Maricar Reyes became a household name after her sex video with Hayden Kho leaked big time last June. She’s been on news headlines and video clips of her sex video proliferated on cyberspace.

It was the biggest nightmare Maricar has ever experienced in her life but after the controversy, a lot of opportunities came her way as she landed big roles on television and graced the cover of Metro and Women’s Health magazine.

Last October 29, we asked the proposition – “Who is the Fastest Rising Star of 2009?” We only narrowed the choices to two finalists – GMA’s Carla Abellana and ABS-CBN’s Maricar Reyes because we believe, these two beauties are the only two showbiz newcomers who shine the brightest.

As expected, the poll became a part of network war between fans of ABS-CBN and GMA. Nevertheless, we believe both Maricar and Carla deserve the title “Fastest-Rising Star of 2009″ because both of their careers catapulted in less than six months.

The poll received 2,486 respondents. 2,033 or 82% voted for Maricar Reyes while 483 or 18% voted for Carla Abellana.

In my opinion, both of them should be tied for the title. People favored Maricar Reyes via the poll. But Carla Abellana has a more impressive resume. She has a wikipedia page, she landed a lead role in a primetime tv series, she graced magazine covers, she landed major endorsements – Bench and Happee toothpaste among others, and she’s currently working on her first movie.

Just my humble opinion.

Sesame Street is well known for its Muppets characters created by Jim Henson. It premiered on November 10, 1969, the year man first landed on the moon. It is the longest running children’s program on US television and perhaps in the whole world. The show is produced by the non-profit organization Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children’s Television Workshop (CTW), founded by Joan Ganz Cooney and Ralph Rogers.

Executive Producer Carol-Lynn Parente said in a statement that Sesame Street is promising to celebrate the anniversary with some changes:

“When you turn on your TV on November 10, you’ll see a brand-new and spectacularly beautiful opening sequence. We’re also launching an entirely new format for the show — the magazine format of Sesame Street, which has been evolving over the years, has been officially replaced with what we’re calling a ‘block’ format. And it’s just wonderful,” she said.

Google is honoring the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street by putting the show’s famous characters on its homepage. First to grace the homepage was Big Bird followed by Cookie Monster. Check out Google’s homepage right now and see if you know who is the featured muppet of the day.

Women’s Health Philippines dubbed Maricar Reyes as a “star on the rise.” True enough, Maricar was also voted the Fastest-Rising Star of 2009 in a previous Starmometer poll.

Since the Hayden Kho sex video scandal incident, Maricar landed big roles in ABS-CBN. She started as one of the cast of Precious Hearts Romances “Bud Brothers” and now, she already starred in her own Maalaala Mo Kaya episode and her own Your Song one-month-long episode. She is currently seen in Lovers in Paris where she plays the role of Piolo Pascual’s wife.

Women’s Health Philippines November 2009 issue is now available wherever magazines are sold nationwide!

Our Pacman, Pacquiao’s moniker, has been lined up with other boxing greats like Joe Louis, Max Schmeling, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Frazier, and Muhammad Ali as he appears on the cover of Time Magazine Asia.

Manny Pacquiao is the second non-heavyweight professional boxer to be featured on the cover of the well-respected magazine, and the first Asian boxer at that.

Other boxers who had made it to the magazine’s cover include heavyweights Jack Dempsey, Primo Carnerra, Gene Tunney and the controversial Mike Tyson.

Pacquiao said being featured in the magazine is the “most humbling experience” in his boxing career.

“It is a great honor for me to be the face of my people and let everyone know we are a small but mighty country”, He said.

Pacquiao will attempt to make history in his bout with Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto on November 14 in Las Vegas. If he wins the match, he will be the first boxer to ever record seven world titles in seven different weight classes.

For the record, Pacquiao has won titles in the junior welterweight, lightweight, super featherweight, featherweight, super bantamweight and flyweight divisions.

Anne Curtis is currently seen as one of the hosts of ABS-CBN’s talent variety program “Showtime.” She is being eyed to star in the Philippine remake of the koreanovela “Save the Last Dance for Me.” If plans push through, her leading man in the said primetime series will be her ex-boyfriend Sam Milby.

