At 42, Ina has given birth to five kids. “I was only 25 when I got married to Brian (Portunak, her Canadian husband who’s now based here),” she says. “Now, our eldest is Erika, who’s 15, followed by Jakob who’s 13 and our only boy, then Mikaela who’s 9, Anika who’s 7 and the youngest is Minka, 4.”
How is it to raise kids who are bi-cultural? “We talk in English but I try to inculcate in them some Filipino values like love, respect, the value of hard work. Kasi sa Western culture, kids are taught to be very independent. But ako, I shower them with love and affection. They go to an international school, but I try to make sure they are also taught good Christian values.”
In “Ngayon at Kailanman,” she plays the adoptive mother of Julia Barretto who defends her from the henchmen of the Cortez family who want to kill her. During the presscon, it was noted that Joshua is so demonstrative to Julia and someone saide he’s already been warned not to show too much PDA or public display of affection.“For me, wala namang masama sa paglalambingan nila,” says Ina. “Tamang-tama lang naman ang JoshLia magic at nakaka-good vibes nga ito. Hanggang pag-uwi ko, dala-dala ko sa bahay ang sweetness nila kaya nagtataka yung husband ko kung bakit nagpi-flirt daw ako sa kanya. Naiinggit ako sa kanila at kinikilig naman yung asawa ko,” she laughs.