My 20 most memorable interviews for The STAR

(Conclusion)

And so it finally happened – the 20th anniversary party of The Philippine STAR held last Friday at the Rizal Ballroom of the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. Although it took me two hours to get there from Greenhills, it was worth the trip because it was The Event – with everyone from this town showing up to party.

As I said hello to people I know, people I hardly know and people I just met there (I swear I bumped into everyone that night), I got a lot of questions regarding my 20 Most Memorable Interviews for The STAR. Mostly, they asked for the rest of the list. But given that party atmosphere, I was unable to remember anything related to work. And now that I’m finally sober. Here is the conclusion of my list of 20 most memorable interviews for The Philippine STAR.

Nora Aunor – This interview was conducted at the superstar’s home – in one of those townhouses along Ortigas Ave. Prior to the interview, other people warned me that I’d be made to wait for a long time. That didn’t happen – only 20 minutes. (But during the third episode of Showbiz Lingo about a year later, she didn’t show up – and she was the only guest scheduled for the entire show!)

When Nora finally emerged from her bedroom, she ushered me into her music room where we did the interview. She traced her roots – from childhood all the way to the time she became a young superstar.

It was just the two of us in that room and for some reason she felt free to bare her soul to a relative stranger like me (we were just in the getting-to-know each other stage then). She poured out all her pains and her heartaches – from her poverty (although that wasn’t too painful for her because I don’t think she is a materialistic person) to the time ex-leading man Manny de Leon told her that he didn’t really love her and was just forced to date her because that was dictated by the studio.

There were also other people who used her, took advantage of her and made a lot of money out of her talent and didn’t even compensate her well – or at all.

Thanks to that late afternoon interview, I finally understood the enigma that is Nora Aunor.

Joey Albert – Years before the public learned about Joey’s illness (cancer of something – it kept moving, I think), I had already written about it for this paper. In fact, even before the illness was detected, I had already reported about it. How did that happen? Joey already anticipated it because of this strange colon defect that hits only members of the Albert family. (In medical books, it’s called Albert’s colon.) Although she wasn’t supposed to talk about it, I was able to force the information out of her until she told me all her fears in life – and that was the dreaded illness.

It all started I think when I asked her to talk about one of her great-grandfather – Dr. Jose Albert – who was famous for his research on beri-beri. She was surprised that I knew her great-grandfather. Little did she know that instead of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, I read about eminent Filipinos as a child (I was a weird kid) and that was how I was introduced to the accomplishments of Dr. Jose Albert, who was also imprisoned for his participation in the propaganda movements against Spain.

Two years ago, Joey – who is based in Canada – returned to Manila to do a show and launch a CD and I was able to interview her again for Startalk and this paper. She was doing well and was completely healed. I really wish her the best of health because she is a very nice and sweet person and we need more people like her for this world to be a better place to live in.

Janice de Belen – I interviewed her for The Philippine STAR in the early ’90s and I was surprised that she remembered me from way back – when we were doing volunteer work during a Mayon Volcano eruption. She was way past Flordeluna that time and was already doing teen romances on the big screen (in fact, she was then two years away from being a teenage mother) when we met in Albay, but she remembered me – and I was so impressed.

Today, Janice and I see each other when I guest in Sis and though I’m equally fond of Gellie de Belen and Carmina Villarroel, my conversations with Janice I consider special. We may not be close friends, but our conversations are on the mature level.

Dr. Vicki Belo – For quite some time I resented her because she once gave a scoop to Startalk (I was with rival Showbiz Lingo then) and never forgave her for that.

When I moved to Startalk, however, there was no escaping her because she was then the best friend of Rosanna Roces. For a year, I was able to avoid her because I’d stay in the studio and she and Osang would only chat in the talent room (besides, Dr. Belo didn’t have all the time in the world to visit and wasn’t in GMA 7 that often).

But one Saturday, when I got to the studio, she was there and Osang introduced her to me. That was the first time I saw her in person and I thought she looked a lot prettier in the flesh. And she was very charming. I melted that instant. She has won over me.

Then came the time Osang asked me to interview her for this paper. The three of us met in Red Crab in Tomas Morato and after Osang left, Dr. Belo and I resumed the interview and we bonded very well – like we had known each other for years and years.

We have maintained that friendship and I’ve discovered that she is a very sincere person and a caring friend. Through her, I also continue to learn about the virtue of hard work because her success didn’t come that easy. She may have a lot of competition now, but she’s always ahead of the game.

I guess another reason for her success is the fact that she has never stepped on anyone (or used anybody) to get to the top of the race and for that she is forever blessed. As for me, her friendship is one of the great blessings I have received in this life.

Joey de Leon – All those years, I’ve always wanted to interview Joey de Leon, but this never happened until 2004 – when he was about to launch a new CD called Joey to the World. That time, Joey was already doing guest co-hosting stints for Startalk and we were already more or less familiar with each other.

What was wonderful about that interview was that we were able to recreate a portion of Philippine TV history and one of these days we should sit down and write it together – while we still remember details.

Having already spent close to 40 years on TV, Joey is one of my idols and having sat down and interviewed him for The Philippine STAR was indeed a privilege. And now, I do Startalk with him regularly every Saturday and, frankly there’s nothing for me to ask for in this life.