KRIS KRINGLE

MANILA, December 21, 2003  (STAR) CONVERSATIONS With Ricky Lo - This the whole world knows: When Kris Aquino opens her mouth, everbody listens. It’s short of saying that when Kris sneezes, the world – okay, the whole country – catches cold. Achooo!!!

A few days ago during the presscon for her 2003 Metro Filmfest strarrer, Regal Films’ Mano Po 2, Kris was caught with her foot in her mouth – again – and the reverberations were heard round the world.

Did she say that she and former(?) boyfriend Joey Marquez were "in touch" again, hinting at a reconciliation after that bitter public fight, waged on national television, that made STD part of everyday vocabulary?

Did Kris say that she was giving Joey "three conditions" for a possible reconciliation (including, 1) For Joey to talk to Kris’ Mom, former President Cory Aquino, 2) for Joey to talk to Kris’ brother, Tarlac Rep. Noynoy Aquino, and 3) for Joey to present proof (in black and white) that he and estranged wife Alma Moreno are "divorced"?

Tall order, those, ’no?

Admitting that she still "loves" Joey (because they also shared happy times), Kris would backtrack two days later on her show Morning Girls and say that her separation from Joey is final, that there’s no turning back, otherwise she would have to choose between Joey and people who care and love her (foremost of whom is Tita Cory). She said she’d rather choose those whose loyalty she’s sure of, forever and ever.

This much is true: Kris is talking with Joey, all right, but it isn’t about "reconciliation". It’s about something tangible which Kris requested Conversations to keep "off the record."

And these, too:

• She and son Joshua did stay in her new house on Hillsborough St. in Ayala Alabang for three months but they’re moving on Dec. 23 (Tuesday) to a "service apartment" (its like a hotel) and live there for a year before she decides to move to a permanent residence. "We were supposed to move on Dec. 14 but then pababa ang buwan, masama daw ’yon, di ba?" The Hillsborough house has been sold.

• Effective today, Kris is returning to The Buzz (the ABS-CBN Sunday show) as Boy Abunda’s co-host after an absence of three weeks. "I missed the show," Kris admitted. "I missed the people in it and I’m sure they missed me, too. I missed dressing up, something I can’t do on Morning Girls because it’s a morning show and you just have to be casual. Mababaw na reason, ’no?"

During those three "Buzz-less" weeks, according to Kris, "I realized how much I missed the show. But the good thing is that I was able to finish my scenes in Mano Po 2 during those three weekends."

Kris sat down for a Conversation three days ago, tackling the three fields she’s prominently figuring in these days – her career, politics and her love life. As usual, everybody is welcome to eavesdrop. Achooo!!!

How will you spend Christmas this year?

"As usual... Noche Buena with my Mom and the rest of the family. Josh and I will go to my Mom’s house at 7 p.m. after the Parade of Stars. Mass is at about that time. And then, dinner. The usual handa, you know: Corned Beef, ’yung totoo; Pasta, with two different sauces, luto ng Mom ko; Roast Turkey; Callos, also done by my Mom; and Lechon. Same food we’ve been eating every Noche Buena through the years. Nothing has changed."

Will it be the usual Merry Christmas for you?

"I usually work so hard every day before Christmas, doing advance episodes for my show(s), that by the time Christmas comes around all I can think of is rest."

Have you gone through the usual Christmas routine – you know, shopping, gift-wrapping, etc.

"All done. I’ve distributed the gifts to my staff. I gave them wallets, shoes, cellphones and red envelopes."

What’s your gift to your Mom?

"Surprise! I’m giving it to her on Christmas Eve. She reads The STAR and if I tell you, it won’t be a surprise anymore."

Any clue?

"Basta. Magugulat ang Mom ko."

To Joshua?

"He asked for a swimming pool. I can’t afford to buy one but in the place we are moving to, there’s a swimming pool. That’s my gift to him. He already got his new shoes and his new clothes. I also asked him where he wanted to have a vacation, Hong Kong or Singapore? He chose Hong Kong."

