Excerptions

From Pilipino Star Ngayon, November 20, 2010 and Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 25 and April 25, 2012 and May 11, 2014 issues:

Enchong Dee, nag­libot sa Paris

Kamakailan ay nagpunta si Enchong Dee sa Paris para makapagbakasyon at para na rin makapag-celebrate ng kanyang birthday kasama ang kanyang mga kaibigan at manager na si Keren Pascual.

November 5 ang talagang birthday ni Enchong. “I went to Paris October 31st tapos we stayed until November 7 kaya doon na rin ako nakapag-celebrate ng birthday. Ang saya dahil first time ko in Europe eh,” bungad ng binata.

Ano kaya ang ginawa ni Enchong kasama ang mga kaibigan for one week sa Paris? “Noong unang day namin, Arc De Triomphe, tapos nagpunta kaagad kami sa Eiffel tower. Tapos saktung-sakto kasi biglang nag-sparkle ‘yung Eiffel tower while we were walking going there. Ang galing dahil parang welcome thing sa amin ni Lord. We went to Notre Dame, tapos noong birthday ko rin ay may pinuntahan kaming church sa taas ng Paris tapos ay doon ako nagdasal, nakaka-amaze. ‘Yung eksaktong birthday ko talaga, I went sa Louvre, kay Mona Lisa, nakakatawa kasi may mga nakikita akong Pinoy, pero usually kung saan ako makulit wala dun sila, so takbo ako nang takbo, kuha lang ako nang kuha ng pictures and sobrang memorable,” nakangiting kuwento pa ni Enchong. Reports from JAMES C. CANTOS

STAR Cruises’ SuperStar Pisces at Hong Kong harbor

Coca-Cola Philippines has, for more than 100 years, spread happiness all over the world. To commemorate its centennial, Coke recently held a thanksgiving gala—a special concert featuring stars such as Piolo Pascual, Erik Santos, Arnel Pineda and Gary Valenciano, who all sang the wonderful Coke jingles we all grew up with. Coke’s iconic music has been with us for a century, and helping them celebrate were director and ABS-CBN Star Magic head Johnny Manahan and music director, maestro Ryan Cayabyab.

 

SUPERSTAR Pisces guests Enchong Dee, birthday boy Keren Pascual and Joseph Marco

 

Guillermo Aponte, president of Coca-Cola Philippines, welcomed the entire Coke family and friends to the Rizal Ballroom of Shangri-La Makati. TV host and former Coke ambassador Bianca Gonzalez introduced a heartwarming presentation, which captured the beverage’s role in refreshing millions of Filipino lives. Coke also unveiled a coffee-table book, “Coca-Cola 100 Faces of Happiness,” during the gala.

The brainchild of talent guru Keren Pascual, the book is a product of the efforts of Coke to capture the essence of happiness for the Pinoy nation. The individuals featured include celebrity ambassadors, distinguished personalities from different functions, and people whose business of spreading happiness is unequivocal.

 

MIGUEL Vera, Ruthy Vera, Bobet Vera; (back row) Francesca Vera, Paolo Vera and Anton Vera

Coca-Cola Philippines marketing director Anubha Sahasrabuddhe told me the book is “the physical manifestation of the legacy of their brand, the heritage of happiness.” For my photo, master lensman Jun de Leon took a classic angle of my face to get that ’20s era vibe. Both Bench King Ben Chan and I were photographed the same day and our beautiful photos are next to each other.


At the end of the evening, right after Gary V sang the Coca-Cola 100 Years anthem, “Tuloy,” a grand toast was initiated in honor of all the people who have opened a bottle of Coke and spread the message of hope and happiness all these years.


Fun time

 
Keren has been in golden celebration mode all year. He gathered up a few Coke Ambassadors and special friends for a Hong Kong cruise onboard SuperStar Pisces of Star Cruises, the third largest cruise line in the world.

For many years now, Keren has invited our family to enjoy Star Cruises to many destinations. Cruise time is always fun time with all our celebrity and media friends, as we experience the wonderful, value-for-money vacation that is a cruise.

On board the Pisces, we headed straight to the top deck for a photo-op with the stunning Hong Kong skyline in the background. To make sure we would not get seasick, we took the Bonamine pills the crew was handing out, and then ate to our hearts’ content and sang ourselves hoarse at the ship’s karaoke bar.

