‘Doon siya based at dito naman ako, but so far, it works kasi either ako nagpupunta roon o siya ang nagpupunta rito. — Valerie Concepcion’
VALERIE Concepcion is back in a contravida role in the GMA afternoon drama, “Raising Mamay,” that airs this Monday. “My last regular soap with GMA was ‘Ika-5 Utos’ three years ago,” she says. “I was supposed in the soap with Jennylyn Mercado but she got pregnant, so it was shelved. It’s good ‘Raising Mamay’ came at may trabaho na ulit ako.”
What exactly is the role that she plays?
“Actually, very complicated ang role ko. Kasi contravida siya kay Miss Ai Ai de las Alas, and yet kawawa rin siya sa back story niya. Naanakan ako rito ni Antonio Aquitania, na husband ni Miss Ai Ai sa story. ‘Yung baby, ibinigay ko kay Antonio and ibinigay naman niya kay Miss Ai Ai without telling her na anak niya ito. She raised it as her own and named her Abigail, to be played by Kapuso teen star Shayne Sava. Ako naman, I married Gary Estrada who turns out to be a wife beater.”
Valerie married her non-showbiz husband Francis Sunga in a garden wedding in Silang, Cavite on December 28, 2019.
They were introduced by her cousin in 2017 and quickly clicked with each other. Heather Fiona, Valerie’s daughter from a previous relationship, approves of Francis as her stepfather. So how is their marriage doing now?
“Long-distance relationship pa rin po kami kasi his work is in Guam,” she says. “Doon siya based at dito naman ako, but so far, it works kasi either ako nagpupunta roon o siya ang nagpupunta rito. Ngayon naging busy ako taping ‘Raising Mamay,’ kaya siya muna ang bumibisita rito.”
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Allen Ansay was just the first runner-up in the last “Starstruck” artista search, but he is now given a lead role in “Raya Sirena” that airs this Sunday. He has definitely overtaken winner Kim de Leon who has yet to star and play a lead role in his own soap. What can Allen say about this?
“Hindi naman po pinababayaan ng GMA si Kim, magaganda rin ang roles na ibinibigay sa kanya like in ‘Agimat ng Agila’,” he says. “Sinuwerte lang po ako kasi napatambal ako kay Sofia Pablo at tinanggap ng viewers ang love team namin sa Tiktok and in ‘Prima Donnas.’
And now, we star in our own mini-series that started as an episode lang sa ‘Regal Studio Presents,’ but is now expanded at naging full series na.”
So what is the status between him and Sofia at this point?
“Sa ngayon, I can say that we really know each other well. But Sofia just turned 16 and we prefer to focus on our work muna.”
So when does he intend to seriously court Sofia? “Ah, siguro po, kapag 30 na ako.”
And what can Sofia say about this? “Nagulat nga po ako. Thirty? Akala ko kapag early 20s na kami,” she says.
“Hindi, I mean ‘yung 30, kasal na ‘yun,” Allen quips.
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Vince Rillon went to the Asian Film Fest in Rome the other week as his film with Brillante Mendoza, “Resbak,” was an entry. He was so surprised when he won as best actor.
“I didn’t have any expectations when we went there,” he says. “I’m just happy na nakarating ako sa Rome at nakapunta kami sa Vatican kasi pangarap ko talaga makapagsimba doon. Noong awards night, ang alam ko, si Direk Brillante ang bibigyan talaga ng lifetime achievement award so hindi na ako nagdamit ng formal. I was shocked when my name was called. I was speechless, hindi ako preparado kaya hindi ko alam ang sasabihin. Nag-thank you na lang ako kay Lord at kay Direk Brillante. While we were there, hindi pa nag-sink in sa akin na nanalo ako. Nang nakabalik na lang kami sa Pilipinas, dun ko pa lang na-realize na wow, nanalo nga pala ako.”
Vince now stars in the new Vivamax movie, “Kaliwaan,” about the wages of jealousy and infidelity. He plays a security guard whose girlfriend, AJ Raval, works in a spa. When he sees her in bed with a rich businessman, he mauls the man who goes into coma. It turns out the guy is a rich Muslim and his clan is soon hunting down Vince to kill him.
“Kaliwaan” will take viewers on a suspenseful ride with the thrilling story of sex, jealousy and violence. It starts streaming on Vivamax on April 29, 2022.