To, ehem, Joey?

"My best wishes that he wins when he runs for Congress."

What about yourself?

"Off the record!" (Clue: It’s mobile.)

Okay, we’ll talk about your career, politics and your lovelife. We’ll start with your career. How’s your role in Mano Po 2 compared to Mano Po 1 (for which she won several awards as Best Supporting Actress)?

"I have less exposure, a maximum siguro of 14 to 16 minutes of screening time. In Mano Po 1, I played one of the three children. In Mano Po 2, I play one of (Christopher de Leon’s) three wives (the two others are Lorna Tolentino and Zsa Zsa Padilla). In order for you to understand the story of Sol, played by Tita Susan (Roces), you have to see my part which shows what she went through that led to her estrangement from Antonio (Christopher). I play the young Tita Susan. I think emotionally, mas powerful ’yung character ko. Mother (Lily) told me that when she watched the rushes, she kept identifying my character with my real self, especially in that scene where I’m bidding my mother goodbye and I’m having a confrontation with Christopher. ’Yung anak na buhat-buhat ko (Lean, who grew up to be Cogie Domingo) ay mataba at nakikita daw ni Mother si Josh."

Wow, heavy!

"Even Tita Susan said that all the emotional highlights of her role happened during my time. Coming from her, it’s such a compliment."

What’s your most memorable scene?

"The scene in the hospital where Janet (Carmina Villarroel, also playing her daughter) is wheelchair-bound due to an accident. When I broke up with Antonio, kasama ko ang mga bata, Janet/Carmina ran off and she got hit by a jeepney. In that scene, Antonio arrives in the hospital confronting me, accusing me that Lean was not his child. Grabe ang eksenang ’yon because Antonio/Christopher made duro-duro the child. It’s a powerful scene as I try to shield the child and myself and save my dignity. And then, Antonio/Christopher throws me bodily out of the hospital room."

Has a similar scene happened to you in real life?

"During my breakdown scene, Tito Boots (Plata, the motivator) kept telling me, ‘Sumabog ang tiyan ni Joshua. Alalahanin mo noong nasagasaan si Joshua.’ So I visualized that scene and as Tito Boots kept repeating it – ‘Think of Joshua, think of Joshua!’ – I got angry with him at nag-aaway na kami. But the most touching part of the movie, at least while I was reading the script, is when Christopher apologizes to Lean through a letter for, he writes, ‘all the years that we lost because I did not believe you’re mine. Now I believe you’re mine and I’m so sorry.’ It’s very touching’."

You’re under great emotional stress during the shooting. Did it help you flesh out your character? Was it some kind of a therapy for you?

"Oh, no, I hated it! With me, ang therapy is to forget. During the shooting, I was kind of re-living the past and I hated it. I’m an Aquarian. I move on. Once I talk about it, that’s it. I forget it and start to move on."

You once said that Mano Po 2 was your last movie...

"...You know, I said it only because I was tired then. We’d shoot and shoot overnight all the time and they let me go home at 8 in the morning and I hated it. So I said, ‘Mano Po 2 is my last movie.’ I didn’t mean it."

What’s your next movie?

"Maybe Single Mom, also for Regal. But until shooting starts, ayokong umasa. You know naman how Mother is, ano!"

Okay, we’re through with your career. Let’s talk politics. Have you made up your mind which Presidential candidate you’re supporting in 2004?

"No, not yet. I haven’t made up my mind. Is that a safe enough answer?"

Safe enough, so far.

"But for sure, once I make a choice I will make provincial appearances for him."

Your dinner with Ping (Lacson). Was it something "social" or something political?

"There was nothing political about it, really. Ping and I have the same lawyer, Sigfrid Fortun. He told me, ‘Why don’t you meet him so you can decide after?’ In fairness, I personally like Ping because he’s a straight talker, derecho siya tumingin, derecho makipag-usap. I was very impressed. He told me, ‘Ask me anything and I’ll answer it.’ So I did."

