.
In the same Pandesal Forum, Coop-NATCCO party-list Congressman Dr. Anthony M. Bravo, minority floor leader of Congress, the newly-elected president of the Party-list Coalition Foundation, Inc. (the coalition of 48 partylist groups now in Congress) and representative of farmer cooperatives nationwide, said, “As long as the mid-term election is generally peaceful and credible nationwide, this shall boost domestic and foreign investors’ interest in the Philippine economy. A successful mid-term election is good news for Philippine democracy, and a big win by the Duterte administration shall also enable it to pursue its promised reforms.”
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