Kris Aquino’s lupus; who’s not invited to Bea-Dominic’s wedding

Kris Aquino vowed to never give up her battle against her autoimmune diseases amid the onset of lupus. She also shared that her son Bimby might return to the Philippines in February to help pay her medical bills.

On the other hand, Dominic Roque said that his erstwhile friend Daniel Padilla is not invited to his upcoming wedding with Bea Alonzo, but Padilla’s friend Kathryn Bernardo will be included in the guest list.

All these and more, as we look back at INQUIRER.net’s biggest entertainment news from Jan. 19 to 25.

Bimby might ‘work’ for Kris Aquino’ medical bills

Kris Aquino shared that her youngest son Bimby might return to the Philippines in February, as he needs to work to help pay for her medical bills that are “already getting higher and higher.”

Aquino said this in response to Cristine Calawod, a Cornerstone Entertainment artist handler, months after Bimby had an “exploratory meeting” with the agency’s executives.

“Love you madam! Be well. We are all praying for you!” Calawod said in the comments section of her Instagram post.

Aquino replied: “Bimb might go home after my birthday. He needs to work because my medical bills are already getting higher [and] higher.” As Aquino is set to celebrate her 52nd birthday on Feb. 14, she underscored that Bimby wouldn’t have a name change.

“He’ll stay as Bimb. No last name, like Drake,” she added, referring to the Canadian rapper and singer.

Aquino, Bimb, and her eldest son Josh are currently staying in the US for the actress-host’s medical treatments for her autoimmune diseases.

Kris Aquino’s lupus battle, worsening health

Kris Aquino welcomed 2024 with her health continuing to falter, as another autoimmune disease manifested itself — lupus. The actress-host, however, remained steadfast in her faith and vowed to never give up amid the “more complex” challenges to her health.

On Instagram, Aquino shared a three-part video documenting her struggle with her active rare autoimmune diseases, such as her Churg Strauss / EGPA and Crest Syndrome. Aquino then disclosed that she is already exhibiting symptoms of SLE, or systemic lupus erythematosus, the most common form of lupus.

“I cried nonstop when I got my blood panel results,” she wrote, which was shown in one of the videos where she narrated how she had not been feeling well even before Thanksgiving when she was seeking treatment.

“It’s highly likely based on my ANA count (blood panel), my high inflammatory numbers, my anemia, my now constant elevated blood pressure at night, and the consistent appearance of ‘butterfly rash’ on my face that I’m at the initial stage of SLE, or what is commonly known as lupus,” she added.

As she showed her condition for the first time since the start of the year, Aquino promised her loved ones that she wouldn’t be a “wimp” in her treatment, even if it was taking a toll on her health.

Daniel out, Kathryn invited to Bea, Dominic’s wedding

Don’t expect to see Daniel Padilla in the upcoming wedding of Bea Alonzo and Dominic Roque, as he and the groom-to-be appear to still not have patched things up following their rift in 2021.

However, Padilla’s ex-girlfriend, Kathryn Bernardo, is on the guest list, Roque disclosed in an ambush interview with reporters at the sidelines of a skincare clinic’s Thanksgiving event.

“Si Kath (Bernardo) lang. Kasi hindi pa kami okay ni DJ (Padilla). I mean, we’re not talking,” he said, pointing out that the last time they were in contact was in 2020.

Roque was part of a celebrity clique called Nguya Squad composed of Padilla, Bernardo, Ria Atayde, Joshua Garcia, Gabbi Garcia, Patrick Sugui, Marco Gumabao, and Khalil Ramos. These last three, Roque said, will have important roles at his wedding.

Roque also shared that he and Alonzo are busy preparing for their wedding at the moment, and they’re hoping to fix their “Save the Date” within January.

Padilla and Roque have not disclosed the cause of their falling out, which has resulted in the latter leaving their group. Roque and Bernardo, however, appeared to have settled their differences.

Roque and Alonzo are set to tie the knot in 2024, although they remained tightlipped about the details of their wedding.

Toni Fowler ordered arrested

A Pasay court ordered the arrest of vlogger and artist Toni Fowler on Jan. 19, after an arrest warrant was issued arising from a complaint of alleged indecency and obscenity.

According to the arrest warrant penned by Pasay City Branch 108 Presiding Judge Albert Cansino, Fowler’s arrest was ordered due to violations of Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code, or “immoral doctrines, obscene publications and exhibitions and indecent shows,” concerning the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

Cansino set bail for the case at P120,000.

“In the entirety of the music videos, the Respondent exhibited lewd and obscene scenes or actions that are solely appealing to the prurient interest – the Respondent’s clothes, appearances, and actions being sexually explicit,” the resolution said.

In September 2023, the Kapisanan ng Social Media Broadcasters ng Pilipinas lodged a complaint against Fowler for obscenity and indecent shows in her music videos.

Fowler has filed a counter-affidavit, which argued that the themes in her videos represented her “sexual expression” as well as empowerment toward women and single mothers.

“The Respondent maintains that this is a strong message against the degradation and objectification of women which has become prevalent in popular media,” it said.

Gelli proves John Estrada was a ‘red flag’ for Janice

Gelli de Belen recalled how she proved that John Estrada was a “red flag” for her sister Janice de Belen by hiring a private investigator.

Sitting down with Karen Davila, the de Belen sisters got candid, reminiscing about Janice’s past relationships. Gelli stressed that recalling these stories was not meant to vilify Estrada.

Gelli said that in the other past relationships of Janice, she was too young to know what was going on and was not mature enough to realize that there was something wrong.

“Nung naging si John meron na akong wisyo and syempre it’s a small industry, I could hear things. I would find out… and I would tell her, ‘Look, this is what’s going on.’ Baka gusto mo pagtuunan ng pansin,’” added Gelli.

Gelli said that Janice was hesitant to believe the real situation, so she had to hire a private investigator to give her older sister the proof she requested.

Gelli said she did this out of her love for her sister. “For me, if I would have gone through the same thing, sino pa ba ang dadamay sakin kung hindi kapatid ko? I have a lot of friends but at the end of the day your family would really look out for you, who would go the extra mile for you.”