As with all cruise lines, many staff are proudly Pinoy, so we always get extra pampering. We are looking forward to going on more exciting trips with Keren in the future.

BIRTHDAY boy Keren Pascual (second from left) with Maricar Reyes, Mariole Alberto, Enchong Dee and Joseph Marco

Models, TV personalities and dash of the social set came in full force as Keren Pascual blew out another candle of his exciting life, dahlings."

 
The Special Exhibition Hall of the newly opened Mind Museum in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig was packed with toys—yes toys—for a totally fun happening meant for “every kid-at-heart,” said the celebrator.

 
From toy cars to action figures, humongous rubber ducks and stuffed animals, toys cheerfully adorned the place. My palangga, Liza Ilarde Cuenca told me, “I really feel like a kid again.”

PHOEMELA Baranda, moi, Myrza Sison-Wisniewski, Liza Ilarde Cuenca, Andrej Wisniewski, Jackie Aquino

The surrounding walls were transformed into dynamic viewing screens playing visuals from epic runway shows and documentaries featuring the world’s most famous fashion icons.

The stunning setup was jointly conceived by Julie Aguila of Saga Events, Marvin Buenaventura of Stage Masters and Lopee de Guzman of RSL Lighting. Amazing music mixes were by Jon Herrera.

It was really a time to throw all our inhibitions away and bring out that playful vibe in us, palanggas, thanks to the master publicist and our Toy King of the Night, Keren, naturellement.

Coca-Cola as well as Belvedere Premium Vodka provided endless flow of drinks. Cibo provided the excellent to-die-for dinner, palanggas.

ARIEL Lozada, Miguel Pastor, Noel Manapat, Ben Chan

Normal times

Other than these, we had normal times in London last March. This was during the junket for friends of Keren Pascual, the PR practitioner and talent manager (of Enchong Dee, for one) who organizes regular trips abroad he’s dubbed as “Famous.” The one last March marked his not-yet-senior-citizen birthday celebration.

 
"Happy Birthday Tita Winnie" :) (cakes c/o Fernando's bakery)

Xian hinihintay pa rin ang sagot ni Kim

Malapit na ring matapos ang shooting ng pangatlong pelikulang pagtatambalan nina Kim Chiu at Xian Lim. Nilinaw ni Xian ang napabalitang hindi raw sang-ayon ang mga tagahanga ng tambalan nila ni Kim na makapareha ng kanilang idolo ang ibang artista sa mga susunod na proyekto ng dalawa. “Well they’re very supportive. They understand that we’re just doing our job. Kumbaga passion namin ang umarte at kung sino man ang maka-partner namin talagang todo-suporta sila,” paliwanag ni Xian.


Ayaw daw ng binata na limitahan din ang kanyang mga proyekto dahil pangarap din niyang maging isang magaling na aktor. “Ako ang wini-wish ko ay sana magkaroon na ako ng project soon because there’s a lot of people waiting. If ever I do get that, promise na ibibigay ko ang lahat and I won’t let them down,” paliwanag ni Xian.



Samantala, kamakailan ay ipinakilala na ni Enchong Dee ang kasintahan sa publiko. Ngayon ay marami ang nangungulit kay Xian kung kailan malalaman ng publiko kung ano ang tunay na estado ng relasyon nila ni Kim. “Naku! Right now we’re just going to focus on the movie. In perfect time. Perfect timing po ‘yan and if ever, ipapaalam ko agad sa inyo and I want it to be special. Everything dapat special. Alam n’yo sa totoo lang, alam naman ni Kim na may gusto ako sa kanya. Alam naman ni Kim na crush na crush ko siya eh. So I’m just here, I’m just happy na she’s happy,” giit ni Xian. Reports from James C. Cantos

From The Philippine STAR, September 28, 2014 issue:

"Insurance man Peter Coyiuto celebrated a milestone last August 8th at Buddha Bar in Makati City. Prominent personalities from business, politics, government, alumni from Peter’s alma mater (De la Salle University and Wharton School), his family and friends attended the special affair. Peter, First Life Financial’s CEO, revealed his less serious side in a dance performance with his wife Elena and their kids, as well as a hilarious video presentation to the delight of the guests. Generous donations from close to a thousand guests went to Caritas Manila, the event’s beneficiary."



