Amidst tears & laughter, Sharon says sorry...

MANILA, Philippines - As her first project as a Kapatid will finally unveil on May 7, Sharon Cuneta, who’s been in the entertainment biz for over 30 years now, wants her new daily talk show titled Sharon: Kasama Mo, Kapatid to be her “legacy.”

“We have taped more than 15 episodes already. We have gotten the hang of it beautifully. I love doing this show and why it took some time to launch it is because nobody (among my TV5 bosses) wanted something that doesn’t look grand or elegant. They spared no expense when it came to the set and to the concept of the show,” the Megastar said during the press launch of Sharon: Kasama Mo, Kapatid at the newly-renovated TV5 Delta Studio (formerly Delta Theater) last Wednesday. “I was so honored that they (TV5 bosses) have been so involved in the show. They’ve been so supportive (and) they’re very, very careful na bigyan ng tamang dahilan at justice ang paglipat ko dito. With the many talk shows we have at present, and with the number of shows I’ve done in the past, we really wanted something familiar but very different... and this time, I would like this to be my legacy.”

According to the singer-actress, her show will feature ordinary folks with extraordinary stories to tell, as well as deep and revealing conversations with celebrities, among them, based on the teasers, are Janelle Manahan, new husband and wife, Rep. Roman Romulo and Valenzuela councilor Shalani Soledad, and some of Sharon’s former leading men in the movies like Richard Gomez and Edu Manzano.

Sharon also sits as a co-producer of the show under her Mega Productions, Inc., which she set up with Viva big boss Vic del Rosario Jr. and Sandra Chavez. She is more hands-on with the creative side.

She shared that some of the staff came from her previous show with her former network. “They took the gamble with me, they joined me on this journey,” she said, hoping that the show will “inspire, encourage, entertain. (It’s) not intrigue-based, not showbiz-based.”

Sharon stressed anew that it wasn’t about the money that made her transfer to TV5.

“That’s why I get hurt when they say that it was about the P1B. Remember that’s P200M a year for five years. You deduct from it the taxes tapos percent ng iba’t-ibang tao (and) that is also what I earned mostly every year (through endorsements, movies, concerts, etc.). So it’s not about the P1B contract, it was more about — I don’t want to hurt anyone when I say this — but let’s just say, (it’s) about a little respect for what I think I built for over three decades. I want a show I felt after all the hard work I deserved it. I will always be grateful to ABS-CBN (but) I wanted my name on the show again. It was TV5 that gave it to me,” said Sharon, maintaining that there’s no bad blood between her and her former bosses and that the communication lines have remained open.

She added that her loyalty to her previous home network shouldn’t be questioned as she also spent 23 years of her career there.

That’s why, she said, “hindi ko nga alam kung maiiyak ako or matatawa na tinatawag po akong mukhang pera. Not for anything, the P1B is not a small amount but it’s neither new to me in the more than 30 years I’ve been here (in showbiz). I’ve also worked hard for this.”

Sharon, a new social networking convert, laughingly recalled how people thought that her foray into the world of Twitter was part of her TV5 contract. “It was part of my new beginnings. I just wanted new things to take advantage of, and so, you know social networking,” she said.

She took the presscon as an opportunity to apologize for any offensive posts on Twitter. “I really apologize sa mga na-offend at hindi makapaniwala sa mga sagot ko. You know I’m only human.”

She said that some of her posts were simply a reaction to “tweets that were very hard to swallow, in fact, there were words there, both in English and Tagalog, that all my life, I’m 46 years old, I’ve never heard of. So, it was so painful that all of a sudden you’re so exposed... Ang masakit is you know it’s made up of younger people. It hurts that there’s a (new) generation that medyo ganyan ang feeling ng freedom nila. It’s a false sense of power that they’re wielding irresponsibly. Bastusan eh.”

There were nasty name-calling and accusations, Sharon said, with her even being told to come clean that her youngest daughter Miel is “the daughter of (eldest) KC, or the daughter of (Sen.) Kiko (Pangilinan) with another woman.”

“I’m now afraid that I might be asked to admit that KC is my mother,” Sharon joked, before turning serious, “if you’re a mother, and you get hurt, whether you’re an actress or not, you’ll fight back.”

Asked if she’s making any movies soon, Sharon said there are projects lined up but she’s not allowed to confirm anything yet by her manager, Boss Vic. “I missed making movies. I would

even do an indie movie at a very low price. I might even produce it,” she said. 

And she remains very confident that her reunion movie with Gabby Concepcion, which was supposed to start shooting last month, will still push through. There were several factors why it’s been tentatively shelved, but they were nothing personal, she insisted.

According to her, it had something to do with the negotiation between Boss Vic and Gabby, then Gabby’s wife Ginbee will be giving birth, and she still has to prepare herself, and preparation means losing weight.

“I just got started again. I had a stress-eating binge. I’m sick and tired of making excuses for my weight. (But) we’re getting there,” she said, more so now that she has a daily show and “I want to be my very best in my best show so far.”

Meanwhile, Sharon couldn’t escape queries on her widely-reported rift with aunt, Helen Gamboa. Turning emotional, she acknowledged that her aunt has been hurt by a line she said in a STAR Life interview with Wilson Lee-Flores about politics dividing Sen. Kiko Pangilinan and her aunt’s husband, Sen. Tito Sotto. (Gamboa, in reaction, bared her sentiments to this section’s editor Ricky Lo through his column Funfare, saying “I’m hurt, but I still love her.”) Sharon said that she has been “reaching out” through Ciara Sotto, youngest daughter of Gamboa and Sen. Tito.

“I just want to make it clear that I really love my aunt. I’m not disrespecting her. Hindi ako nag-mamalaki... Nakakahiya kung nag-mamalaki ako kasi kasama siya sa nagpalaki sa akin.”

“Sorry if I hurt you,” said Sharon at the presscon, addressing her aunt and uncle. She reasoned that it just happens that she’s married to a politician and that she’s just supporting him. “It’s in the Bible, that if you get married, you side with your husband. Kaya napakahirap ng situation ko.” 

She, nevertheless, expressed her desire for the wounded family ties to be healed. “I don’t want any trouble. Mahal na mahal ko ang pamilya ko, lalo na ang (pamilyang) Sotto. I miss them so much... Sana tapos na.”