Ai-Ai ‘most beautiful’ in her own way

Because she wasn’t included in the Yes! magazine’s list of “100 Most Beautiful,” topped by Kris Aquino, Ai-Ai delas Alas is threatening to name herself No. 1 Most Beautiful in Ailabyu, the monthly magazine she’s publishing (August to December) to commemorate her 25 years in showbiz.

“Not only No. 1 Most Beautiful,” added Ai-Ai during a lunch presscon at The Buffet (on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City), “ako rin ang Most Powerful, Most Influential, Most Sexy, lahat na ng ‘Most.’” 

Of course, she was joking. She showed rare sportsmanship by attending the “Most Beautiful” event (Yes! placed her No. 9 among The Most Powerful last year), never mind if she wasn’t even mentioned or her picture included in the flashback video.

Asked why she changed her mind about running in 2016 (for an unspecified position in Batangas), Ai-Ai, still joking, said, “Hindi pa ako decided, ayoko muna magsalita ngayon but if ever,” she added deadpan, “kapag tumakbo ako, gusto ko kalabanin si Hillary Clinton sa Amerika kasi greencard-holder na ako.”

Lest bashers again start ganging up on her, Ai-Ai hastened to add that she was just joking.

But she’s serious about publishing a magazine that will chronicle her struggles through her 25 years in showbiz, although she won’t be talking much about her love life which is generally happy with current love Gerald Sibayan, a May-October match-up that’s working out well, unlike her marriage which lasted for barely more than a month, solemnized and officially ended in Las Vegas.

The magazine will include how Ai-Ai came to the rescue of Jiro Manio who was found wandering at the airport. Ai-Ai brought Jiro to a rehab center where he’s staying for four months.

“I have a soft spot for children, especially those without mothers, kasi parang ganoon din ang buhay ko,” confessed Ai-Ai, seriously now.

Like Sen. Grace Poe and Dr. Vicki Belo, Ai-Ai grew up an adopted daughter in the care of her father’s sister, a spinster.

“My adoptive mother had an agreement with my biological parents na kapag babae ang susunod nilang anak ay ibibigay sa kanya,” related Ai-Ai, same arrangement between Vicki’s biological and adoptive mothers. “I was seven years old when I learned that I was adopted. My adoptive mother worked in a government office at palagi niya akong isinasama. Her co-employees would tell me, ‘Paano ka naging anak nya, eh, wala namang asawa ‘yon.’”

Ai-Ai would learn that her mother got sick for six months after giving her away.

“My biological father was strong-willed and my biological mother was submissive. Kung ano ang sabihin n‘ya (the father), sunud-sunuran lang ang mother ko. She couldn’t do anything when my father decided to give me to his sister for adoption, kaya nagkasakit ang tunay kong nanay.”

Still and all, Ai-Ai never harbored any bitterness against anybody (her elders are deceased) and is even generous toward her six biological siblings.

“Kung hindi ako ipina-adopt,” said Ai-Ai sans regrets, “hindi sana ako naka-pag-aral. I would have grown up in the province planting rice.”

Ai-Ai sees herself in Jiro when she was young. Jiro has aroused the maternal instinct in her (they played mother and son in a movie).

As promised, in December Ai-Ai will bring Jiro to Japan to meet his father whom Jiro hasn’t seen since he was born. With the help of Japan-based friends, Ai-Ai was able to trace the whereabouts of Jiro’s father who now has another family (Jiro’s mother is dead and he’s being cared for by a relative).

“He’s recovering,” revealed Ai-Ai. “When he was reported to have died, I visited him and took his picture. For the first time, he smiled when I photographed him.”

Jiro’s case was widely publicized because he’s an actor. But Ai-Ai’s charity work has remained private. She sees no need to tell the whole world about them, such as (according to those close to her) her devotion to Mama Mary (Ai-Ai sponsors a Mass on Mama Mary’s birthday, Sept. 8), how she’s helping raise funds for the Kristong Hari Church (near the Iglesia ni Cristo along Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City), how she bathes an old woman (actually, three of them in the beginning) at the Missionaries of Charity in Tayuman, Tondo, Manila (where she draws strength when she’s feeling low, like when her marriage hit the rocks), who she’s supporting the education of a seminarian in Batangas (as revealed by Tempo editor Nestor Cuartero), and many more. All to be told in her book.

Meanwhile, with her first GMA show Let The Love Begin about to end, Ai-Ai is preparing for two new shows, one a game show and the other a talk show. In September, she’ll start shooting her Metro Filmfest movie with Vic Sotto and in October she’ll perform at a fund-raising concert for the construction of the church.

There. Doesn’t that make Ai-Ai “most beautiful” in her own way?

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