What did you ask him?

"I asked him, ‘How do you react when people say na nagmi-make-up ka?’ he got a napkin, wiped his face and said, ‘O, may make-up ba ako?’ Then he said, ‘Pinupulbusan lang ako when I make a TV appearance.’ I asked him about other things."

About accusations that he’s a "killer"?

"No, I didn’t ask him about that. But I asked him if it was true that he has hundreds of millions of dollars stashed away in banks in America. Mga ganoon. In fairness to him talaga, he was convincing and impressive."

Really?

"Yeah. I was convinced. I also asked him why he endorsed an alcoholic beverage (Vos Brandy). Sabi ko, ‘You don’t drink, do you?’ Sabi niya, ‘Sayang ’yung TF (Talent Fee).’ He was honest."

Did you ask him how much he was paid for it?

"No, I didn’t ask him."

Were you really offered P50 million by Ping to endorse to him?

"No. I wish!"

What about President GMA? Is it true that she also offered you the same amount to endorse her?

"No. I wish!"

Do the Aquinos go solid – you know, rooting and voting for the same candidate?

"No. Magkaaway na nga kami ni Noynoy, di ba? Just the fact na nakipag-dinner ako kay Ping, galit na galit na si Noynoy sa akin. We’ve never been solid."

Does it follow that your mom’s choice will also be your choice?

No. Not necessarily. My Mom has been very clear that she’s not endorsing anybody and that she’ll just go around working for clean elections."

What if she makes a request, if she makes pakiusap that you go with her choice?

"Ang pakiusap niya is, ‘Please, don’t get involved na lang.’ I told her, ‘Mom, hindi naman puwedeng hindi ako ma-involve.’ She said, ‘Bahala ka na nga!’ She said that."

I’m sure you’re being wooed by all the parties to run – for Senator maybe?

"No comment."

Tell me. Is there any offer for you to run?

"Well, if I buy a house in Quezon City..."

Uy, as Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte’s running-mate?

"Of course, not! You know, we were calculating the age of Tito Sonny. He can run for two more terms; he’s good until 2010. We were kidding around, ‘Maybe I should buy a house in Acropolis or in Green Meadows so I can run for Mayor in Quezon City."

Oh, talaga?

"Sabi ko, given a choice, I’d rather live in Makati now – for 2004. But I think (Makati Mayor Jojo) Binay is unbeatable in the same way that Tito Sonny is unbeatable in Quezon City. You know, more than being in the Senate, I’d love to be a mayor. I think I’ll make a good mayor."

Now, about your love life.

"Hmmmmm. I don’t like to talk about it."

Once and for all. What’s the status between you and Joey?

"Two sentences, okay?"

Okay. Two complex sentences.

"This is the truth: I always say and I always told him, ‘How can you look forward to a future if there are so many unresolved things in your past and there are still so many things to be resolved in the present?’ Di ba?"

Unresolved things?

"Yeah. For both of us... I think. I’ve said this many times, ‘I think I loved you more than I loved anybody and yet, hindi buo ’yung tiwala ko sa’yo.’ I think trust is much harder to gain. I think from the start we had trust issues between the two of us. I was able to tell him this recently, ‘You know, there was a time na sana we have never met in the first place.’ Now, I’ve reached a point where I have accepted the fact that maybe we’re just not meant for each other but it doesn’t mean that I don’t wish him well. Dati, I was bitter. Sabi ko, ‘I hope he’ll suffer in the way that my heart was crushed into a million pieces.’ Now, the bitterness is gone and I can honestly tell him, ‘I wish you well.’ Yeah, I mean it!"

I can believe you, knowing you to be the kind of person who doesn’t hold grudges (hindi marunong magtanim ng galit).

