MISCEPY

Jon Avila admits hes hurt with Mariels statement

By REYMA BUAN-DEVEZA
abs-cbnNews.com For the first time, former Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition 2 housemate Jon Avila revealed that he was really hurt when actress-host Mariel Rodriguez told him that she likes actor-endorser Zanjoe Marudo more than him.
"Nasaktan medyo, siyempre naman," Avila said during a pictorial for his coming television series held inside the ABS-CBN compound Tuesday afternoon.
Dubbed as the "English Outcast," Avila, who is known to be shy as well as soft-spoken, admitted that he really felt bad. But for the aspiring actor, he said that this does not mean he feels rejected.
"Hindi rejected it was just a start of a potential relationship," Avila exclaims.
The Avila and Rodriguez "affair" started while they were inside "Kuya's" house. Their controversial "romance" was one of the items viewers loved to follow and watch.
When the PBB Celebrity Edition 2 series ended both of them became busy attending to their separate commitments like television guestings and product endorsements.
We're friends
Meanwhile, former Pinoy Big Brother house guest Mariel Rodriguez, in a separate interview, said that she is friend of Avila. And for her -- she really means it. "Actually honestly I think he is also busy with work. So lately we haven't talked. But we are not nemesis or anything. We are friends," Rodriguez told .
Mariel confirmed that she doesn't have any problem with Avila, while Avila said that a couple of weeks ago after the PBB series ended he and Rodriguez were still texting just to check on each other.
Rodriguez who is a regular host of daily afternoon show "Wowowee," and "Entertainment Live" is now also co-hosting Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition Plus Uber.
Jon Avila or Jon Mullaly in real life started his career when he became the 2006 male winner of Century Tuna Super Body. He was born and raised in Stratford in London.
Ka Boom!
Avila aside from being busy doing endorsements will surprise and shock television viewers with his thunderous arrival as a superhero this April with his debut television show "Kapitan Boom!" He will be a superhero like no other and we will be amused by the mighty yet sometimes unlucky life of "Ka Boom!"
"Kapitan Boom!" was created by the father of Pinoy superheroes Mars Ravelo. The newest superhero show will be featured on ABS-CBN's weekly show "Komiks."

Watch the story of "Kapitan Boom" and meet the other members of the cast in the upcoming comedy-adventure on ABS-CBN every Saturdays. With a report from Laila Chikadora

One-week transpo strike set in Iloilo

Commuters in Iloilo City should brace themselves for a one-week transport strike on Monday.

The Federation of Ioilo Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association confirmed early Thursday that it will hold a one-week strike in the city starting June 16.

Proceso Pareno, president of the federation, said that they are losing patience on the government's disregard of the issues drivers and operators are facing.

Pareno asked the government to address the surging price of petroleum products and to look into the unfair implementation of traffic laws in their locality, particularly Ordinance No. 78 Series of 1977, which penalizes drivers who break traffic regulations.

Hulk, Shyamalan seek second chance at the movies

Reuters

LOS ANGELES - This weekend's lineup at the US box office might well be called a showdown between two Hollywood second-chances -- a remake of a superhero flop and a new film from an acclaimed director whose last movie bombed.

But if early reviews are any indication, the hands-down favorite to dominate megaplexes heading into the seventh week of the lucrative summer movie season is "The Incredible Hulk," a revival of the oversized green brute Marvel Studios first brought to theaters in 2003.

Critics say the new version, emphasizing action over introspection, is markedly superior to the brooding "Hulk" forerunner that got off to a strong commercial start but quickly fizzled as comic book fans found it lacking.

Reviews are less than kind to the only other wide release this coming weekend, "The Happening," the first offering from filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan since his "Lady in the Water" drew critical sneers and sputtered at box offices in 2006.

Still, industry watchers say Shyamalan, whose 1999 sleeper hit "The Sixth Sense" made him a filmmaking sensation, will likely give the Hulk a run for his money with his latest thriller about the outbreak of a mysterious plague.

"There's a lot of interest in this weekend because these two films have a lot to prove for very different reasons," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office tracking service Media By Numbers.

Much is at stake for Marvel, which is seeking to build on the recent blockbuster success of "Iron Man" with what it calls a "re-boot" of another one of its most popular superhero characters, the Hulk.

Big Bucks at stake

The movie is believed to have cost upward of $150 million to make with a marketing budget approaching $100 million. And the focus has been "differentiating this film from the first," said Adam Fogelson, Universal's head of marketing.

"It was about knowing ... that there would be many eyebrows raised and many questions asked about why you would make a sequel to a movie that many people didn't like," he said.

Like the original directed by Ang Lee, the new incarnation from French filmmaker Louis Leterrier mixes a computer-animated Hulk with real actors playing other characters.

Edward Norton stars as the former scientist Bruce Banner who turns into the green man-beast whenever he loses his temper. Critics say the new film stays truer to the comic book character and to the 1970s hit TV series it spawned, favoring adventure over psychological conflict.

"Hulk" marks only the second fully self-financed production from Marvel Studios, which paid General Electric Co's Universal Pictures a fee to market and distribute the film. Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc, released "Iron Man" for Marvel.

