The day BB Gandanghari killed Rustom Padilla

It’s a case of murder that would baffle Perry Mason. The victim’s body was never found and the suspect remains scot-free.

How did it happen?

The victim: Rustom Padilla. The suspect: BB Gandanghari.

So how did BB dispose of Rustom’s corpse?

“I refuse to reveal it lest I be incriminated. No body, no crime, see!”

But BB (who will hereon be referred to in the feminine gender) remembers the day she made public her new persona.

“It was in 2008 when I attended the Urian Awards dressed as a woman for the first time in public,” speaking of the late Rustom Padilla in the third person.

Was it a pre-meditated murder?

“Oh yes, it was. In 2006, right after he came back from an extended stay in L.A., Rustom was outed as a gay man in Pinoy Big Brother (PBB, the ABS-CBN reality-TV show). That same year, Rustom appeared as a gay man in Zsazsa Zaturnnah, billed in the movie as Rustom Padilla. In 2008, Rustom again played a gay role, fully made-up, and it was at that time when I planned to kill Rustom because I felt that I was fast drifting away from the Rustom that I used to know. Suddenly, he was a stranger to me. So when I attended the Urian Awards to present the Best Actress award which I won the previous year for Zaturnnah, that was the precise time that I killed Rustom Padilla. In 2008. After that, I disappeared to New York and then I came back three months later, in 2009. There, I introduced myself as BB Gandanghari. That’s when I announced, ‘RUSTOM IS DEAD!’ when reporters interviewed me at the airport.”

It took BB’s mom Eva Cariño and siblings three years to recover from shock, with Robin still in the denial stage. (Brother and sister haven’t met or avoid crossing each other’s paths.)

“My mom has gotten used to calling me BB, although sometimes nadudulas siya at tinatawag akong Rustom, hahahaha!”

Flashback on the late Rustom Padilla.

Did Rustom marry Carmina Villarroel on a lark? (Carmina is now happily married to Zoren Legaspi by whom she has beautiful twins who have been briefed about the “past” and considered it with an understanding beyond their years)?

“Rustom married Carmina because he truly loved her,” said BB with certainty. “He didn’t fool her.”

Did Rustom have an affair with “some men” before and during his marriage?

“Those were all rumors that eventually killed Rustom. Sumama ang loob niya. During their marriage, Rustom was a faithful husband. Mahal na mahal ni Rustom si Carmina.”

Why didn’t Rustom have a child with Carmina?

“Maybe it was meant to be that way. It would have been very hard kung nagka-mayroon. The situation would have been complicated,” adding after heaving a sigh of relief, “that’s why BB killed Rustom so that she could do what Rustom could not.”

In the next breath, BB added, “I have erased Rustom Padilla from my life. Nothing of him is left with BB.”

Asked what she missed, if ever, about Rustom, BB confessed, “His being a cowboy, mahilig sa adventure. If I do that now, parang out of character. Hindi na bagay sa akin. But you know what, I want to thank Rustom. He lived a very difficult life. Madasalin siya. I know what Rustom would be telling me, ‘I’m glad that you are happy!’ May Rustom rest in peace!”

She now signs documents as BB Gandanghari (sometimes with an a.k.a. Rustom Padilla when required) — her ID, her credit card, everything.

Next step: Sex change?

“Actually, I have taken the first step already. In fact, I’ve been having sessions with a psychologist. You know, it’s a long journey, it’s a hard decision to make.”

In her first foray into theater, BB plays the title role in Halik ng Tarantula (translated into Filipino by Rene Villanueva from Pulitzer-awarded novel Kiss of the Spider Woman  and directed by Soxy Topacio), the same role played by William Hurt in the movie version. The story revolves around two cellmates, Valentine Arregui (played by the late Raul Julia in the movie version), a leftist revolutionary imprisoned for trying to overthrow the government, and Luis Molina (renamed Tarantula in the local play), a homosexual imprisoned for allegedly corrupting a minor. (The play is set to open on March 6 with a press preview at the Teatrino in Greenhills and will have a limited run on March 7, 8 and 9.)

“I told my mom, ‘Mama, punta ka ha!’ And she said, ‘Ano ba ang makikita ko d’un?’ I told her, ‘I have love scenes but I’m sure you will understand.’ Diyos ko, baka himatayin ang Mama ko!”

BB has three leading men alternating for the role of Valentin Arregui, chosen from a series of auditions — Jet Alcantara, Juvic Monsod and Xyrus Cruz — and her torrid kissing scene with Jet has gone viral on the Internet.

“I showed Mama the pictures and she said, ‘Baka naman ma-in love ka sa kanya ha!’ You know, that’s how we talk now. Girl talk, hahahahaha!”

How’s BB’s love life?

“I’m communicating with someone who is in the US. I was expecting him to follow me here, pero huwag na nga, mahirap nang mag-expect talaga!”

Is BB, ehem, celibate?

“All I can say is that I’m faithful.”

By the way, given a choice which three actors she would like to do love scenes with, BB laughed a bit, covering her mouth with a napkin as a proper lady should.

“Paulo Avelino, Richard Gomez and Dennis Trillo.”

Why them?

“Same type, di ba?”

What about the tell-all book that she’s reported to be writing?

“Not now. Baka maraming mag-demanda, hahahaha! Maybe in due time, sa takdang panahon.”

And what would the title be?

“BB Uncut. Nice, di ba? May double meaning, hahahaha!”

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