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Last Saturday marked the first death anniversary of Francis Magalona and in Startalk, we had with us — live — some of the loved ones he left behind: Wife Pia Magalona and two of their children, Maxene and Saab.

Below, allow me to recall the events that may have led to the end, but has yet to be concluded — what with the pending release of the album In Love and in War, his collaboration with Ely Buendia. Francis may be gone, but he will be in our hearts forever and here is my tribute to this music great.

Francis was an uncrowned showbiz royalty, the second to the youngest son of movie greats Pancho Magalona and Tita Duran, who — as a love team — made a long string of hit movies for Sampaguita Pictures.

Francis’ initial foray into the world of entertainment was as a matinee idol in the second installment of Maryo J. de los Reyes’ Bagets for Viva Films in 1985. He carved his niche in showbiz, however, when he became a master rapper/composer and eventually was acknowledged as a young music icon promoting and espousing pro-Pinoy messages in his songs, particularly with his phenomenal hit, Mga Kababayan Ko.

His was a checkered life and career and found stability only when he joined the Eat, Bulaga! family. Always brimming with energy, he was given the task of turning over for a smooth transition the concluding portion of Eat, Bulaga!’s Saturday edition to its post-programmer, the showbiz-oriented talk show Startalk, in a segment known in TV jargon as “seamless.”

MANILA, Philippines - So what made Ruffa Gutierrez walk out from ABS-CBN’s The Buzz last Sunday (never mind if she insisted that it was not a “walkout” but more of a “walk into” her dressing room where she melted into tears)?

Two things presumably: Co-host Kris Aquino’s comment about John Lloyd Cruz, Ruffa’s “special friend,” and about Talentadong Pinoy in which Ruffa is a resident judge (part of her five-show contract with TV5) and which has the same format as the new ABS-CBN show Pilipinas Got Talent in which Kris is a judge together with Ai-Ai delas Alas and Freddie Garcia.

It was mom Annabelle Rama who “ordered” Ruffa to walk out. In her phone patch with GMA’s Showbiz Central also that Sunday, Annabelle called on televiewers not to vote for Kris’ brother, Sen./Presidentiable Noynoy Aquino because, according to Annabelle, “baka lalong yumabang si Kris kapag presidente na si Noynoy.”

Yesterday’s Funfare quoted Kris as saying that she didn’t mean to offend Ruffa and her comments were made “with affection.”

Very early yesterday morning, Kris texted Funfare the following message:

During an informal dinner gathering at a friend’s house late last year, one of the guests asked the host if he could possibly watch Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) on ABS-CBN. To us, that was odd because this guest normally would never be caught dead watching anything local (in stark contrast to me who adores Filipino entertainment).

What was in Pinoy Big Brother that was so interesting that it had to interrupt delicious conversation? The PBB fan told us about these housemates — a bumbling young man from some remote area and this dusky girl from General Santos City — who are starting to fall in love and the romantic twists and turns had turned comical.

While we were all willing to watch with him, the PBB fan got disappointed because the show was already wrapping up by the time we tuned in. Too bad for the viewers, the two giant networks don’t have a rigid scheduling of programming, except for the early evening newscasts.

In the succeeding days, however, I made an attempt to catch some episodes of Pinoy Big Brother, which never really interested me because I generally don’t care about other people’s lives (which ironically I have to do because of the hosting job).

And so what did I find out? The young man turned out to be Jason Francisco, but I doubt if we are related. Physically, while he may not be bad-looking, his features were molded in a non-conventional way. That in a way turned out to be an advantage because in this profession, it pays to be different because you stand out from the rest.

MANILA, Philippines - Jovit Baldivino, a 16-year-old student from Batangas shared how his life changed after he auditioned for the country's biggest talent search "Pilipinas Got Talent."

Viewers and judges of the show - Kris Aquino, Ai Ai delas Alas, Freddie Garcia – have been blown away by Baldivino’s “unbelievable” voice as he performed his own version of Journey’s “Faithfully” during the audition aired on ABS-CBN last Saturday, February 27.

In an interview with abs-cbnNEWS.com, Baldivino, who started singing at the young age of four, shared changes in his life after his well-praised performance.

"Pinagkakaguluhan po nila ako (sa Batangas). Mayroon na pong nagpa-picture at nagpapa-autograph," Baldivino said.

He added: "Parang mas umangat pa po ako at mas lalo pa po nila akong nakilala."