DREAM  FACATORY: ATHLETIC  GRETCHEN TO TRY HER LUCK IN SHOWBIZ

MANILA, March 23, 2006 (MALAYA) by MARIO BAUTISTA (“But honestly, I want to try showbiz muna so I’m hoping they’ll just give me an honorable discharge.” – Gretchen Malalad) 

THREE housemates left “Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition” last week. Gretchen Malalad was voted out on Wednesday. Roxanne Barcelo chose to leave last Friday to attend her graduation at Miriam College where she got a degree in Communication Arts. Rico Robles was voted out on Saturday getting only 28.3% of the texters votes, while co-nominees Zanjoe Marrudo got 39.7% and John Prats, 32%.

On Sunday, the remaining housemates made their nominations live in front of each other and now nominated for eviction are Zanjoe (6 votes), Bianca Gonzales (4), Budoy (4), and Rustom Padilla (3). One of them will be evicted this Wednesday and the last one will be on Saturday. We got to interview the three housemates who left and asked them who they want to win. Rico and Gretchen say they want Budoy to win. Roxy picks Bianca. But we made a survey among ordinary people and their choice is Keanna for being such a totoong tao.

As we’re having lunch with Roxy and Rico, it’s very obvious that Roxy is still very cold to him. We asked for a detailed history of what happened to them and here’s here personal account. "I was training as a DJ from April to January of last year at Monster Radio where he’s a DJ," she says. "He started courting me in December. By then, I just broke up with my boyfriend, Martin Gallego, in November. I must admit that I like him and was on the verge na sagutin siya when something happened. He saw ‘Narnia’ with me and my family. The next week, I found out he saw it again with his ex-girlfriend, Michelle, who he said already went to the US. I felt bad so lumayo na ko sa kanya. I erased his name from my phone and didn’t talk to him anymore until I saw him on my birthday, January 20, at the Dish where I was civil to him naman. We were together when we auditioned sa PBB in December at nauna siyang nakuha kaysa akin. He even told the interviewers na inspiration niya ako. It was only much later when ABS told me nakuha rin ako, noong hindi ko na siya binabati. Two days before we were launched on February 6, he called me up and said, ‘Are you also with PBB? Kasi, kung nandoon ka, I will back out.’ But he didn’t do it naman. Pagdating sa loob ng PBB, all of a sudden, he was professing na mahal na mahal niya ako. Then he was saying pinaasa ko siya, which I never did. All throughout, I gave him all the chances but I felt I was just being used."

So what would she do if ABS would now pair them in a project? "I’m professional so okay lang if that’s their decision. I can still work with him, pero trabaho lang."

What about Martin Gallego? "It was clear to him na break na kami since November. He said he was just trying to protect me when he got interviewed on TV but he didn’t mean to make it appear na on pa kami."

Is it because she’s already on with Luis Alandy? "I went out with Luis twice before I entered Bahay ni Kuya. I’ve known him in GMA-7 since I was 13 and he’s 18 at parang kuya ko siya roon. We met again in the shoot of the digital film, ‘Lambanog.’ I’m now 21 and he’s 25 and we’re still on the getting to know each other stage. Honestly, I don’t want to get into another relationship as PBB has opened new doors for me with ABS and I want to focus on my career muna."

Rico says it’s true he saw "Narnia" again with his ex-girlfriend but that doesn’t mean anything. "Selosa kasi si Roxy. This girl Michelle is 21 but orphaned by her dad at an early age. Her mom lives in the US and she’s rich so she squanders her own money. We were on for three months and I tried to help her to learn how to be more in control of her life, but we fight a lot as she really wastes so much money. She went to her mom in the US and that’s when I met Roxy. I fell in love not just with her but with her family. They’re very religious, I’m not, and they even helped me go back to confession. I was trying to explain that going out with Michelle is just a friendly thing but she wouldn’t listen anymore. The irony of it is that even Michelle likes Roxy for me. I’m not using her at all."

Will he still pursue wooing her now that they’re out of Kuya’s house? "Yes, I’d like to do that. But I can feel even her parents don’t like me anymore. They called me a stalker of Roxy. How can that be when we’re in the same house? But I have high respect for them and I really love their family."

Rico is a nursing graduate from MCU and he’s arranging for his acceptance at a hospital in the US when PBB came. The youngest of three kids, his eldest sister works at the Belaggio Hotel in Las Vegas. "Now, I want to try a showbiz career. I’m not going back to Monster Radio as ABS can help me reach a wider audience. I don’t mind being teamed up with Roxy in a show. I’m willing to start all over again just so we can be good friends again."

What can Gretchen say about the love-hate relationship between Roxy and Rico? "I wish they’d still patch things up kasi bagay naman sila, di ba?"

And most writers present agree with her. "Magkakatuluyan ang dalawang ‘yan eventually," they opine.

But Roxy cringes at the idea, even if she agreed to pose with Rico for a photo session with the press.

Gretchen is very good natured and she just laughed when asked about her rumored lesbian affair with Aleck Bovick. "You know what, I just went malling and had dinner with her last night," she says. "But we were with her boyfriend, Carlo Maceda, who turned out to be so mabait. When I found out may rumor na lesbian daw kami ni Aleck, pinagtawanan ko lang. I’m secure with my femininity. I’ve had two serious boyfriends before na parehong four years tumagal."

Gretchen joined Bb. Pilipinas in 2003 and won as Ms. Talent and Ms. Red Bull. How did she get into PBB? "ABS called me up. I just won then a gold medal in the SEA Games. Sabi ko, di ba sa artista lang ‘yan? And they said they want athletes, too. So ayun, nakuha ako. But I’m not familiar with PBB at all kasi, during the first batch, I was in Naples, Italy, for five months training in karate to prepare for the SEA Games. Kaya hindi ako masyadong familiar about the show."

So what’s her status now with the Philippine Air Force? "My case is ongoing so I’m not allowed to talk about it. Nagpaalam naman ako verbally, but they said I didn’t give them enough time’s notice. I’ve already reported back to work at nang kumain na uli ako sa karinderia namin, everybody now knows me. But honestly, I want to try showbiz muna so I’m hoping they’ll just give me an honorable discharge."

She actually did a good gesture for the Air Force when she sacrificed not going to sleep for 24 hours while dancing the ballet. "I got five TV sets from that and I gave them all to the barracks of the soldiers in Villamor Airbase."

She also lost her monthly stipend from the Philippine Sports Commission as a three-time karate gold medalist in the SEA Games when she became a housemate. "But I don’t regret joining PBB at all. I learned so much from the experience and now that a new career is before me, baka this is a new way for me to be able to help my family kasi konti lang naman ang kita ko before."