Other features of Preview magazine November issue are All New Beauty Awards, The LBD Revamped, Best Prints To Wear Now, Meet Fashion Enfant Terrible, Beauty in the Raw and 75+ Must Have Accessories. Now available wherever magazines are sold!

More than ever, it is during these trying times that we try to look our best amid stress. However, we tend to be taken aback with the seemingly high costs of pampering and glamming up.

Well, now you can say good bye to your worries. Discover the newest community salon on the block, where beauty grows naturally: Orange Blush Salon.

Established in 2003 by then medtech-turned-budding entrepreneur Joby Linsangan-Moreno, Orange Blush Salon, very much like its namesake, provides quality products and services to each and every customer at prices that are very healthy. Imagine, being able to have that fruitful salon experience for less. With beauty that’s ripe for picking, who needs everyday stress?

Today, Orange Blush Salon continuously expands its client base by offering franchises to interested parties who share as much passion for beauty and pampering. With 8 branches nationwide, Orange Blush Salon proves to be a fruitful investment that grows in value.

For latest updates and inquiries, please visit www.orangeblushsalon.com. Or email Jobylinsangan@orangeblushsalon.com.

It is during these trying times that people need much inspiration in order to cope, and ultimately, surpass the challenges ahead. It is the perfect time to look for heroes who made such a big difference simply by starting off small. Heroes whose creativity, resilience and perseverance paid off.

Heroes like Medardo and Rosalinda Caliwara. This husband and wife tandem managed to turn their hobby of making Polvoron into a full-time income source by setting up Motz Food Products: a great feat considering this happened way back in 1988, when specialty polvorons were totally unheard of.

Starting off by selling to close relatives and friends, they branched out to distributing to canteens and souvenir shops across the Metro. Slowly but surely, their hardwork paid off and in 2002, they finally launched the House of Polvoron (HOP), their branded Polvoron line, after managing to increase their demand base ten-fold.

And now, HOP products have become a staple in every household with its all-time favorite variants which include the best sellers like pinipig, cashew, pili and cookies and cream. Its newest product, the chocolate coated polvoron is slowly gaining popularity among food enthusiasts, young and old alike. Indeed, HOP has become a household name for all those craving for this local sweet with a fancy twist.

Tough beginnings have happy endings. Think of opportunities when faced with challenges. Be inspired by the heroes who dared and experienced sweet victory. Recognize the hero within you. And while you’re at it, grab a bite of your favorite House of Polvoron product. These small sized wonders can make a big difference. Remember, there’s always HOPe amid crisis.

HOP is available at major supermarkets and kiosks in leading malls nationwide.

For inquiries, please call Motz Food Products at (02) 837-0689 or visit their website at www.houseofpolvoron.com.

�Masaya kami sa set at mabuting magkaibigan kami ni Enchong. Tuwing hindi kami naka-salang or break namin, wala kaming ginawa kung hindi magbiruan at mag-asaran,� Ejay shared. �Pero kapag on cam na, kunwari magkaaway kami (laughs).�

�Naku, ang kulit niyang si Ejay! Mukhang tahimik lang iyan pero matinik din humirit (laughs).� Enchong expressed.

Both actors added that they want to keep their fans united when it comes to supporting their series. �Sana lang din yung mga fans namin ma-realize na kaya successful ang Katorse ay hindi lang dahil sa isang tao,� Ejay said. Enchong on the other hand added, �Lahat kasi nagtutulungan para mapaganda yung show. Hindi lang isang person ang accountable sa matataas na ratings na nakukuha ng Katorse. Teamwork talaga ang key.�

Meanwhile, on the next episodes of Katorse, Tomi, Nene�s (Erich Gonzales) son is diagnosed with Dengue. Doctors require direct blood transfusion. Gabby (Ejay), who is normally scared of hospitals and needles, offers himself but tests prove that he is not qualified. Nene calls Jojo (Enchong) for help, but upon seeing him, Gabby drives Jojo away. A confrontation between Gabby and Nene happens and in the middle of their argument, Nene notices Tomi�s monitor registering an erratic line.

Will Tomi survive? Find out as Katorse peaks up this week after Precious Hearts Romances on ABS-CBN.

During the 1990s, documentaries were an unheard of genre in the Philippine broadcast industry. The usual melodramas, talk shows and news magazine programs dominated the airwaves, raking in ratings and awards for TV networks.

