MANILA, Philippines - “Look at my schedule, Mahal.”
Gina Pareño was pointing to the screen of her celfone calendar. It was marked by tapings, shootings, guestings, dubbings.
“See,” she scrolls back to her late June calendar of activities. “I alternate between shooting for Hating Kapatid (now showing in theaters) and taping for Kung Tayo’y Magkakalayo.”
She hardly slept for five days in a row from June 24 to 30. Her clothes for Hating Kapatid and Kung Tayo’y Magkakalayo never left her van. Her only concession to comfort — a water jug — was the only item Rose, her production assistant (PA) took from the van all this time.
Yet harassed is the last word to describe Gina’s looks. The Stars of 66 member has yet to visit Dr. Vicki Belo to alter a single part of her face. What gives?
Gina has an arsenal of stress busters at her beck and call.
High on the list are her five grandchildren, who know when to stay away from “Momsy” and when to invite her to Enchanted Kingdom.
“They sense when they’re not supposed to talk to me when I’m studying a difficult script,” reveals Gina. They’re so supportive,” she crows.
But once she has learned her role by heart, her grandkids know there’s no stopping Momsy from treating them to a day of fun at their favorite amusement park down South.
Another stress buster are pets. Gina dotes on her pair of Shih Tzus whom she treats like members of the family. In fact, the photo of one of them is her celfone’s wallpaper.
When typhoon Basyang hit Metro Manila on the eve of the Hating Kapatid presscon, Gina told reporters she had the car aircon turned on for an hour so her beloved pets can beat the heat while everyone was waiting for power to resume.
“I have eight pets, including dogs, cats and a bird,” she says with pride. We treat them as members of the family.
Gina adopted a stray cat which rubbed its body against her ankle while she and daughter Raquel were taking a bite in a Makati restaurant. Her dogs and cats are friends — not the mortal enemies they are supposed to be. Gina makes sure they live in harmony in her spacious home.
She herself is not the harried person one expects from someone hurrying and scurrying she does in-between sets. No stray hairs dangle on her forehead. Her clothes at the presscon mix and match — the sweater, the bag and her shoes were in hot pink.
“I plan,” she reveals. “I think of what I will wear four or five days ahead of the event.”
In fact, she already had a mental picture of how she would look at the recent premiere night of Hating Kapatid premiere night. She chose the clothes that brought out the best in her a few days before.
“I hate worrying about clothes and accessories at the last minute,” states Gina.
She knows how stressful it is to go to an event with the clothes you wore yesterday in one hand and the one you plan to wear on the other. So Gina devised a system.
“I put all the clothes I’m supposed to wear for a shoot in one bag, and for another shoot in another bag. I tell Rose that the clothes for this project are in the black bag and the other is in another bag of a different color. Everything is color-coded to save on time.”
Gina’s other time management technique is focus. She doesn’t go out of the house when she has scripts to study. It’s only after she has done her homework that Gina treats herself and her family to an outing of their choice.
It’s a case of life imitating art again in Viva Films’ Magkapatid. Gina plays sisters Judy Ann Santos and Sarah Geronimo’s doting grandma.
“The girls grew up with me because their OFW parents (played by Tonton Gutierrez and Cherry Pie Picache) entrusted them to me,” says Gina. “It’s a cute role because I am a cool lola here. I look after Judy Ann and Sarah’s characters.”
Knowing how devoted a grandma she is in real life, the role is a walk in the park for Gina. This explains the smile that never leaves her face; the lilt in her voice and the sparkle in her eyes.
She has even found the next Gina Pareño: Judy Ann and Sarah.
“They can switch from comedy to drama with ease,” Gina explains.
Gina also doffs her hat off to them, especially Sarah because “she’s a box-office star but doesn’t act like one. Para siyang neneng nene.”
Gina has seen stars come and go long enough to know who are real; who are not. She has weathered enough storms to know how she should rise on her feet again. She is in control of herself.
This, more than many acting trophy she has won so far, is the biggest feather on her cap.