Early this month, Phoemela Baranda's name got dragged into an issue involving former-friends-turned-foes-then-friends-then-foes-again John Lapus and Jobert Sucaldito.
At the time the issue erupted, one of the allusions was: The Star Buzzer reportedly exaggerated the comment of Sweet about Jommy Teotico.
In Jobert's radio show, he related how Sweet made a dirty dig about the El Ultimo Participante's stature before he joined Pinoy Fear Factor. "Nilait daw ni Sweet si Jommy dahil ito'y hamak na waiter lang bago nag-showbiz," was how Jobert put it, according to some listeners.
The Showbiz Central host admitted to making such comment, but denied that his intent was to put down the showbiz newbie.
Sweet said in an article posted last March 2, "Hello! Bakit ko naman lalaitin ang mga waiter, e, dati rin akong waiter? Nagtrabaho ako sa Jollibee [click to read blog entry] noong araw kaya alam ko ang hirap ng trabahong 'yan...."
He had only one burning question then: "Paano kaya ikinuwento ni Phoem ang mga nasabi ko about Jommy?"
Phoem told PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) her side of the story in an exclusive interview held yesterday, March 9, at Teatrino, Greenhills.
She stressed: "Wala naman akong dinagdag o binawas, so kinuwento ko yung nangyari lang..."
The model-host said the incident happened in October 2008 at Tabu bar in Makati, but she casually relayed the story to her co-hosts in The Buzz only this year.
Phoem narrated, "Nasa The Buzz ako and then, na-guest namin si Jommy, and then nakuwento ko lang kasi kung anong nangyari sa ‘min when we went out after our trip to Argentina.
"Lumabas kasi kami dito, pumunta kaming Tabu, nakita namin si John Lapus, and nakuwento ko lang naman sa family ko sa The Buzz kung ano yung nangyari—walang bawas, walang dagdag.
"Nung nakuwento ko kina Jobert, kina Tito Boy [Abunda], it was this month lang. Wala lang, sabi ko, ‘Alam mo, Jobert, nasabi sa ‘kin ni Sweet na naging waiter pala niya si Jommy.' So, wala akong dinagdag or binawas sa story. So yun lang..."
She relayed the story without any tinge of malice.
The "Star Patrol" segment host continued, "Sabi nga ni Tito Boy [na] even Brad Pitt, Madonna, big stars ay naging bartenders din. Ako din naman, marami akong trabaho. Nahihiya rin ako kasi baka sabihin naman nila that I'm saying also that Jommy is... Ba't ko pa kailangan sabihin yun?
"Nakuwento ko lang kay Jobert, but wala akong dinagdag o binawas dun, kumbaga, kinuwento ko lang kung ano'ng nangyari."
Unknowingly, her story activated a controversy, which became one of the reasons why John and Jobert are at war again.
So, when she got a phone call from John, Phoem was quite clueless.
"Si John nga was trying...getting in touch with me regarding that matter," she recalled. "Sabi ko naman, ‘John, wala naman akong dinagdag o binawas so kinuwento ko yung nangyari lang.' And which is yung nangyari, lumabas kami nila Jommy and then Sweet told me na si Jommy was a former waiter ng ano niya dati, bar. So nakuwento ko lang..."
Her phone explanation was cut short.
Phoem said, "Naputol yung linya kasi nag-low bat yung phone."
John's impression then, "Ayoko namang isipin na pinagpatayan niya ako ng cell niya. Kaya ang ginawa ko, nag-text ako ng message sa kanya to say na wala akong sinabing masama about Jommy being a waiter dati. Kilala ako nung bata at never akong nanlait."
Phoem continued, "‘Tapos, nagte-text siya, actually, hindi ko rin kasi alam yung ite-text ko, kasi I don't wanna be adding to the gulo and I want to be...'cause friends naman kami ni Sweet, I have nothing against him or wala naman kaming alitan or something..."
John asked her to text back or reply, but Phoem decided to just keep mum. "I didn't wanna talk to him about it first kasi medyo lumaki na siya..."
But she stressed for the fifth time, "Wala akong dinagdag o binawas."
On a lighter note, doesn't she have plans of crossing over from being a host to an actress?
Her face suddenly lit up, "I want to. I love to, I love to. It's just that my schedule... I'm very lucky that I get jobs like this na umaga, umaga yung call time ‘tapos press launch. Yung mga ganun, kasi nga in a few hours, kailangan ko na pumunta ng Patrol. Yun, so I'm very, very, very thankful that you know meron akong mga raket like hostings in between, pero talagang every day ko is TV Patrol na which is talaga namang magandang opportunity for me, di ba?"
She had her acting stint via the indie film Pamana. "Nagawa ko yun dati, kontrabida yung role ko," Phoem told PEP.
Then added, "We'll see, of course...Kung may mga offers diyan, why not? Okay lang po ako. Mapanood niyo po yung Pamana, sana maganda naman yung review ko dun, and hopefully, may mga opportunities this time."