Before the decade ended, GMA News and Public Affairs thought it was already time to produce a weekly documentary show. On January 18, 1999, I-Witness, the country’s first documentary series, aired on Philippine television.

However, before I-Witness even aired, its one-topic presentation and style of storytelling was deemed too slow and boring. Some even said that Filipino viewers were not yet ready for this kind of program.

I-Witness proved them all wrong.

After more than 500 documentaries, I-Witness is now the country’s longest-running late night program still airing. It has already received numerous recognitions from both local and international award-giving bodies, including the Philippines’ first ever George Foster Peabody Award, Gold and Silver World Medals from the New York Festivals, the Asia-Pacific Child Rights Awards and the Asian TV Awards, among others.

I-Witness also prides itself with having once had as its hosts many of the finest journalists and broadcasters in media including Jessica Soho and Mike Enriquez. Following their footsteps today are GMA Network’s most experienced senior journalists, namely Howie Severino, Kara David, Sandra Aguinaldo and Jay Taruc. Every Monday, these award-winning documentarists give viewers a new way of looking at and understanding the world we live in.

“I-Witness has made documentaries a part of mainstream television, and inspired similar formats for other shows. It has inspired many to aspire to make documentaries and tell their own stories, because our show has demonstrated what a powerful medium the documentary is,” Howie relates.

For Howie, I-Witness is his “outlet and creative space for non-fiction stories that need time to be produced and air time to be told. It has made my career deeply satisfying. ”

The word “innovation” has been attached to I-Witness since its inception. Through the years, the program has introduced new techniques in video presentation and used fresh styles of storytelling, sometimes even bordering into the “avant garde.”

“I-Witness is not called television’s finest hour for nothing.” Sandra Aguinaldo explains. “I can say every episode is one step towards excellence since we are constantly challenged by management to set the pace for late-night shows and always be creative in presenting our reports to the people.”

Howie added that compared to other public affairs shows, I-Witness gives them more creative freedom in producing stories. “Most of our episodes don’t even have spiels by the hosts and go straight into the story, like most classically done documentaries. That alone makes I-Witness unique among public affairs shows where hosts introduce and end each show with on-camera spiels. We are not required to do that.”

Because of its radical approach to documentary production, I-Witness has always been a talk-of-the-town after each airing, sometimes even irking the attention of the censors. Howie’s documentary Lukayo, which is “a dance by old women dressed like clowns and wielding phallic symbols in Laguna, got the program suspended by the MTRCB, simply because the censors deemed an age-old tradition practiced by grandmothers to be obscene, along with other fertility rituals from around the country.” Instances like this, however, do not stop the program in producing ground-breaking documentaries.

“I-Witness has become bolder and more ambitious in its subject matter, sometimes testing the limits set by government regulators. It aspires to lead in building a documentary movement in the Philippines by organizing documentary festivals with free screenings in popular theaters, sponsoring student documentary competitions, conducting annual seminars as well as more frequent talks and screenings on campuses, and by setting an example with its own work, often using small camera equipment similar to what ordinary, non-professional producers can use,” adds Howie.

Lives have changed, laws have been created, and viewers were compelled to act. More than the awards and innovations, the impact and influence that I-Witness has made to its viewers and case studies is what makes it a stand out among late-night public affairs programs in the Philippines. Laws on organ donation, for example, were approved in Congress because of Jessica Soho’s Kidneys for Sale. Kara David’s “Gamu-gamo sa Dilim” paved way to the installment of solar panels in Little Baguio, a small town devoid of electricity in Oriental Mindoro. Many of the case studies featured in I-Witness were given financial aids and scholarships by viewers.

Kara David, widely known for her documentaries about children, attests to the privilege of giving service to the public that I-Witness carries. “I’ve always believed that the role of I-Witness is to give viewers a new pair of eyes with which to see the world. Through the show, I have found my lifetime advocacy as a journalist — to use my medium as an instrument of empathy, an instrument to instill compassion to the powerless and voiceless. I-Witness not only opened the eyes of many viewers to the realities of life, but it also awakened their compassion, iyung malasakit na matagal nang nahihimlay sa kanilang puso. Because of I-Witness, I have started a small scholarship project for poor but deserving children, at plano kong palawakin pa ito in the future to become a legitimate foundation. I feel I became a better Filipino because of the program.”

