Vid scandals, celeb deaths top trends on Yahoo! Philippines

Video scandals, the deaths of celebrities, and predictions for 2012, topped the trending searches on media portal Yahoo! Philippines in the first week of 2012.

 

Yahoo! Philippines said a "scandal video" of slain actor Ramgen Revilla sharing an intimate moment with girlfriend Janelle Manahan topped the list from Jan. 2 to 8.

 

Ramgen was fatally shot and stabbed in his Parañaque City house in late October, while Manahan was shot during the attack.

 

The video of their intimate moment was uploaded to the Internet before the New Year - enraging Ramgen’s brother, Senator Ramon Revilla Jr.

 

Interestingly, Sen. Revilla co-authored the anti-voyeurism law, which penalizes the taking of photos or videos showing a person's private parts.

 

Manahan had said she will pursue criminal charges against those who leaked the video online.

 

But Ramgen's mother Genelyn vehemently denied that her children were responsible for the video leak.

 

Second on the trending list was the death of actor Tyron Perez, 26, who was found dead inside a black Toyota Altis parked along the North Luzon Expressway in Valenzuela City.

 

He had a gunshot wound on his right temple, and a cal-.22 handgun was found beside him.

 

Perez was buried amid reports he took his own life due to marital and financial problems.

 

Third on the list were predictions for 2012 as Yahoo! Search users were curious on what’s in store for them and  the world for this year.

 

Searches for “2012 predictions,” “Year of the Dragon,” and “Nostradamus,” spiked.

 

There were also claims that December 2012 marks the end of a 5,126-year cycle in the calendar of the ancient Mayan civilization.

 

This supposed end of an era leads some people to interpret that the world will end this year.

 

Also, there were those who interpreted parts of the writings of French "prophet" Nostradamus to mean that the end of the world will happen this year.

 

Others topping the trending list include:

 

4.  Jinkee Pacquiao, wife of boxing champ and Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao, who appears on the cover of Mega Magazine this month. But the photograph became controversial after netizens suggested that it could be digitally enhanced. Jinkee shrugged off the rumors.

 

Similarly, online singing sensation Charice faced the same criticism of her cover photo in this month’s issue of Preview magazine. She said she already expected such remarks from her “haters.”

 

5. RJ Rosales. Around a month after his death, Filipino-Australian RJ Rosales again trended on Yahoo! Philippines even as the cause of his death remains a mystery. Netizens may have remembered him after learning of Tyron Perez's death.

 

6. 2012 holidays. As Filipinos returned to work, they wanted to know when the next Philippine holidays and long weekends would take place.

 

7. Results of the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT), which determines who the will comprise the next batch of “Iskolars ng Bayan” (Scholars of the People). While the list is not due soon, high school seniors who took the UPCAT eagerly await the results.

 

Searches for the results for the University of Santo Tomas Entrance Test (USTET) and the De La Salle University College Entrance Test also trended on Yahoo! on the first week of the year.

 

Meanwhile, a status update on a Facebook fan page for UPCAT sparked an online war between students of UP and UST.

 

8. American actress Mila Kunis, who was recently named as a new endorser for French luxury fashion label Christian Dior. She will be seen in ads for Miss Dior handbag. Another American actress, Jessica Biel, also trended on Yahoo! Search after the announcement of her engagement with Justin Timberlake, Mila’s co-star in the romantic comedy movie “Friends With Benefits.”

 

9. Wheelchair-bound British physicist Stephen Hawking, who wrote the popular science book “A Brief History of Time,” and who turned 70 on Sunday.  American chipmaker Intel Corp. created a project to help him reverse the slowing of his speech. When asked recently about what he thinks about most, he reportedly answered: "Women. They are a complete mystery."

 

10. Angeline Quinto, who slipped on stage while singing on the noontime show “ASAP 2012” last Sunday. She stepped on her dress and fell on her knees but quickly stood up and continued her performance, getting praises from netizens for her professionalism.

— TJD, GMA News