STUDIO  WHISPERS:  KEANNA  STARTS  LIFE  ANEW

MANILA, APRIL 5, 2006 (MALAYA) by ETHEL  RAMOS (“I hope I can leave behind everything about my past.Although I must admit that I did learn a lot from it.” — Keanna Reeves)

KEANNA Reeves admitted that her stint in Bahay ni Kuya as a “Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition” housemate did her good. She now has the respect she never thought she’d ever have. This was proven by the almost 600,000 text votes she garnered at the “PBB Celebrity Edition Finals” which won her the top prize. Keanna kept saying, “It’s too good to be true.”

Indeed, it is. Everyone is aware of Keanna’s past. She had confessed on national TV that she was an escort girl. She revealed that she went out with clients and did "things" with them which she’d rather not reveal in public.

For her expose, she was invited by the Senate Committee and asked to name names, as she mentioned that some of her clients were politicians. But she proved even then that she is no "kiss and tell."

Gabriela, a popular women-focused organization, backed her up. No wonder that she chose the said organization to be the beneficiary of P1 million, which is equivalent to the cash prize she received as the champion of PBB.

Other prizes she received included an entertainment showcase courtesy of PROMAC and a unit in a plush condominium in Metro Manila.

Asked why she thought she won, she replied: "Siguro dahil nagpakatotoo ako."

The public who religiously viewed the "PBB Celebrity Edition" discovered a lot of good and not-so-good traits about Keanna and her fellow 13 housemates during the days they were inside Big Brother’s house. In Keanna, they discovered that despite her past, she can be both intense and outspoken and at the same time motherly. She also has the patience to listen. Rustom must have seen these wonderful traits in her when he chose to confess to her that he is gay. Keanna was not only understanding, she was also supportive at that time.

She said, "Talagang my heart went out to him habang ipinagtatapat niya sa akin ang tungkol sa kanyang kasarian.

"Ganunpaman, nang mga sumunod na araw, binanggit ko sa kanyang I can make myself available to him dahil when you get to think of it, naranasan na niya ang maging tunay na lalaki. Kaya, it’s just a matter of getting used to being one again.

"Pero, sabi niya, don’t confuse me.

"Truth to tell, kahit ngayong nabanggit na niya sa akin at sa buong mundo ang katotohanan tungkol sa gender niya, crush ko pa rin si Russ (her pet name for Rustom)," she stated.

Keanna said that she didn’t have the chance to explain clearly why she had to say such things to Mich, the self-confessed spoiled brat-housemate in Bahay ni Kuya who voluntarily went out from the house.

She explained: "Ang totoo niyan, nainis ako sa kanya. She wanted me for a friend from among our other housemates. At OK din sana sa akin. Kaso, ang gusto niya, di na ako makipagkaibigan sa iba. Bakit?

"Since then, parang nag-iba na ang pagtingin niya sa akin," she revealed.

Deep in her heart, she hopes to maintain her friendship with all her housemates even now that they are out of Kuya’s house.

What does she plan to do with the P 1 million? She never thought she would get this big amount in just two months of staying inside Big Brother’s house.

"I will deposit it in a trust fund for my two sons," she answered. "This will be for their future."

She has to two sons, ages 17 and 7, by her former husband. Keanna is Janet Derecho Dutarte in real life.

"I married him when I was 17," she related. "In my husband, parang nakakita ako ng taong magbabangon sa akin sa hirap. I came from a poor family in Danao, Cebu City. ‘Yong klase ng paghihirap na kahit laruan ‘di kami maka-afford ibili ng aking mga magulang.

"My husband did give me a good life. But he was the jealous type. And he beat me every time nagseselos siya na ‘di ko naman ginagawa," she related.

After her second son was born, she decided to go to Manila, leaving behind her two sons with her husband. "That was a decision na pinag-isipan ko. With my husband, kahit papaano, alam kong may magandang buhay ang mga anak ko. With me, makikipagsapalaran ako sa Maynila.

"And true enough, life didn’t prove easy for me here in Manila. Kung ilang buwan akong nagpalaboy-laboy. Nakikitira kung kani-kanino until I was convinced to be an escort girl.

"I hope I can leave behind everything about my past. Although I must admit that I did learn a lot from it," she declared with a smile.