This Novermber, I-Witness will celebrate its 10th anniversary with four special documentaries that are expected to change the broadcasting landscape. This time, I-Witness will air documentaries that were produced over a longer period of time than any other series of documentaries done for any TV program in the Philippines.

“As early as April of this year, we have been shooting for the anniversary episodes–something that we don’t usually do, or any other late night television programs have done, for that matter. The more time you spend in producing your story, the closer you get to the truth, and with these documentaries, we hope to bring out the truth in our specific topics,” reveals Jay Taruc, who starts the anniversary month on November 9 with his documentary “Kristo,” a graphic feature about the Senakulo, or the dramatic presentation of the Passion of the Christ in Cutud, Pampanga. Jay discovers that the person who presently plays “Christ” is quitting his oath next year. However, residents and officers are opposing the move to pass on the title because the town’s supposed successor is a self-admitted gambler and drunkard.

Sandra Aguinaldo’s anniversary episode airs next on November 16. Her documentary “Bigatin” tackles the growing problem of obesity in the Philippines. Sandra follows the plight of two obese women and documents their struggle to bring their weight down through various ways of weight reduction. Sandra joins them in their fight as she subjects herself to arduous exercises and strict diets in order to prepare herself for pregnancy.

On November 23, Kara David delivers the third installment of the anniversary celebration with a follow-up documentary on pediatric tuberculosis. Kara revisits her case studies in “Hingalo ng Bunso,” an I-Witness episode she produced a few months ago, and reveals whether or not their conditions improved after their stories were aired on the program.

Ending the anniversary month on November 30 is Howie Severino’s remarkable documentary about a transsexual’s journey to realizing her dreams of becoming a woman. Howie documents how Vincent Christar Ibardolaza, a.k.a. Plates, pulls all strings in order to become a “Trans-Pinay.” However, Plates still needs to pass a battery of tests which will determine if she is mentally and emotionally prepared to undergo the sex reassignment operation.

Join Sandra, Kara, Jay and Howie as they celebrate ten fruitful years of ground-breaking documentaries on I-Witness, airing on four Mondays of November over GMA, after the late night newscast Saksi.

“Kung nag-enjoy po kayo sa panonood ng Tiagong Akyat, I’m sure, sobrang mag-eenjoy din kayo sa Pepeng Agimat. Kapana-panabik ang mga eksena at daring stunts dito.”

Jolo also expressed during the taping of Pepeng Agimat in Pinagrealan Cave Norzagaray, Bulacan that he is grateful working with his father and mentor Sen. Bong. “Sobrang masaya po talagang ka-trabaho ang tatay ko. Hindi niya ako kailanman pinabayaan. Lagi niya akong tinuturuan. I’m proud to say that I’m his successor.”

Together with Jolo and Sen. Bong is the Comedy Box-Office Queen Ai-ai delas Alas.

In the coming finale Tiagong Akyat and pilot of Pepeng Agimat, a shocking event is yet to happen. Who will risk his/her life? What will happen to the amulet of Tiagong Akyat?

Don’t miss the special two-in-one episode of Agimat this Saturday on ABS-CBN. For more updates, log on to www.abs-cbn.com or http://agimattv.multiply.com.

Having the right love at the wrong time– This is the featured story this coming Sunday on Your Song Presents… starring Angelica Panganiban and Derek Ramsay.

When asked if the couple experienced such situation, Angelica and Derek replied, “Ayaw namin ng ganyang sitwasyon. Buti na lang right love at the right time kami (laughs).”

This Sunday, a story of a woman named Tammy (Angelica) who’s seemingly happy with her life as a career woman suddenly knocks her head off and starts to realize that she has so much success in her hands yet she has no one to share it with. In her encounter with Ralph (Derek Ramsay), love will blossom between the two. However, a big revelation will alter their relationship.

Spend your Sunday right and don’t miss ‘Your Song Presents’ this Sunday after ASAP’09 on ABS-CBN.

VOTE HERE:

The Top 5 votegetters will be chosen on Tuesday (November 10) and the Hottest Movie Love Team for 2009 will be revealed on Thursday (November 12).