BENJAMIN ALVES is living all alone here in Manila because his family lives in Guam, where he was raised and studied before he came to Manila to join showbiz, first as a model named Vince Saldana. He was later renamed Benjamin Alves when he started his career as an actor with the Kapuso Network.
So in this time of the corona lockdown, it’s his family in Guam that he misses the most. “I miss them, lalo na my mom kasi she’s working in a clinic,” says the Kapuso hunk. “So lagi kaming nagkukumustahan sa phone or online to find out how we’re doing.”
Aside from this, how has the viral lockdown affected him personally? “Ayun, nasa bahay lang lagi in my condo, walang ginagawa. Walang trabaho. I think everyone naman has been affected on some level by what’s going on now.
"And even after the lockdown, we have to make some new adjustments to what would be the new normal where you practice social distancing at wala pa ring mass gathering until such time that the antidote to the COVID 19 has been found.”
Benjamin was last seen in the Afternoon Prime soap “Dahil sa Pag-ibig” as the philandering husband of Sanya Lopez.
He’s supposed to start a new show and do a new movie on the life of Pres. Manuel Quezon but then, the lockdown came and he’s now waiting, like other stars, as to when tapings and shootings will resume again.
So what keeps him busy while on lockdown?
“I got hooked on various TV series, including KDrama. I also do a lot of reading to while the time away. Books that I bought noon pa (he used to own a bookshop), ngayon lang ako nagkapanahong basahin sila kasi I was so busy then.”
What other realizations has dawned upon him while staying at home?
“First of all, I realized how important our medical frontliners are. We must appreciate and not forget all their sacrifices to serve the people, specially those who got sick and infected by the virus.
"So I personally want to thank them for everything they’ve been doing for us. I also realized that the things we usually take for granted before, napaka-importante pala at sobrang nakaka-miss, like going out to just chill, unwind and socialize with your friends na bawal na ngayon.”
Regarding his lovelife, Benjamin was linked to singer-actress Julie Anne San Jose two years ago but things went sour between them. His new girlfriend is said to be a model named Chelsea Robato.
