Cesar Montano’s love advice to his son Diego

Diego Loyzaga (left) and his dad Cesar Montano

Since my BFF Buboy (Cesar Montano) is family to me, I am privy to his joys and woes as a father. So when he and his son Diego patched things up, it made my heart smile. But even before Diego’s public apology to his dad via an Instagram post, BFF has long forgiven him. That’s how much he loves his “mini me.”

BFF’s bout with COVID-19 last August turned out to be a blessing in disguise. That’s because it paved the way for Diego and him to reconcile. As soon as BFF was hospitalized, Diego sent me a message to tell me how worried he was.

A video call with his dad (while BFF was still confined in Manila Medical) healed old wounds. And it also energized BFF to recover from COVID faster. That’s what “father-son love” can do. Now that Diego’s star is shining brightest, his newfound success is sweeter after making peace with his dad.

Since Diego is back to being single (after his split-up with Barbie Imperial), I asked BFF what love advice he would give Diego.

Here goes: “I am not in a perfect position to give Diego advice about love. I am still a work in progress. But I can give him a friendly tip: He has to be honest and transparent with his girlfriend. May kasabihan, ‘Ang pagsasabi ng tapat ay pagsasama ng maluwat.’ “And the scripture says, ‘Truth may hurt, but it will set you free.’ It applies to all of us, actually. So next time he meets a girl he likes, it’s best to tell the girl what his intentions are. Serious ba s’ya o gusto n’yang play-play lang. “He should say, ‘Babe, mag- enjoy lang tayo—don’t take me seriously.’ That is, if there’s a girl who will be game for a ‘no strings attached’ setup—but I doubt it. Dahil ang dulo n’yan, malungkot din because it’s wrong. He has to treat every girl right, especially the one na mapupusuan n’ya. “If he will do that, I’m sure Diego will have peace and joy in his next relationship. But I’m not saying that he did not treat Barbie right. I am sure he did. Maybe they’re just not destined for each other. Pinagtagpo, pero ‘di nakatadhana.” With BFF’s colorful past, he could very well be a love guru. As one of his exes told me in jest, “Si Buboy, ‘di naman ako papalitan. Magdadagdag lang ‘yan (laughs).”

Kidding aside, BFF never loves halfheartedly. As a friend, he is all-in and all-out. What more in matters of the heart?

AJ Raval

Heavyweight cast in ‘Iskandalo’ series

A young woman’s leaked sex scandal turns into everyone’s worst nightmare. The riveting 10-part series “Iskandalo” (now streaming on Vivamax), helmed by Roman Perez Jr., is topbilled by AJ Raval, Cindy Miranda, Sean de Guzman and Jay Manalo.

Get sucked into the dark story of lost souls and their scandalous lives as they become the talk of the town.

Here are quotes from AJ, Cindy (C), Sean (S), Roman (R) and Jay (J):

AJ: I have no control over social media. What I can control is my reaction to it. It’s sad that some people pirate our sexy scenes, post it online, and make it seem like a “scandal.” We work hard to entertain viewers. I hope they give us due respect by stopping piracy.

Cindy Miranda

C: As a celebrity, I’m an open target for bashers. But what matters is I know myself. Like, when I was bashed for being the alleged third party in the breakup of Aljur Abrenica and Kylie Padilla. In the end, I was vindicated because my bashers were proven wrong.

S: AJ and I are so comfy with each other, that’s why it’s quite a struggle for us to be serious when we do our scenes. We must exert extra effort to be more focused, kasi parati kaming laugh trip ‘pag magkasama.

R: It’s the first time that stars whose movies topped the Vivamax charts are appearing in one series. The texture of “Iskandalo” is somewhat like the K-drama “Vincenzo,” but it has the feel of a European crime thriller.

J: I make sure my personal life is separate from my professional life. When I step out of the set, I am no longer an actor.

S: If ever I will get involved in a scandal, I will just let it die a natural death. Eventually, a new scandal will crop up so people will forget the previous one.

R: I treat newbies and veterans equally. I don’t allow scene-stealing to happen. The challenging part was how to make “timpla and tono” my heavyweight cast. Crime thrillers scare me more than horror films because they’re often true stories that can happen to anyone.

Gabby Concepcion (left) and Sanya Lopez

Gabby and Sanya’s effortless chemistry

Ratings don’t lie. That is why “First Yaya,” the charming series of Sanya Lopez and Gabby Concepcion on GMA 7, has evolved into “First Lady” (weeknights after “24 Oras”).

The love story of President Glenn and Melody continues to come first in Kapuso viewers’ favorites.

Here’s my Q&A with Sanya (S) and Gabby (G):

What makes your tandem click?

S: Since everyone finds the story of Glenn and Melody charming like fairy tale, we imbibe that magical feeling. So our chemistry seems effortless.

G: I don’t know the formula. Maybe because our personalities click even off-cam, so it rubs off on the characters we portray.

How do you manage to resist your coactor’s charms?

S: It’s tough to resist Gabby’s charms. Aside from being super gwapo, he’s such a gentleman. He is the man of many girls’ dreams. But the close friendship we’ve developed makes our foundation solid. So, charms don’t get in the way.

G: Sanya is naturally charming and malambing. I don’t think anybody can miss that. So, I’m just a victim as well.

Personal: Happy golden anniversary to my “migo” Jun Tillaflor’s Iloilo City High School Class 1971. The celebration will be on April 23 and 24.