CJ NAVATO Wins SING GALING Sing-lebrity Edition 2026

CJ NAVATO Wins SING GALING! (Photo from CJ's IG post)

Filipino actor, former child star, dancer, and now singer CJ Navato is your new SING GALING Sing Lebrity Edition Champion of 2026. This happened at the grand finals held at the Meralco Theater in Pasig City. 

CJ was always fond of singing in Karaoke, just like you and me, but much of the courage he had stemmed from the charity he got to help when he won the competition. Now he's got a total of 1 Million pesos in prize that he gets to share with the foundation, a vacation package for him and his family, and a one of a kind trophy made for this 2026 Sing Galing Sing Lebrity Edition.

Here's his winning moment:

Johannes as runner up gets 250,000 pesos and the same with his beneficiary which caters to animals in Mindanao (Bantay Hayop Davao). He lauded CJ too about this win. He says "It was fun, ended the competition with a thankful heart. We talked last night and he truly deserves it. It was FUN, when I do something I enjoy it. It's a different feeling and I did that. I'm just happy to be here! Having a beneficiary, I know they lack a lot of things and I hope this would become a LOT of help to care for the pets they have in the facility. I have songs on Spotify, I love to do everything." 

Here is Johannes' interview after the event:

 

 

Here's CJ's interview after the win!

 

CJ says "It's not about winning, but the opportunity to share it to the world. Thank you SING GALING for giving me this chance, I am so grateful! I am happy to share this talent that the Lord has given me, thank you!" 

Congratulations CJ! Here's wishing more well deserved projects in the future!

MANILA's FINEST: A Period Film That Discusses Current Issues

Just watched Manila's Finest last night and from a viewers standpoint, it was a cinematographic masterpiece. It's a period film, set in the late 60's, that tells the story of what transpired during those years with the Manila Police District. While life was simple, it wasn't any less complicated as the atrocities of love, family, relationships and politics become real and present danger. 

Piolo Pascual plays Homer Magtibay, a very optimistic cop who's got his own demons to vanquish. He's got his own crew that includes Enrique Gil who plays Billy Ojeda, Romnick Sarmienta who plays Severino Meneses, Joey Marquez as Rogelio Liwanag, and Dylan Menor as newbie cop Efren Taguyonon. He will begin most of his challenging life when Cedrick Juan who plays PC Metrocom Danilo Abad comes into the picture, and makes his once tranquil life into something a lot problematic. 

They made us see the causes of Martial Law lengthy, of what intricate things were done to make it happen. Fact or fiction, this makes them question loyalties, principles, betrayal, how corruption blur the lines of what's right and wrong. While it is set in the 60's, it still discusses something that is sadly happening til now. Piolo Pascual has always been an excellent actor, and a nomination for Best Actor award would not be surprising. Another notable performance would be for the role of his daughter in the film played by Ashtine Olviga. Her role might not have appeared much in the movie, but it is pivotal for the rift between characters, and her endearing ways of communicating emotions is unquestionably brilliant. Enrique too is another, but I think he would've needed more dialogue and grit, but that's just me.

What I'm loving is that they're absolutely BRAVE in doing this film during this regime. That alone deserves something, including the quality of work in post production which might get them a nod. They deserve 4 cows 🐮🐮🐮🐮/5. I'm a little sad that though realizing how the problems in the 60's are still present, like corruption to it's core.

If you want to see the film this coming Christmas, be ready for something a little cerebral. This obviously has been made with higher production value, and that's because of MQuest and the MVP group. Hopefully they'd be able to create more of this even after MMFF 2026!

ASHLEY RIVERA aka PETRA MAHALIMUYAK Is Your WHITE CASTLE CALENDAR GIRL for 2026

 

I've heard of her a couple years back, but my first personal encounter with her was during an event in San Juan and I was hailing a car to go home with a TV. She was a guest too of the brand and she had to go to another event/go home but she preferred a motor ride through a ride hailing app so she could get there early. Needless to say, I thought celebrities would prefer to have their drivers and car, but she's a cowboy, didn't even mind what people would say. She's beautiful, like a ball of energy, and she's super down to earth. I said, I like her already!

I've covered several calendar girl launches, but this year, White Castle was the last one to actually do it. They've been looking for someone who could fit their brand, someone who could represent them in so many ways, and when the choice was made, I was so happy to hear it was going to be Ashley Rivera aka her alter ego Petra Mahalimuyak.

White Castle's VP for National Sales Brandon Jon Limpe-Aw says "Thank you for being here despite the traffic, rain and all. For the upcoming year, we are going to introduce our 2026 Calendar Girl. After Ninong Ry, Sassa Gurl, Ria Atayde, and more, we want to have the persona of White Castle on social media. We looked for someone humorous, funny and a really great personality. We found her in a podcast, this was also something that she wished for, and we got interested about her. We scanned her social channels, and found out how she aligns with our brand. Cheers!"

He also mentioned why they chose her and said "Her energy is really big, and that's why we chose Ashley Rivera aka "PETRA MAHALIMUYAK". I think the universe really just transpired, and we really wanted Ashley to be our White Castle Calendar Girl for 2026!"

Ashley says "They're right because I really wished for it during a podcast, and there's so many women to choose from. White Castle trusted me and I am so grateful. I will have those life sized photos of me and put them in the lobby of my condo. I would like to dedicate this to my Mom who's here. My Mommy Vicky already has her own followers, I'm glad netizens are also having fun with her on social media. When I found out, I was shocked because it's something that happened before the year ends. When I was chosen, they shared the story board and I was so happy because it's in a ranch, classic, I was speechless when I saw the layout. Let's see because I have so many plans about content we're going to come out with after this launch! Watch out for that!"

Here's some more videos from the launch, particularly her dance number when she went on stage!

Congratulations Ashley! You're gorgeous, funny, so eloquent, and really deserve this recognition! You're one remarkable lady that people should discover even more!