IMAGINE this ordinary day: You bring your family to the mall and you find that all the stores, shops and boutiques there sport the names of your favorite movie stars. More interestingly, you discover that the stars themselves are in them.

Sharon Cuneta is supervising the fitting of a client in her dress shop. Richard Gomez is showing to a customer the different brands of golf clubs in his sports accessories store. Lorna Tolentino is talking with the personal trainers in her fitness gym. Vivian Velez is conferring with the aromatherapists in her spa.

Regine Velasquez is finalizing the entertainment lineup in her bar. Judy Ann Santos is having her hair done in her own beauty parlor. Angelu de Leon is rearranging the bikes in her toy store. And Rudy Fernandez and bosom friends Phillip Salvador, Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada are discussing expansion plans for their own restaurant.

Of course, you get to rub elbows with all these stars. You want to buy a TV set and Dina Bonnevie helps you decide on the right choice in her appliance store. Your husband needs a tie and Onemig Bondoc gives him a hand in his haberdashery. Your son has his eyes fixed on a pair of shoes and Rico Yan helps him find the perfect fit. Your daughter is dying for a bag and Jolina Magdangal shows her what her fashion accessories store has to offer.

As you stroll around, you notice that the thugs and toughies that make life miserable for your favorite action stars in the movies are moonlighting as security guards in between film projects. You smile at them, they smile back, and they don't look menacing at all. In the movies, you love to hate them, but now, they look friendly and you feel safe with them around.

You ride the escalator up to an entire floor of all sorts of film memorabilia. There's a curio shop with souvenir items from best-loved movies, a video store with local movies, from "Anak Dalita" to "Rizal," a museum with all the familiar costumes and props used in films through the years, a bookstore with all kinds of reading materials about the movie industry, a record bar with all the movie theme songs from the time of your great-grandmother to the present, etc.

Another floor is occupied by a film school of sorts. Gina Alajar and Michael de Mesa are instructors in their acting workshop. Ricky Lee has a nook where he conducts writing workshops. Lea Salonga gives voice lessons in her own music academy. Gary Valenciano and Martin Nievera have a studio where aspiring composers and musicians can get professional training.

There's a place where film students can enrol in film editing, cinematography, production design, editing, sound engineering and other aspects of film art, with the experts in their respective fields themselves teaching the different courses. And there's also a venue for mini-concerts, promo shows, fans' days, etc.

Now, all this is just a dream--but it will soon become a beautiful reality.

I'm so happy for my friend Germs (German Moreno), whose lifelong dream is to have what he calls the City of Stars. I remember him from way back excitedly telling me about this. Early on, he already had an architect draw up some preliminary sketches. And now, with him at the helm of the Katipunan ng mga Artista sa Pelikula at Telebisyon (KAPT), and with help from friends in the Quezon City council like Councilor Dingdong Avanzado, the dream is finally beginning to see the light of day.

Germs' idea for the City of Stars is actually quite simple: "I want a place that movie people can call their own," he says. "In the States, they have Hollywood and, ever since I can remember, it has been my fervent wish that we can also have something like that here."

Germs' idea is to help restore the dignity of movie stars by providing a place where fans of past and present film icons can pay homage to their idols, where the people of today can get acquainted with the movie greats of yesteryears, where the legacy of the Filipino industry can be safeguarded and enriched.

And the idea is also exciting from the business point of view. Surely, a place like that will beef up the coffers of Quezon City. It will not only be a big boost for local tourism, but it will also stir up a lot of economic activity. And as the idea grows and expands to encompass the whole of Quezon City, there will be more and more opportunities for industries involved in tourism, commerce and trade, construction and real estate, and livelihood for all the city residents. All this, on top of the prestige that will come from Quezon City being called the City of Stars.

The city council of Quezon City has already approved the resolution authored by Councilor Avanzado proclaiming this premier metropolis as the City of Stars. It's a good thing that the opposition raised by some members--particularly Councilor Anthony Castelo--subsided after the details of the project were explained to them.

The next step, according to Councilor Avanzado, is to come up with a long-term comprehensive development plan which will include the enactment of all the necessary laws designed to grant tax cuts and other incentives for movie people and other businessmen who will be induced to invest money to fully realize the concept of the City of Stars. Indeed, the help of the film industry and the private sector has to be sufficiently stimulated to make the dream come true.

If there is a place in Metro Manila that most deserves to be called the City of Stars, it's Quezon City. As Germs has pointed out, all the major film studios and television networks are there and many movie stars live here. And the city itself has a colorful history of movie personalities becoming politicians--Tito Sotto, Dennis Roldan, Herbert Bautista, Connie Angeles, Anthony Alonzo, Lucita Soriano, etc.

Tomorrow, Sunday, the place to be is in Quezon City. If you have nothing planned, bring you whole family there. There will be a grand parade to be participated in by all the major movie and television studios based in the city. They will deploy their most popular stars who will ride on colorful floats.

At 3 p.m., everybody will assemble at the Welcome Rotunda, the landmark that separates Manila and Quezon City. The grand parade will run the length of Quezon ave. up to the Quezon Memorial Circle. The event will culminate in the park fronting the Quezon City Hall, where a stage has been constructed for a free show especially prepared for everyone to watch and enjoy.