Duterte throws party for ‘stars’
Credit to Author: IZA IGLESIAS, TMT| Date: Thu, 09 May 2019 11:56:20 +0000
The downpour that drenched Metro Manila on Tuesday did not dampen the celebration and dinner thrown by President Rodrigo Duterte for celebrities from show business.
Alex and Toni Gonzaga, Robin Padilla, Ai Ai delas Alas, Ruffa Gutierrez and “actor-on-leave” John Lloyd Cruz dined with the President and partner Honeylet Avanceña in what Communications Secretary Martin Andanar described as a “thanksgiving” gathering.
“[It was a] thanksgiving [dinner] for [celebrities] who supported [the President] in 2016,” Andanar said in a text message to The Manila Times.
Rounding up the who’s who of showbiz people were director Paul Soriano (Toni’s husband), Padilla’s wife Mariel Rodriguez, Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez, former Tourism Promotions Board chief Cesar Montano, former Overseas Workers Welfare Administration deputy administrator Arnell Ignacio, Aiko Melendez, Phillip Salvador, Freddie Aguilar, Bayani Agbayani, Jimmy Bondoc, and Eddie Gutierrez and wife Annabelle Rama.
Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) Chairman Liza Diño and her partner, former National Youth Commission chief Ice Seguerra, Dulce, Vhong Navarro, April Boy Regino, Jed Madela and Gretchen Ho were also present.
On a Facebook post, Diño, who admitted to be very vocal in posting her opinions in support of Duterte in 2016, said since her appointment to the FDCP, she took on a more “apolitical stance” in respect to the industry she serves in order for “film to remain a safe space to express one’s sentiments.”
Nevertheless, she professed it was “reinvigorating to be in the midst of like-minded people who understand [her] politics.”
“This private dinner, hosted by our dear President Duterte and his better half Madame Honeylet Avanceña in Malacañang, as their way of saying thank you to all the celebrity supporters who gave love and support to our beloved President during his campaign up to his presidency and beyond, turned out to [be] a reunion of sorts,” Diño said. “It was disarming to see a lot of familiar faces, some I haven’t seen since the campaign, reaching out to you and wishing you well and patting you on the back for the work that you are doing for the country.”
Rodriguez uploaded the dinner menu on Instagram — salad, mushroom soup, fillet mignon and strawberry cheesecake. Her husband and Aguilar, who are Muslims, were served a special dish of fish.
“[It was a] memorable evening for me. PRRD (Duterte) is not the first president that I campaigned for, but he is the first president to invite me to the palace.When the President arrived, he sat down and immediately said, ‘Mag-tatlong taon na akong Presidente, ngayon lang ako makapagpasalamat sa inyo,’” she said.
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