Big shout-out for the it-boy

Enchong Dee has a quiet birthday dinner at CDP and bumps into friends: Carlo Magdaluyo, Keren Pascual, Korina Sanchez, Margot Torres.

CONSISTENT, TOP-RATED TELEVISION SHOWS, A multi-million peso hit movies, a string of big endorsements, a handful of upcoming projects that are surely as huge, a legion of die-hard fans and a wonderful family life; just some of the best reasons why today’s it-boy Enchong Dee should be celebrating.

And that’s exactly what happened last November 10 at Mind Museum hours after his production number in the ABS-CBN’s Sunday noontime show ASAP Natin 'To when he gathered friends and colleagues for a special moment of annual thanksgiving and celebration for all the wonderful things and opportunities he’s been blessed with through-out the year. The Kapamilya actor’s annual birthday party proved to be a perfect break from an incredibly hectic schedule that he turned 31 on November 5 and a relaxing time to hang out with friends who have stood by him as he made his every dream happen.

Some of the personalities with the birthday boy were Jorge Carino and wife Daisy, Vice President Leni Robredo, former President Benigno Aquino III, former Vice President Noli de Castro, House Speaker Alan Peter and Taguig Rep. Lani Cayetano, Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano, former Taguig Mayor Freddie and First Lady Kaye Tinga, Ana de Ocampo, Franco Laurel, Carlo Magdaluyo, Anakalusugan Party List Rep. Mike Defensor, Bong Guerrero, chef Noel dela Rama, Karen Davila, Anton San Diego, Bev Llorente, Samantha Lopez, Navotas City Mayor Toby Tiangco, Arnold Vegafria, Perry Lansigan, Mons Romulo, Carol Garcia, Karen Santos, Margie Moran Floirendo, Laurie Westfall, Sharm Hiranand, Marianne Po, Roseanne Belmonte, Agnes Huibonhoa, Jojie Dingcong, Susan Joven, Michelle Tiangco, Melba Solidum, Carol Garcia, Alice Edurado, Mother Lily Monteverde, Roselle Monteverde, Veana Fores, Doris Magsaysay Ho, Margarita Forés, Maricel Soriano, Tessa Prieto-Valdes, Sandy Romualdez, Jon Herrera and Patti Grandidge, Gian Carlos, Maquie Raquiza, Filbert Kung, Kim Nicholas, Monch Novales, Mo Nuevo, Marivic and Atty. Cesar Pareja, Bro. Armin Luistro, Dinky Soliman, Keren Pascual, Pops Fernandez, Chad Dominic Hernandez, Mikki Gonzalez, Jaru Albert, Nenette Rustia, Ella Zobel de Ayala, Thou Reyes, Charlie Dizon, Jo-Ann Bitagcol, Miah Gomez, Kirby Andres, Korina Sanchez, Margot Torres, Johnny Manahan, Mariole Alberto, Benedicto Sison, Jeff Remigio, Pat-P Daza, Noel Ferrer, Enrico Santos, Joel Mercado, Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng, Robina Gokongwei-Pe, Joanne Maglipon, Girlie Rodis, Eloisa Matias, Leo Katigbak, Laurenti Dyogi, Shirley Kuan, Law Tan, Dolor Guevarra, Angelica Alita, Bibeth Orteza, Malou Choa-Fagar, Arnel Patawaran, Liza Ilarde and Elbert Cuenca, Millet Mananquil and hubby Robert, son Robby and wife Maxene Magalona, Thelma San Juan and son Luis Carlo, Cory Vidanes, Deo Endrinal, Biboy Arboleda, MTRCB chairwoman Rachel Arenas, Senators Pia Cayetano, Grace Poe, Sonny Angara and Cynthia Villar, Antique Rep. Loren Legarda, Leyte 4th District Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez, actors and friends Gretchen Barretto with Tonyboy Cojuangco, Cesar Montano, Albert Martinez, Agot Isidro, Gerald Anderson, Arjo Atayde, Ria Atayde, Rayver Cruz, JC de Vera, Robi Domingo, Ejay Falcon, Mark McMahon, Xian Lim, Arron Villaflor, Zanjoe Marudo, Janus del Prado, Sam Concepcion, Rodjun Cruz, David Chua, Carlo Gonzales, Mauro Lumba, Philippe Magalona, Joseph Marco, Miko Raval, Inigo Pascual, LA Aguinaldo, Alexa Ilacad, Grae Fernandez, Raphael Robes, Randy See, Tyson Kraft, Sacheen Steinmann, Dimitri Tolenaars, Alison Carlos, Javi Cang, Kim Cruz, Carlos Laurel, Hannah Locsin, Luigi Pumaren, Kat Galang, Paolo Gonzales, Kelsey Merritt and Daniel Velasco. The popular leading gorgeous leading ladies’ actresses Bea Alonzo, Julia Barretto, Iza Calzado, Kim Chiu, Yam Concepcion, Maymay Entrata, Chienna Filomeno, Erich Gonzales, Janine Gutierrez, Julia Montes, Melissa Ricks, Bianca Manalo, Jessy Mendiola, Janella Salvador, Maja Salvador, Daniella Stranner, Kylie Verzosa and Megan Young, comedians Kit-Kat, Pokwang and Vice Ganda, models Phoemela Baranda and Nicolette Bell and hair stylists Ton Lao, Liz Uy and Sidney Yap were also there to make the night even more special.

