Did she have second thoughts about it? “Yes, only because I thought I’d play just a short role lang kasi may commitment din ako sa ABS-CBN for another soap and I’m also shooting two movies. Kasama ko doon sa Piolo Pascual-Toni Gonzaga movie ng Star Cinema directed by Olive Lamasan and in an indie movie by a new director, Timmy Harn. Sa ABS, nagpaalam ako na gagawa muna ako sa GMA kasi I just did ‘Apoy sa Dagat’ with them. Pumayag naman sila, so tinanggap ko na itong ‘Akin Pa Rin ang Bukas’. Ngayon, heto, ngarag-ngarag ako because I lack sleep sa dami ng trabaho. All the scenes na na-taped na ni Helen Gamboa, inulit namin. Nang apurahan, kasi nga magi-start na ang showing sa September 9, and yet ni hindi pa namin tapos i-tape ang episodes for the first week of telecast. When they notified me I’d get Helen’s role, nag-taping na ako agad the next day. Pero enjoy naman ako working with Laurice Guillen as our director. She has never directed me before but we’ve been good friends for a long time kasi kaibigan ko ang late husband niya, si Johnny Delgado. I’m glad naman to be reunited here with Gloria Romeo na una kong nakasama doon sa ‘Pito ang Asawa Ko’ ni Ishmael Bernal, tapos nagsama rin kami sa ‘Miguelito, Batang Rebelde’ ni Lino Brocka.”
She and her daughter in law, Glydel Mercado, are both with GMA since Glydel is in “My Husband’s Lover” as the mom of Carla Abellana, while her son is with ABS-CBN’s “Bukas na Lang Kita Mamahalin”, so their shows will be competing with each other.
“Oo nga, napag-usapan namin yan. But I guess it can’t be helped, Ganyan talaga sa industriya. Friendly competition naman. Basta pagdating sa bahay, hindi kami nag-aaway. Nakakatuwa yung mga anak nina Tonton at Glydel. Pagkakaganda. Yung panganay, si Aneeza, ayaw mag-showbiz, pero yung bunso, si Annika, gusto. Yung grandson ko namang si Carlos Philippe sa daughter kong si Wednesday, he’s a champion golfer. He competes here and abroad. Naku, kahit bata pa, puro kalyo na ang mga palad dahil sa kago-golf.”
