Gossip from the Philippines

Walkouts

Two controversial walkouts happened last week. First, Gretchen Barretto left a press conference early because of, according to her publicist, incessant questioning from the media about her supposed rift with sister Claudine.

The sibling tension has spilled over into TV land when their shows collide on prime time for ratings supremacy — Claudine for her drama anthology on the Kapuso network; for Gretchen, a special appearance on a similarly themed show aired at the same time on a rival channel.

Meanwhile, Kris Aquino made the other high profile walkout when in the middle of her shooting for her daily soap, she left in a huff without finishing her scenes. The reason — the station's news division has been playing up a video showing her son saying the name of another candidate for the Philippine presidency at the upcoming elections. Aquino's brother is running for the same post.

Rachelle sings a New tune

Rachelle Ann Go finally confirmed she will be switching networks and will now appear on the Sunday noontime variety programme Party Pilipinas. She follows her fellow Viva artist Mark Bautista who also joined the programme from a rival show only two weeks ago. News of her transfer had been circulating weeks before. Many say Party Pilipinas has just been very aggressive with its programming to boost its ratings, but insiders say Ann Go wanted the transfer because she is just one of the many celebrities in ASAP XV, where her rival Sarah Geronimo is one of the show's prized talents.

Venus gets her crown

Binibining Pilipinas-Universe Maria Venus Raj, who was stripped of her title after organisers found "inconsistencies" in her birth certificate, can now get her title back.

In a statement, the Binibining Pilipinas Charities announced that "for humanitarian reasons" they are allowing Raj to reclaim her title "if she is able to obtain a valid Philippine passport".

Earlier, Venus vowed in a interview that she will fight her disqualification. "I deserve the crown, and I have been very honest with the circumstances of my birth," she said.