Is it true the critics who gave her the Golden Eel award are Filipinos? “No, puro Italian. Pero marami tayong kababayang nasa Venice din. Yung award daw, mostly given to directors and producers, bihira lang sa artista. After Venice, ‘They Womb’ will go to Toronto, Busan and India for exhibition. Hindi na ko kasama doon.”
What’s the real score about her voice? “Nag-iipon pa ko ng pambayad kasi may kamahalan ang operasyon. Hopefully, next year, matuloy na kasi nami-miss ko na talaga ang pagkanta. E, diyan ako nag-umpisa. Sabi naman ng doctor doon sa Boston, malaki ang chance na makakanta uli ako dahil hindi naman vocal chords ko ang tinamaan. Bawal na sa’kin mag-smoke pero di ko mapigilan. But at least, nabawasan na. Kung dati, two packs a day. Ngayon, one pack na lang.”
So what are TV5’s plans for her? “After the guestings, sasama siya sa finale ng ‘Enchanted Garden’,” says TV5 exec Percy Intalan. “Siyang makakalaban ng lahat doon. Tapos we’ll come up with a new teleserye for her. May plan din for a movie, but we’re looking for the right project for her. As of now, she still has to shoot additional scenes for ‘El Presidente’ where she plays the second wife of Gov. ER Ejercito as Emilio Aguinaldo.”
What about her reported movie with Gov. Vilma Santos and Coco Martin? “Nabanggit sa’kin yun ni Direk Dante Mendoza, pero ewan ko kung tuloy nga.”
She plays a nun who falls in love with Yul Servo in “Untold Stories”. In “Third Eye”, she plays a teacher who gets possessed by evil spirits and has a showdown with mainstays Eula Caballero and Lorna Tolentino. How’s it working with them? “Si Eula, baguhan pero magaling. No problem with her even when we did ‘Sa Ngalan ng Ina’. Si Lorna, may movie kami noon, ‘Uod at Rosas’, pero hindi kami naging magkaeksena. E, wala namang kuwestiyon sa galing niya.” How about co-star Lovi Poe in “Thy Womb”? “Anak ang tawag ko doon. Malambing siya at magaling. Ire-release daw sa sinehan ang ‘Thy Womb’ in November kaya sana, suportahan ng viewers.”