The first "Hulk," a Marvel co-production with Universal, grossed a hefty $62 million domestically its first weekend but dropped off quickly after that.

Dergarabedian said the remake should top the original, making it likely to beat "The Happening," from News Corp's 20th Century Fox, as the No. 1 film this weekend.

Shyamalan's five previous wide-release films grossed opening weekend tallies ranging from $18 million for "Lady in the Water" two years ago to $60 million for "Signs" in 2002.

But "Happening" is his first to receive an R-rating in the United States, which limits admissions to moviegoers 17 and older unless accompanied by an adult.

Still, Dergarabedian said no one should count Shyamalan out, given the curiosity that usually accompanies his work.

Zambo health officials worried over deportees health

By LEILA VICENTE ABS-CBN Zamboanga
Zamboanga City - Health officials in the city are worried over the health of the thousands of Filipino deportees coming to Zamboanga City from Sabah, Malaysia.
The agency is concerned that some deportees arriving in the city may possibly be positive with HIV-AIDS.
Zamboanga City Health Officer Dr. Rodel Agbulos disclosed that out of the total 15 cases of HIV-AIDS in the city since 1996, eight were overseas Filipino workers from Malaysia, and out of the 15, five of these HIV-AIDS positive patients have died.
Agbulos admitted there is difficulty in determining who among the deportees, or "halaw," are infected with the disease, because under the AIDS Law, HIV testing is voluntary.
Probe on alleged abuses
The Commission on Human Rights meanwhile has sent a "quick reaction team" of investigators to check on the status of the deportees, especially those who were allegedly maltreated by the Malaysian police.
But CHR regional director Atty. Jose Manuel Mamauag said that after interviewing some deportees, these "halaws" admitted that they are still willing to go back to Malaysia even if they are deported several times, saying the Philippine government cannot give them jobs to be able to live decently like they did in Malaysia.
Thousands of Filipino deportees are still expected to arrive in Zamboanga City causing an additional burden on the part of the local government.

Popular Lehman stock deal sparks Wall Street rally

Reuters
NEW YORK - Stocks shot up the most in two weeks on Tuesday after strong demand for a Lehman Brothers share offering quelled fears it was headed toward a fate similar to Bear Stearns and raised optimism that the worst of the credit crisis may be over.
A $19 billion write-down by Swiss bank UBS AG reinforced the view that the banks were aggressively scrubbing their books clean of soured investments tied to the slumping U.S. housing market. Bank stocks charged higher, with big gains by JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America and Citigroup helping to drive both the Dow average and the S&P 500 up more than 3 percent.
Technology stocks also had a strong day. The Nasdaq leaped more than 3 percent, helped by Microsoft, whose shares rose 4 percent after the company said it would not raise its takeover offer for Yahoo Inc. and was confident in its bid.
"We're getting to the point where people are starting to believe the magnitude of the write-offs is peaking," said Owen Fitzpatrick, head of the U.S. Equity Group at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management, in New York. "And, it's Lehman being able to come to market and offer securities. People are interested in placing capital within financials."
For a second day, traders took solace from economic data that was not as dire as forecast. The Institute for Supply Management said its national manufacturing index for March contracted again, but not by as much as economists had predicted.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 391.47 points, or 3.19 percent, to end at 12,654.36. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 47.48 points, or 3.59 percent, to 1,370.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 83.65 points, or 3.67 percent, to 2,362.75.
Stocks posted their best gains since March 18, the day that the Federal Reserve's policy makers last cut interest rates. Tuesday's rally also marked a strong start for the first day of the second quarter.
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's stock jumped 17.8 percent to $44.34 after the investment bank said it raised $4 billion of capital in an offering of convertible preferred shares.
That eased investors' anxiety after Bear Stearns nearly collapsed last month amid a liquidity crisis. The U.S. Federal Reserve encouraged JPMorgan Chase & Co to take over Bear Stearns Cos Inc when it experienced a run on the Wall Street investment bank last month.
Bear Stearns' stock ended up 3.4 percent at $10.85 on the NYSE.
JPMorgan's stock, which contributed the most to the advance of both the Dow and the S&P 500, climbed 9.4 percent to close at $47.00 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The S&P financial index surged 7.5 percent, while shares of Bank of America shot up 7.8 percent to $40.86 and the stock of Citigroup leaped 11.3 percent to $23.84.
Offering more relief to investors was UBS, which said it wrote down an additional $19 billion on U.S. real estate and related assets and unveiled a massive increase in capital. Its U.S.-listed shares surged 14.6 percent to $33.01.
On the Nasdaq, Microsoft rose to $29.49. People familiar with Microsoft's plans said the company sees no reason to increase its bid for Yahoo Inc two months after it made a $44.6 billion offer to buy the Internet company. Yahoo shares fell 1.5 percent to $28.50.
Early in the session, the Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity edged up in March, but remained below the level that separates growth from contraction. Still, it beat expectations, which caused stock investors to cheer.
Trading was active on the New York Stock Exchange, with about 1.70 billion shares changing hands, below last year's estimated daily average of roughly 1.90 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 2.16 billion shares traded, just below last year's daily average of 2.17 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by more than 5 to 1 and by 3 to 1 on Nasdaq.