“You know, hindi lang ikaw ang nagre-react ng ganyan,” she says. “One time, I attended a wedding, yung pari mismo, he spoke to me directly and said ‘Galit ako sa’yo dahil pinahihirapan mo si ‘Amaya’. Minsan, people will tell me, ginagalit ko raw sila each time they watch the show, pero lahat sila, sinasabing ‘Ang ganda-ganda ng ‘Amaya’.’ I feel so proud to be part of this pioneering series on local TV. Markadong-markado ang role ng Lamitan and I’m so happy na sa’kin ito pinagkatiwala. After I won as best supporting acting sa Golden Screen Awards, kahit saan ako magpunta, everyone was congratulating for winning as Lamitan. Ang dami ko ng awards as best actress, but this is the first time I won for a contravida role kaya memorable talaga.”
How is it working with Marian Rivera? “Masaya kami sa set. She attacks the role with so much zest and enthusiasm. After seeing her as Amaya, I can’t think of any other actress na puedeng gumanap pa sa role na ito. Abangan nyo ang huli naming pagtutuos sa ending ng ‘Amaya’. Kakaiban level ito. Maski ako, hindi ko kinaya sa ganda.”
Right after “Amaya”, GMA quickly cast her as the mom of Kris Bernal in “Hiram na Puso” that starts airing on March 5, but she’s also in TV5’s “Valiente” as the wife of her real-life ex-husband Michael de Mesa. “Nagpaalam naman ako sa GMA-7 about that. Special participation lang naman ako doon. I will just appear in the first week as the mother of the boy who’ll grow up to be Valiente, si JC De Vera. Papatayin agad ang character ko.”
Gina is also doing the Cinemalaya indie film, “Requieme”, from the same director of the award-winning “Nino”, Loi Arcenas.
