I’m in a real quandary about what I've been hearing for months now about this Showbiz Personality.
I may sound like your standard intrigera here, but really, since April, whispers about this fellow have been hounding me.
Once, I was told that he was "using" regularly, and that he would very casually invite people to his sessions like he might invite for lunch.
“Totoo?” I asked the source, generally reliable, who relayed this to me. The source added a strong detail, but other than that, no more.
Since then, another person has confirmed this chatter, saying, “Na-shock ako, I did not expect it.”
My thought balloon then was,“Shocks! Paano ko tatanungin ang isang tao if drug addict siya?”
Ang hirap, di ba?
In the early 2000s, I was segment producer for a morning show tasked to ask a veteran actor and an award-winning actress about their alcoholism. Everyone in the network knew theirs was no longer social drinking on special occasions, theirs was out-and-out alcohol dependence.
As a fearless fresh graduate at the time, I decided to be direct with my questions in case the other party abruptly ended the phone call.
I got in touch with the veteran actor first. “Puwede po ba namin kayo ma-interview about winning the battle against alcoholism?”
The person on the other line paused for a few seconds before saying, “Wrong number, hija.”
I swear, it was the actor's voice.
Meanwhile, the award-winning actress sounded groggy on the phone but said nicely, “Wala pa ako sa mood, may hangover pa. Sensiya na, bye.”
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Back to this Showbiz Personality and the current, growing buzz around him. I have not gotten to asking him the question because I lack details and I need proof.
I need, for instance, a snapshot, an overheard dialogue, a reported incident, a comment from more than one person willing to go on record even if, I expect, they'll ask to remain anonymous.
This way, when I approach the fellow, he cannot just dismiss the question; my question would be too specific.
To this day, the "using" remains tsismis.
Last May, while I was in Singapore, I stumbled upon a next tidbit.
Over dinner, a friend of a friend mentioned that her cousin’s company had been given a big project by the same Showbiz Personality.
In her words, “He’s very nice kaya he’s a winner in life. Imagine, his company is swamped with so many big-time campaigns.”
To my regret, that night I did not delve too much into the project of her cousin, and the next time I reached out for details about the cousin's project, I was seenzoned.
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In June, I again found myself caught in more gossip about the same Showbiz Personality.
Pinuputakti is really the apt word here because, I swear, wherever I went someone seemed to be talking about him!
One friend said the fellow, moving up in life, has turned into a “predator" who sends flirty DMs (Direct Messages) to young girls.
She also told the story of her colleague whom the Showbiz Personality had gotten drunk. "Nilasing" was her exact word.
And what her colleague could remember in the haze, added my friend, was that "he inserted his fingers to her mouth."
A bank teller whom I dealt with regularly told me that the Showbiz Personality tried hitting on one of her clients: "Nagulat yung kliyente ko, Ma'am, kasi hindi naman sila close, pero tinanong daw siya na kung mapadpad siya sa BGC puwede silang lumabas, like mag-dinner, pero akala ng client, poser yung account."
A friendly waitress I met and the sister of a friend's dentist also claimed they received “lewd” messages from the guy.
A nurse in a hospital overheard a fellow nurse say that her cousin "na nagwo-work sa hotel" was invited out by the same Showbiz Personality.
Now, I am overwhelmed. Totoo ba ang mga ito? Parang sobra na? Wala sa hitsura niya, huh. You would not think he was capable of these things. And, by the way, he's a family man.
Well, in showbiz, this is not really an isolated case.
I've met a lot of men who are good-looking (decent-looking, too) who turned out to be the personification of "the wolf in sheep's clothing."
Most of them are family men, too!
One of them approached a pretty girl, asked for her number, then sent her suggestive text messages.
Another one had a one-night stand with a beauty queen.
There are two who are my favorite actors—they both have good reputations—and they turned out to be cheaters, too!
This Showbiz Personality sounds like he's a candidate for the pack.
With all the buzz surrounding him, this means just one of two things: he has not been very discreet, which means the tsismis could prove true; or he is hated by quite a few, which means the tsismis could prove not true.
Either way, it doesn't look good for him.
Let me be clear: I do not have a beef with the Showbiz Personality. I do not even know him personally.
I also never intentionally bring up his name in convos with friends. But, somehow, within my circle—I was a sorority sister at university, I once worked in ad agency and in a TV network, I was a publisher during the days of print, I now work in digital media, and I tend to make friends easily—people always bring chatter about him.
To a Marites like me, it’s annoying to have all this chatter swirling around and I can’t write about it.
Because, first, I have to know for sure if this is true or this is tsismis.
I have sent DMs to a number of the girls but I got no reply.
Are they choosing silence because they're afraid of him as he grows more influential?
Is it because the last thing they want is the spotlight turning on them?
Are they dismissive of the incidents because they think there was no harm done anyway?
Is it because a famous person sending suggestive messages to his young targets, who also happens to be a married man inviting single girls to date him, is the norm these days?
Omigod, I hope not.
What if the Showbiz Personality is actually sending seductive DMs to young girls—and your young niece becomes his next prey?
And even if this is all just chatter because famous people are easy targets of gossip— all it really takes is a two-word reply: “NOT TRUE.”
The job of a Marites is not easy, as you can see, and it's been made more taxing by social media, which says too much but says really nothing at the same time.
Daming sabi-sabi, daming fake news and, most frustrating of all, daming kimi. O sige na nga, duwag.
There are those who would post in the comments section: “I know this, I saw him.” They would even narrate an incident complete with dialogue. But once we reach out to them, to verify, they will not reply.
A few would take the time to say: "Narinig ko lang. Hindi ako sure.”
Gusto ko namang hiritan ng: “Hindi ka pala sure, why are you posting it in a public forum?”
I just miss the likes of Angelu de Leon and Maricar de Mesa, who, many years ago, played a big role in a story I was chasing.
It was a pepper-spray incident involving two socialites, and the two actresses witnessed it all happen. They did not dilly-dally when I asked them to recount what they saw. They called it as they saw it. If they thought of the backlash, they did not let that stop them.
They even brought the victim to the hospital!
How much more empathy and bravery can be expected of accidental witnesses?
Read: PART I: Two celebrities witness "pepper-spray incident"
I also appreciate all who have shared their stories, even in anonymity, through the years.
Such brave souls. #SanaAll.
Let me say this: if you hear tsismis, and you don't see it on PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), then most likely it was a dead end, we could not get verification, we needed more information.
And we simply will not use the tsismis if we have no sources to cite or no material to back us up. Then it stays as tsismis—until it is not.
Because, in my years as a Marites, I find that it's very rare to have all that smoke and no fire.
So, I’m on waiting mode. I am waiting for people to reply. I am waiting for more solid info. I am waiting for the truth.
