Derrick & Barbie: Best of friends

CEBU, Philippines — It’s been almost a month since Barbie Forteza’s Happylou started gracing our weeknights with her sunshine and positivity in the GMA-7 romantic comedy “Inday Will Always Love You.”

Apart from highlighting Cebuano culture, the show also marks the comeback of the DerBie (Derrick Monasterio and Barbie) love team, with Juancho Trivino playing second male lead.

Derrick and Barbie shared their sentiments on the ruckus that surrounded Juancho when fellow Kapuso star Alden Richards’ fans came for the former after Juancho seemingly gave a poster of Alden the finger in a video which circulated early this year.

As co-stars, were they worried that the bad blood with a massive fan base (who had threatened to boycott the series) could affect “Inday”?

“For me, it’s bad publicity but it’s still publicity,” Derrick begins. “It brings more comments to our pictures. More likes, more interactions with fans, and hopefully more ratings.”

In the video, a girl could be heard saying “Nandito is Alden,” while showing a poster of the actor for a watch brand that he endorses. The video then pans to a seated Juancho. As the frame focuses on Juancho, he gives the camera two middle fingers. Juancho has since apologized for disappointing many people including his fans because of the “bad joke” and has promised to be better. Alden also broke his silence, saying that it was nothing and that Juancho had reached out to him.

Barbie said that although actors like them are public figures and are therefore subject to scrutiny, fans should also be more lenient. She hopes that fans don’t project their disdain on the entire show just because they don’t approve of one actor.

“Hindi naman yan maiiwasan para sa amin na artista na tao lang din naman. We have fun, mga bata pa kami. Minsan yung ginagawa namin hindi namin iniisip, minsan nandoon kami sa moment na yun tapos yung naisip namin hindi necessarily may maling intensyon. But still public property kami eh. Kada kilos at galaw namin may makikita silang mali kahit minsan wala. It’s inevitable,” Barbie begins.

She thinks the best way to handle bashers is to ignore and refuse to give them the power to demean them.

“Kasi marangal naman ang trabaho namin. Wala naman kaming maling intensyon. Sana huwag nilang personalin yung show. Kung may galit sila sa isang tao, huwag sana nilang ipaapekto sa show na mas marami pa yung maapektuhan,” Barbie reasons.

Fluent, classy Cebuanos

While Juancho plays Ernest Pascual, Happylou’s caring best friend, Derrick plays Happylou’s boss, the curt and distant Cebuano businessman, Patrick Fuentes, who just might be falling for our heroine.

Derrick says he’s had help on his Bisaya, sharing how their trip to Cebu to film at locations like Bantayan island, Temple of Leah, and the Sirao Peak was one for the books.

“May teacher ako, and sa friends ko na Cebuano nagtatanong ako. Nagse-self translate rin, best friend ko na yung Google. Mahirap kasi ibang iba yung tone and accent tapos feeling ko ito yung ibig sabihin, hindi pala,” Derrick says of learning Bisaya.

Often visiting Cebu for shows, like most of his co-stars, Derrick also never got to immerse and experience Cebu until their on-location tapings for “Inday.” Now that he’s spent more time here, the actor, who got to compete with co-star Super Tekla in a lechon-selling contest in Carcar, south of Cebu, has a handful of realizations about the southern province.

“Bantayan. Feel ko yun yong pinaka-highlight ng trip natin eh. I’m not really a beach person. I don’t like the sun that much. Ang ganda talaga ng place, sobrang linis. Mas better pa siya sa ibang commercial beaches. Mahilig ako sa hiking. Kasi may mga puno naman, sa beach ang open talaga and sunog. I realized na medyo bagay sa akin yung tan,” Derrick says.

Derrick also noted the Cebuano proficiency in speaking English, noting how some locals have American-like accents and how classy he found the people of Cebu.

“I realized that you’re really fluent in English. Almost all the people here have class, nakakatuwa. And lahat ng tao dito magaganda. Sa destinations, beaches are very underrated. I didn’t expect na may mas gaganda pa sa mga napuntahan ko. I will totally go back and visit,” Derrick remarks.

Besties

Having worked together since their tween days, Barbie and Derrick go way back. The last time they were in a teleserye together was in 2014 for the afternoon drama “The Half Sisters.” Four years later, apart from “Inday,” the pair sparked their comeback with the film “Almost a Love Story” by BG Films International which was filmed in Italy and opened last April.

“Parang naglalaro lang kami. Minsan naiilang ako kasi seryoso siya [Derrick]. Naiilang ako kapag in character na siya, hindi ako sanay kasi nga maharot talaga siya sa totoong buhay. So totoo natatakot ako sa kanya kasi siya yung boss,” Barbie says of the reunion.

Although the two are clearly at ease with each other, Barbie admits that she wouldn’t want to give the pin to Derrick for best partner among all the love teams she got to take part of.

“I think it’s best not to compare. Lahat naman ng naka-work ko, iba iba ang style – kung papano nila gawin ang characters nila, papano i-build ang love team namin. I wouldn’t say he’s the best. He’s one of my bestest friends. Kaya nag-work kaming dalawa,” Barbie says.

Barbie, who will be turning 21 next month, once said how she would like to milk her youth by taking on bagets roles because she knows that once she decides to move on, there’s no going back. As for Derrick, the 22-year-old wants to be somewhat like a chameleon who can easily transform from one look to another.

“As much as possible, I want to be flexible when it comes to my characters para at least, if they want me to be sexy, I can be sexy. If they want teenybopper, I can be that,” Derrick shares.

All for the show

As they bring romance to the table, people shouldn’t forget that despite being adored by many, DerBie is purely work – since Barbie is currently dating fellow Kapuso actor Jak Roberto.

Often playful with each other, the DerBie love team do their best to make viewers feel kilig with their chemistry. As actors whose jobs are to make it look like they’re into each other, DerBie shares how they take care of their personal relationships while also delivering well at work.

Derrick offers: “For the show, I’ll do anything to make it more interesting. On cam, if kailangan gumawa ng chemistry, I would do things to make people believe na we have something. Of course I’m not personally intending on harming anyone. Off cam, Jak and I are friends, we both know our limits. On cam partner ko lang si Barbie. I’m here as her friend and I’m sure Jak understands that.”

Barbie, who thinks that it’s not Derrick’s job to worry about Jak, adds that real-life sweethearts like her and her beau should be able to talk about things like this especially about what it takes to be in a love team, and make sure everyone respects both the job and the relationship.

“Yung ganyang mga bagay, ang [real-life] partners ang kailangan mag-usap. Dapat maging mature sila lalo na kapag ganito ang klase ng trabaho mo, maging professional kayo,” says Barbie.

“Nag jowa ka ng artista, hindi doon nagtatapos yun, maraming pros and cons na dapat tanggapin. Nakakatuwa lang na pareho kaming mature and parehong magkaibigan sila Derrick at Jak.”