Guests were refreshed non-stop by Hennessy, the perfect blend of a venerable cognac and the zing of fruity flavors.

A prized talent of ABS-CBN Star Magic, Enchong was discovered as a champion swimmer for the De La Salle University where he was a three-time most valuable player in the men’s swimming division and seven-time swimming gold medalist in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Swimming Championships. He started out appearing in supporting roles in various TV dramas which eventually led him to becoming a sought-after endorser for various brands. Enchong endorses some of the country’s most reputable brands such as Bench, Bench Body, Timex, Arena Swimwear, Speedo, Adidas, Nike, Jins Eyewear, Coca-Cola, Real Leaf Green Tea, Milo, Powerade, Lucky Me, Jollibee, Convergys, Nike, Bench Skin Expert, GAOC - Gan Advanced Osseointegration Center, Bodyworx Spa and Fitness Club, Technopack and Nutrilite.

It wasn’t until the primetime soap Katorse that he was “accidentally” paired up with Erich Gonzales, Ejay Falcon and Xian Lim and they clicked as a love team. A string of bigger projects followed such as Tanging Yaman, a political drama launched prior to the May 10, 2010 automated elections and Magkaribal, dubbed a “fashion-serye” with Bea Alonzo, Derek Ramsay, Angel Aquino and Gretchen Barretto, the Philippine adaptation of Mexican telenovela Maria La Del Barrio, Ina, Kapatid, Anak, a “family drama” series starring Kim Chiu, Xian Lim and Maja Salvador, Muling Buksan ang Puso, a melodrama series starring Julia Montes and Enrique Gil, A Love to Last, a “romantic family comedy-drama” starring Bea Alonzo, Ian Veneracion, Iza Calzado, Julia Barretto, Ronnie Alonte, JK Labajo and Hannah Lopez Vito and The Blood Sisters, an crime and mystery drama series starring Erich and Ejay themselves.

His Star Cinema movies I Do and Once a Princess, which he starred with Erich, while The Reunion, which they starred Xian Lim, Enrique Gil, Kean Cipriano together with Julia Montes, Jessy Mendiola, Megan Young, Bangs Garcia, and Cristine Reyes, The Strangers which they starred Julia Montes, Enrique Gil and JM de Guzman, and Tuhog which they starred Empress Schuck, Jake Cuenca, Eugene Domingo and Leo Martinez, Call Center Girl starring Pokwang and Jessy Mendiola and Elise starring Janine Gutierrez has also garnered good praise from critics and was notably a blockbuster hits.

Let's not forget, that this happening was also Enchong Dee’s birthday. No wonder were giant E’s at the entrance. Over candles and cake, the guests sang Happy Birthday to Enchong Dee. It was truly a fun-filled and delightful evening, especially for our Kapamilya star Enchong Dee.

“To all who attended and helped :) Thank you for making this surprise birthday party a success”, he said.

Cheers!