Climbing even higher

The Kapuso network has decided to do what ABS-CBN began to do about a month ago about its top star: make her a major part of a weekly competition show. “Her” is, of course, Kathryn Bernardo.

Alden Richards will host a dance show on GMA 7 by June. It will be called Stars on the Floor and it will air on Saturdays, almost surely on primetime, and, hopefully, not right across the Pilipinas Got Talent in which Bernardo is among the judges.

But if they happen to be on the same time slot, would it not be most profitable for both TV stations? The competition could drive up to the roof the respective viewership of each broadcast giant. Later on, the on-camera sweethearts Bernardo and Richards can get together for a movie that could be most effective on topping their highest grossing Pinoy film Hello, Love, Again. There’s always a way to earn more, right?

Marian Rivera and comedian Pokwang, both known to be superb dancers, will be among the show’s judges. Stars on the Floor will have five Sparkle stars and five social media influencers as contestants.

Those contestants have been chosen. In fact, according to PEP.ph website reporter Jojo Gabinete, the show has taped its pilot episode on 23 April under ex-dancer Miggy Tanchanco’s direction. The show’s creative director is Johnny Manahan, formerly ABS-CBN’s leading director for about two decades or so.

Stars on the Floor won’t be Richard’s first time to host a competition show on GMA7. He hosted for the network Bet ng Bayan (2014), Centerstage (February 2020 to June 2021), and Battle of the Judges (July- September 2023).

Would the 33-year-old dashing and handsome idol have time for love?

Maybe he has, if he wants to. It’s all a matter of decision for someone who has his looks, personality, and fortune. He has also just decided to begin to fulfill his father’s unfulfilled dream of becoming a pilot. His dad is 60 years old and the son knows about his father’s unfulfilled wish. So one fine day, perhaps after hearing fellow actors Xian Lim and Ronnie Liang having become licensed plane pilots, Richards accepted an aviation school’s scholarship offer.

On 25 April, Richards posted on his Facebook photos of his visit at the office of Alpha Aviation Group.

“Reaching new heights, one flight at a time” was the actor’s caption for the pics.

And when Richards gets his license to fly, he just might decide to buy himself his own small plane, which was what fellow actor Xian Lim did recently by going all the way to Queensland, Australia to check out the plane he wanted for himself.

Lim earned his license as a private pilot late last year. This means he can take a passenger with him but not as a paying customer. He can become a commercial pilot and accept payment for flying another person by increasing his booked flight hours. There must an advantage for Lim to buy his own plane so he can upgrade his license to commercial status.

It’s hard to doubt that Richards could not afford to buy himself an airplane. He is now known to be among the wealthiest Pinay actors engaged in various business ventures which he recently tied up with the Del Rosarios Viva group of companies that go beyond the field of entertainment. There might be just a few Pinoy showbiz idols like Xian Lim who can afford to buy an airplane, and Richards is believed to be among them.

In fact, there’s a joke now going around showbiz circles about how it’s more likely for Richards to get into a new business than get a girlfriend.

And, oh, Richards did get himself, too, something (uggh! not someone!) which he declared makes him feel so alive more than ever: a new bike. He is now into biking for a new hobby to keep him in shape.

It seems no girlfriend can keep him so.

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Did you know that Nora Aunor and Hajji Alejandro made a movie together, along with some sexy stars of the mid-1970s?

At that time, Aunor was already labeled “superstar” while Alejandro had begun to be known as “Kilabot ng mga Kolehiyala” (scourge of students from all-girls schools).

The movie’s title was Panakip-Butas, taken after the title of the first certified hit of Alejandro after he left Circus Band, the leading pop group of the era, to become a solo artist.

Panakip-Butas was first released as a single but was eventually included in his first solo album simply titled Hajji, released in 1977. By that time, Alejandro was already the idol of the kolehiyala, so to ensure the album would sell like hotcakes, he was made to promote the album in the campuses of all-girls colleges. Those engagements sealed his tag as “Kilabot ng mga Kolehiyala.”

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The movie company on the rise in the mid-70s was Regal Films, and it produced Panakip-Butas, co-starring Cherie Gil, Trixia Gomez, Brenda del Rio, and Ruthie Roces with Aunor and Alejandro, with Romy Suzara as directed.

The movie was reportedly a big hit, though it does not appear in any of the published filmography of the National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts.

Alejandro has no filmography since it’s the only movie he bothered to do. It is said that he had offers from Regal and other film companies but was bothered by having to do intimate scenes in front of the camera with minimal clothing. It’s possible that the discomfort was an influence of his Catholic education.

He finished the grades and high school in San Beda College and his tertiary at the Ateneo de Manila. But how did he happen to have the famous nickname, which is the sanctified title for Muslims who have done a pilgrimage to Mecca?

“Hajji” must be a stylized nickname from his baptismal name Angelito, which some people playfully pronounce as “an-jie-lito.” That could have been how he was nicknamed “Hajji.”