Rafael back to Kapamilya

Seven years since his last ABS-CBN drama series, Rafael Rosell has returned to the Kapamilya network with the anniversary special episode of Ipaglaban Mo as his first comeback project.

The actor appeared in Tonight with Boy Abunda (TWBA) a few nights back and he revealed his thoughts about working with Denise Laurel again. The two worked together in Precious Hearts Romances series’ Midnight Phantom a couple of years ago. He also shared details regarding his romance with girlfriend Valerie Chia, and his amusing encounter with the legendary Kalinga tribal tattoo artist Whang-od Oggay.

Rafael has maintained his good looks and well-built physique even while he admitted to have not devoted time in the gym anymore for two or three years now.

“I don’t know but I’ve stopped seeing the meaning of getting a six-pack or chiseled body,” confessed Rafael. “I went through this phase of, yeah, you have the physique but where you gonna use it for it became a vision of parang pang-aesthetic lang. It was just all for beauty and glamour photos. So, parang I was searching for something more meaningful with my time. But I’m trying to get back (to the gym) just looking for a motivation para maging masipag ulit. I know health is wealth.”

Perhaps, it won’t be long for him to find an inspiration to sweat out those excess poundage now that he is going to be busy with acting in the coming days. On working with Denise, he said that, as of now, “we are (in the process of) finalizing upcoming projects.”

What he can assure is his happy love life. Rafael met Valerie in a gathering and he didn’t expect something would turn out good after that. “We said ‘Hi’ and ‘Hello’ to each other; she’s pretty and she’s my crush that night, and then my friend gave me her number.”

What happened next was their exchange of text messages that led them to discover many things in common. Rafael and Valerie have been together for three years now yet the former begged off to open up about marriage because he would rather keep the topic private.

He was obviously amused about his encounter with the centenarian Whang-od.

With the legendary Kalinga tribal tattoo artist Whang-od Oggay.

“We were there to shoot an episode for a series and she was also there. I’ve heard so much about her and my tattoo artist-friends from Europe they were like, ‘Uy, okay ‘yan because she’s like a national treasure in the Philippines.’ She’s the oldest and the last mambabatok, you know tattooing using bamboo. I think she just turned 102 years old. I wanted to have a picture with her.”

Rafael added that he was warned that Whang-od can be too “touchy” and he found it out to be true. “’Yun ang sabi nila ‘pag crush ka n’ya pero ako naman sabi ko wala yan. But when we’re about to have our picture taken, napansin ko ibang klase ‘yung smile n’ya tapos naramdaman ko may gumagapang dito sa tuhod ko and 1, 2, 3 tapos inagaw n’ya ang kay Valerie (laughs). That’s the real term — hinipuan, but I would call it more of an endearing touch from the elderly, hahahaha.”

Meanwhile, Rafael concluded the one-on-one interview by taking on the Fast Talk challenge. Read on.

Gubat? Siyudad?

“Gubat.”

Patintero? Agawan base?

“Agawan base.”

Ihaw? Prito?

“Ihaw.”

Hilaw? Hinog?

“Hinog.”

Sexy legs or sexy smile?

“Sexy smile.”

Yoga or surfing?

“Surfing.”

Cheeks or lips?

“Lips.”

Kathryn? Nadine? Liza?

“Liza (Soberano).”

Best reward after a long busy day?

“A good vegan meal.”

When are you most talkative?

“When I’m with my barkada.”

How do you deal with Metro Manila traffic?

“I listen to audio books.”

Yes or no — are you the jealous type?

“Yes.”

Biggest insecurity?

“May twang ako ‘pag nag-Ta-Tagalog.”

Sexiest part of your body?

“Eyes.”

Sexiest woman in the Philippines?

“Cherie Gil.”

Lights on or lights off?

“Dimmed.”

Sex or chocolates?

“Chocolate sex (laughs).”

Best time for chocolate sex?

“Anytime you feel like it, hahahaha.”