25: Quote, Unquote

(Second of two parts)

The Philippine STAR celebrates its 25th anniversary today. A quarter of a century! To mark this milestone, I have retrieved from my memory bank 25 quotes from celebrities I have interviewed for this paper. I was so excited about this event that I already began my list last Tuesday and mercifully managed to save a few more for today, which is the big day. And so here is the conclusion of my 25th anniversary piece — in celebration of a big day in the history of journalism.

13. “I don’t have the power to dictate on advertisers. I wish I had.” That was Kuh Ledesma (photo) correcting years after the misinformation that she was the reason why the Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA) decided to boycott showbiz talk shows after Movie Patrol showed a feature about her estranged father that supposedly offended her and she was then one of the Lux endorsers.

14. “I always scolded her (Loren Legarda) for studying too much.” That was Bessie Legarda, the late mother of now Sen. Legarda, who wanted her only daughter to also enjoy the other side of life and grow up having a well-rounded personality. 

15. “I’m the one who fusses over how everything is fixed in the house — not Pops.” That was Martin Nievera (photo) sharing with readers how he would get up in the middle of the night to fix frames and pieces of furniture that were not in the proper place. That was during his and Pops Fernandez’s happily married days in Alabang. Who would have thought they’d go separate ways?

16. “I’m not saying we didn’t have fun before we got married — we did.” That was Sharon Cuneta (photo) talking not proudly, but candidly, about how she and now ex-husband Gabby Concepcion ended up in an early marriage.

17. “I can say I was No. 1 once, can you?” That was Ariel Ureta (photo) getting pressed into a corner by this writer to comment about later being described as flash-in-the-pan (he was actually more than that) after he shot to meteoric heights as a TV host (the No. 1) and as an actor whose two early ’70s films were box-office hits.

18. “Ano ba masarap? Ang masarap para sa amin ay tuyo at pritong talong.” That was Cornelia “Angge” Lee (photo) recalling her impoverished youth in Anak-Bayan in Paco. A Susan Roces fan, she became a comedian and later shifted to being a casting director and talent manager.

 19. “Ni hindi nga kami naghalikan n’yan, eh!” That was Carmi Martin (photo) discussing how short-lived (three months) her romance was with Apa Ongpin, who I know had gotten married to someone who is obviously not from entertainment. Carmi remains single, but still in top shape. She set a good example to others in showbiz by later studying interior design, which she now practices in between TV roles.

20. “Ang lagi kong ipinagdadasal, Dong, ay huwag mapunta si Ruffa (Gutierrez) sa mga hindi mabubuting lalake.” That was Annabelle Rama (photo), who decades later must still find herself calling on all the saints in heaven, considering the fact that Ruffa has remained attractive and desirable to all types of men even if she is already a mother of two.

21. “I am very obedient. If the director tells me to stand there till I turn blue, then that’s what I do.” That was Tina Revilla (photo), who was never accused of being unprofessional at work. 

22. “You can send me to the market and I would know how to buy fresh fish.” That was Charo Santos (photo) beaming with pride that behind that steely façade (she has always been one of showbiz’s most powerful women), she, too, can be domesticated.

23. “You never get over that pain.” That was Ali Sotto (photo) stressing the sad fact that her grief over having lost son Miko five years earlier (the interview was done in 2008 — before she left for Madrid) never eases. “It’s always there and never leaves you.”

24.“My first boyfriend was a Fil-Am and he left me for my best friend. And I blame you and your country!” That was Sandra Bullock (photo) joking and playfully pretending to still be crushed over her first heartbreak — caused by a Fil-Am guy. “I had him killed,” she went on laughing. But seriously, she said that in the US she has a lot of Filipino friends and she loves them. Eventually, I told her that she has a lot of fans in the Philippines and that we love her. I wasn’t lying when I said that because her movies make a lot of money in this country. Is she willing to come and visit? Her reply: “Now that you said that they love me in the Philippines, invite me and I’m so coming. Invite me and I’ll show up.” 

25. “I never allowed any man to make a playground out of my body.” That was Rosa Rosal (photo) speaking and I can imagine all the indecent proposals that must have come her way, especially since she was a top pin-up girl in her youth. But she stuck to her scruples. She earned money the honest way not only for herself, but to also give away to the poor. Ms. Rosal lives a comfortable life with her respectability and dignity intact to this day. No wonder she was named Reader’s Digest’s Most Trusted Person.