NEWSFLASH

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CAREER OVER LOVE FOR ANGELU

Manila, Jan. 16, 1998 - Angelu de Leon, she whose "new Susan Roces" image was tainted by a Christmas Eve gun-poking incident involving her Mom and her boyfriend Joko Diaz, has emerged from the crisis with a new determination: it's career first before love.

In an interview with Malaya published today, Angelu admitted that she tried to do things her way over her Mom's objections, but now finds that she really still needs her mother's guidance.

"I knew how mature I was, but I'm still a babe in the woods," said the 18-year-old actress.

Angelu apologized to the people she had hurt -- her Mom, fans and her bosses at Viva. She has gone as far as to promise to respect her mother's desire not to see, call or even send a beeper message to Joko, an unwed father of two children..

"I don't regret anything. But I would not say it was love," Angelu now says of her relationship with the son of veteran actor Paquito Diaz.

"It was more of a feeling of understanding, understanding a friend like Joko, who can be tough yet sensitive," Angelu adds.

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