But her co-stars, led by leading man Matthias Rhoads, veteran actress Helen Gamboa, Shyr Valdez and Andrew Gan, disproved the nasty allegations, saying she’s very pleasant to work with and they don’t have any problems at all on the set. Even their director, L.A. Madridejos, says Marian is very patient even in executing the most difficult fight scenes.
“Mahirap ang mga ginagawa niya sa action scenes pero kinakaya niya,” says Direk L.A. “Pati sa pagpapalit-palit niya ng make up from being Teacher Minerva to Super Ma’am, she doesn’t complain. Makikita mong masaya siya sa ginagawa niya and never siyang nag-attitude. Mahal siya ng mga kasamahan niya kaya hindi totoo ang bintang sa kanya.”
Even Marian’s hubby was forced to defend her and sent a letter to the writer who maligned her. Here’s part of Dong’s letter: “Dear Kuya Ronnie Carrasco, Nakarating po sa akin ang isang article na isinulat mo tungkol sa pagrereklamo diumano sa asawa ko ng kanyang mga katrabaho. There are more than a hundred people in a tv show production -- almost all are contractual talents, some suppliers, and a very few regular employees of the network. Nagsalita na ang ilan sa co-actors ng wife ko disputing your malicious allegations. I say malicious because your statements have not been proven by any reliable source. At kung mayroon mang ganitong kaganapan sa set ng kanilang show, hindi ba’t nararapat na manggaling ito mula sa top Executive-on-location?
“Ako mismo ay humingi ng confirmation sa Executive Producer nila na si Nieva Sabit. Ayon sa kanya, ‘I've worked with Marian Rivera since the phenomenal ‘Marimar’ that catapulted her to fame. With the many years we've shared in this industry, I can confidently attest that she has remained professional, passionate, and always willing to share her creative inputs to her shows. She has always been gracious and well loved in the set. With ‘Super Ma’am’, I've witnessed how she would willingly perform even the most dangerous stunts and execute each one to the best that she can. And despite the demands of being a mother, she is always willing to adjust to unavoidable production constraints.’
“Kung mayroong tao na maaaring sumagot tungkol sa kahit anong nangyayari sa set -- mula sa cellphone number ng Direktor, hanggang sa kahuli-hulihang pako at tissue na ginagamit sa paglikha ng isang tv show, ito ay ang EP. Now, between this and your ‘source,’ which you chose to hide, sino ang dapat paniwalaan? Pero ’wag po kayong mag-alala, Kuya Ronnie, pinapatawad ko na ang pagkakamaling ito na sa aking pananaw ay resulta lamang, maaari, ng kapabayaan.
“Subalit ang problema ko po ay ito -- nabasa ko rin, mula sa ilang mga artikulo nyo nitong mga nakaraang buwan ang lantarang pang-iinsulto sa aking asawa. Kami po’y mga aktor at normal lamang na mabatikos. Tatanggapin po namin iyon. Ang hindi katanggap-tanggap ay kapag ang batikos o commentary ay hindi objective at constructive, kundi personal at below the belt na umaabot pa sa ‘name calling.’ Sa iyong tono, mukhang matindi ang pait sa puso mo. Hindi ko aalisin sa iyo ’yan dahil karapatan mo ’yan. Pero hindi ko hahayaang mabastos ang asawa ko, gamit ang iyong pananalita.
“Sayang, dahil sa ganitong kalidad ng pagpapahayag ay ibinababa mo ang standard ng entertainment writing. Hindi kasi ganyan ang pagkakakilala ko sa mga respetadong manunulat na marami sa kanila ay kaibigan ko at tinitingala ko.”
What can Marian herself say about this? “Nagpapasalamat ako sa lahat ng nagtanggol sa akin, lalo na kay Dong na binilinan akong huwag na huwag papatol. But actually, I think hindi na lang dapat pansinin ang ganyang paninira na wala namang basehan. Basta ang mahalaga, happy ako sa very positive feedback sa ‘Super Ma’am’, na punong-puno talaga ng commercials. Nasisiyahan ako to get feedback lalo na from mothers na enjoy raw panoorin ang show with their children. Na-realized ko ngang hindi joke maging superhero. It’s a big responsibility kasi kids are watching, kasama na ang sarili kong anak, si Zia, so dapat lang talagang mas pagandahin namin ang show for them.”
So what happened to her and Dingdong’s plans to have another child soon? “On hold muna kasi pareho kaming busy. May ‘Super Ma’am’ ako at may ‘Alyas Robin Hood’ siya, so huwag muna. Baka next year na. Basta enjoy naman ako playing wife to Dong and mom to Zia. Sana, we’ll have a boy next time at sure ako ng I will enjoy taking care of them and watching them grow up. No matter how busy I am, I will always have time for them.”
She also wants to thank all the Pangasinan fans who trooped to their mall show at Urdaneta recently. “5,000 lang daw ang capacity nung mall, but sa estimate nila, about 10,000 people came so sobra talagang siksikan at marami pang hindi nakapasok. Masayang-masaya kami ng kasama kong cast members ng ‘Super Ma’am’ na sina Jerald Napoles, Kristoffer Martin at Joyce Ching kasi naging napakainit talaga ng pagtanggap nila sa amin.”