"Remember the book Five People You Meet in Heaven (by Mitch Albom) that you gave me as pasalubong? It had a cleansing and cathartic effect on me, especially the story of Margaret, the love of the main character’s life. Di ba Margaret is one of the five people he meets in heaven? Matagal silang together on earth but there were unresolved things between them. He lived his life after losing her with so much pain because he forgot to remember the happiness."

I didn’t know that that book did a lot in helping you sort out unresolved things in your own life.

"You see, I finally was able to say that all my life I barely tried to run away from memories. It’s bad. I don’t like dwelling on the years in Fort Bonifacio (where her father, Ninoy, was imprisoned) but I love remembering what happened in Boston, kasi happy memories, e. Ask me about my Dad’s assassination and I clam up. I don’t feel comfortable talking about that. I don’t feel comfortable about the time I was expecting Josh. I don’t feel comfortable talking about the break-up. I tried to discard all those bad memories."

There. More than two complex sentences. You have such selective memory.

"I’m like that. I get rid of the furniture that reminds me of bad memories. ’Yung mga ganoon. I try to block everything out. I realized that it’s wrong. It was that book that taught me, ‘Bring the memories with you.’ I was bringing the good memories with me. I realized that it wasn’t all bad, otherwise it wouldn’t have lasted that long. The book says, ‘Everybody you encounter, whether you realize it or not, has a profound purpose in your life.’ ’Yung kay Joey, I know that he was there for a reason. Di ba when you keep going against the tide mapapagod ka rin? So why not go with the flow every now and then?"

You are not afraid to fall in love again, are you?

"Of course, not! I hope to fall in love with someone who really loves me and who I will love back, someone who loves Josh. One thing na hindi ko maipintas kay Joey... He really loves Josh. He’s very kind to Josh, to kids."

So it’s clear that you have started talking to each other again but you didn’t reconcile.

"No more. I’ve stopped talking to him already. I guess, ’yon na ang closure."

Oops! Easier said than done. If I know, you will reconnect sooner or later.

"A, hindi na. Tapos na talaga. Alam mo, in our country, in the mind of everybody natutuldukan lang (ang isang relasyon) when you’re seen with somebody new. I hope he’ll be seen with somebody new and I’ll be seen with somebody new para matuldukan na ang estorya naming dalawa."

Do you have any idea of your Mr. Right?

(Thinks awhile) "Ayoko sabihin! He might be pressured at hindi na siya sumipot. Honest to God, at this point I don’t think about it. Wala talaga. There’s nobody that I’m thinking of, there’s nobody na nagpaparamdam."

Baka naman you’ve developed a phobia for falling in love again?

"No. I like loving. Kaya lang, after everything that happened kasi, I’ve become a much more loving mom. Ngayon ko naramdaman na at least kay Josh, lahat ng pagmamahal na ibinibigay ko sinusuklian ng 100 percent. And I know that Josh adores me. When he looks at me and hugs and kisses me, ang feeling ko ako ang pinaka-magandang babae sa buong mundo."

Can you live without a man?

"No, I can’t. I want to grow old with a partner. But now, yes – because I’m so busy. You know, when I go to Mass I love to see old couples who are still together. Nakakainggit, di ba? ’Yon ang achievement talaga, di ba?"

Okay. What’s your Christmas wish?

"I want Mano Po 2 to make money, na mag No. 1 like Mano Po 1."

Uy, very PR!

"I wish people I love all the best and for my Mom to stay healthy kasi she’ll be 71 (on Jan. 25 next year). And for Josh’s condition to improve. He’s improving now, thank God! Sana tuluy-tuloy na. For Korina (Sanchez, her Morning Girls co-host) to get married. I wish that Zsa Zsing (Zsa Zsa Padilla) will be able to get married. For Deo (Endrinal, her manager) and Tatus (Aldana, one of her closest friends) to lose weight and stay healthy. Na sana magkaroon na ng sariling bahay si Boy (Abunda) so he won’t be renting."

What’s the best lesson that you learned from your recent experience?

"In order to forgive others, forgive yourself first."