18 Philippine Showbiz Today
September 22 - October 7, 2018
Rayver Cruz officially a Kapuso
Rayver Cruz is back in GMA
as he signed a contract with the
Kapuso Network on September
6.
Present in the contract sign-
ing were GMA Senior Vice Presi-
dent for Entertainment Group
Lilybeth G. Rasonable, Senior
Assistant Vice President for Alter-
native Productions Gigi Santiago-
Lara, Senior Talent Manager Vic
del Rosario and his co-manager
Albert Chua.
Rayver looked back on his
early days at GMA and felt nostal-
gic seeing familiar faces. “Sa una
medyo nahiya akong pumasok,
pero nung nakita ko na yung mga
tao, and winelcome nila ako tapos
may mga nakita pa akong kakilala
ko, na-excite na ako,” shared Ray-
ver.
Early on in his showbiz ca-
reer, Rayver’s shows included Best
Friends, followed by his iconic 5
and Up stint and comedy series
starring Joey De Leon entitled
Kiss Muna.
Now that he is back home,
Rayver looks forward to portray-
ing challenging roles that GMA is
known for highlighting on screen.
In fact, he will be starring in the
upcoming Kapuso Afternoon
Prime series alongside Kris Ber-
nal and Thea Tolentino.
He quips on the details of his
character, “Ako si Gavin sa show,
at first time kong gagawin ang
role na pag-aagawan ng dalawa-
ng babae so, napaka-gwapo ng
character ko.”
Meanwhile, Rasonable also
feels excited to work with the new
Kapuso star, “We are very happy
to welcome Rayver back to GMA,
where he started. He will be start-
ing to work on a soap and of
course, we will continue to give
him projects that will showcase
his many talents.” ●
Miss Eco International 2018 Thia Thomalla is now a Kapuso
Miss Eco International 2018
Thia Thomalla now ventures on a
new journey as she signed a man-
agement contract with GMA Artist
Center on Tuesday, September 4.
Present during the contract
signing were GMA Entertainment
Group Senior Vice President Lily-
beth G. Rasonable, GMA Senior
Assistant Vice President for Alter-
native Productions Gigi Santiago-
Lara, and talent manager Arnold
Vegafria.
Before joining Artist Center,
Thia was crowned Ms. Eco Phil-
ippines at the Miss World Philip-
pines 2017, also represented the
country in Egypt to win the Miss
Eco International crown.
Now the beauty titlist is de-
lighted to have a home network in
(L-R): GMA SAVP for Alternative Productions Gigi Santiago-Lara, GMA SVP for EG Lilybeth
G. Rasonable, Thia Thomalla, and Arnold Vegafria
GMA and she is looking forward
to the new experiences that await
her. She says it has always been a
dream for her to be an actress.
“I’m just starting and I’m at-
tending workshops so I’m doing
my best. I want to act and be part
of romantic comedies,” shared
Thia.
She also looks forward to
working with Kapuso prime stars
Dingdong Dantes and Alden Rich-
ards.
“Based on their shows and
how they work, they are really
professional. I’m really sure that if
I get to work with them, I will learn
a lot.”
Rasonable is proud to wel-
come Thia and claims that the
Network will hone her skills as she
blossoms into a versatile actress
and performer.
“She has said na gusto niya
talaga to go into acting, so after
her workshops, we want to put her
in dramas or maybe even com-
edies. We’re excited to give her
those projects para makita ang
kanyang talent and how beautiful
she is.” ●
PICPA Vancouver 16th Annual Dinner & Dance
at St. Patrick’s Gym, Vancouver, BC
Photos by Christian Cunanan