‘FiLay’ tapped for 1st product endorsement
After being in showbiz for more than a decade, actress Barbie Forteza still wants to accomplish a lot of things. Although she has been in a relationship with actor Jak Roberto for five years now and they have seriously talked about settling down, 25-year-old Barbie insisted their altar date is not happening yet in the near future.
“My goal is clear ever since I entered this business,” offered Barbie. “I’m so happy that GMA is aware about that. I joined this industry with only one goal in mind. I wanted to become an actress. Everything that comes after that is work.”
Barbie’s TV partnership with David Licauco has taken off in the GMA blockbuster primetime series, Maria Clara at Ibarra, with Dennis Trillo and Julie Anne San Jose. The series started last October and is airing to date, with the loveteam of David and Barbie hatched up as Noli Me Tangere characters Fidel and Klay or popularly known as FiLay.
“Aside from David, I’ve been paired with a lot of GMA leading men before and they became my good friends,” Barbie admitted. “I cherish my friendship with them.
“I’m so grateful for this career blessing that I share with David right now. We are very good friends. To be honest, we started getting close in the series. Apart from FiLay, I learned a lot of things from David in terms of business.
“David and I know that we have a business partnership and we are both very grateful for the success of FiLay. So even if the success of FiLay was unexpected, you don’t have to explain to Jak because he understands.
“I will not forget the guy (Jak) who has been with me the past five years and still counting. The guy who was with me during the pandemic, who listened to my struggles and all. The one whom I share my victories and struggles with.”
Jak is apparently secure with his five-year relationship with Barbie. “I never need to assure him,” she said. “I don’t have to prove anything to myself. Jak and I just understand each other. He’s very patient. He understands my work because we do the same thing. We’re in the same business. I’m just so lucky to have him.”
Although Jak is never insecure about his relationship with Barbie, he never got seriously jealous of anybody. “Pa-tweetums na selos lang,” Barbie laughed. “Maybe he needs to be cuddled once in a while. Nothing serious.
“Jak knows Dennis (Trillo) is my crush. Jak would call me up during our locked-in taping and he would even ask about Dennis. “‘Kumusta naman kayo ng crush mo?,’ he would ask me. Jak is very supportive.”
Knowing that Barbie has a real-life partner, David knows his boundaries. “I have big respect for Jak,” David granted. “Even from the start, I’ve been telling Barbie, Jak is a very good person. I worked with him previously at Heartful Café (2021). Jak guested there. I saw that he’s a very genuine person.
“I will never do or try anything bad to Barbie to get Jak’s ire. I respect their relationship. FiLay, it’s part of our job to promote the series and thrill the fans. We know our respective boundaries.
“I don’t think I still need to talk to Jak because he is also an artist. I’m sure he understands Barbie’s work. When he guested in Heartful Café, we even worked out together.”
Barbie does not discount the fact that she will settle down in the near future. “I could see from Jak’s sister, we always talk about how it is to get married and have a child. You need to be mentally ready once you settle down. Of course, you also need to be financially ready.
“For me, more than anything, I need to be ready. It’s another chapter in my book. You don’t need to rush things. You don’t need to thrill your fans to get engaged and settle down. That’s a different matter. More serious thing to do, so you need to be ready.”
Every year, Barbie makes it a point to maximize her career as an actress. “I still want to accomplish a lot of things. There are a lot of things I still want to achieve as an actress before I settle down. There is still so much to do.”
David, meanwhile, is not pressured even if some of his friends have settled down. “I feel like everybody has his own box,” he explained. “For me, this opportunity to be in showbiz and make a name for yourself, it is not given to everybody.”
The actor wants to focus on his career and his business ventures. “I want to maximize my showbiz career. Until then will I be ready to settle down. Before, I would say I would be ready to get married when I turn 27. But now that I am already 27, I don’t feel I’m ready yet.”
The success of FiLay’s TV partnership prompted whitening and immune-boosting food supplement Ishin, to get them as brand ambassadors. The FDA-approved product with glutathione is owned by young couple Mario Miguel and Shirleen Bautista.
“We are taking things in stride, one step at a time,” MM said. “It’s just like in construction, if you will build a lot of buildings at the same time, everything will be half-baked.
“We want Ishin to be really successful. After that, we want to take Ishin to the next level. At the moment, we have distributors not only here in the Philippines but also abroad.
“The product took off in countries like Bangladesh, UAE, Spain, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Italy and even India… Hopefully, we can have our expansion to other countries.”
Shirleen is a huge FiLay fan and she is thrilled with their partnership, that’s why she tapped the artists to be the first brand ambassadors for their company.
“Barbie is really my personal choice,” Shirleen said. “Her image is innocent, angelic and she’s very pretty. I am easily convinced that Barbie is perfect for Ishin. David really looks like a Korean talent. We don’t need to get a Korean talent. David will easily pass off as one.”
The launch of Barbie and David as brand ambassadors was attended by content creators, influencers, entertainment press, distributors and FiLay fans.
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