2013 eventful for Angelica

This has been an eventful year for Angelica Panganiban. Although she experienced some personal setbacks (like the death of her adoptive mother Melania David Panganiban last May) and being in Bohol when the recent earthquake struck, she knows she still has a lot to be thankful for.

At first, she wasn’t that interested in celebrating her birthday last Nov. 4. “As my friends said, I have to celebrate because it’s been a good year… pero inisip ko yung mga magandang nangyari, tapos sabi ko sa sarili ko, ‘Ano ba ‘yon?’ Because my mommy passed away last May, I experienced the earthquake last October, so I didn’t want to celebrate,” says Angelica.

But after thinking about it, she realized that escaping the Bohol earthquake was the start of a second, better life for her — and that was something that called for even a small celebration. After all, it’s not every day that one receives a second lease on life.

That time, with the buildings around her collapsing and the ground shaking underneath her feet, Angelica was almost certain they were going to die. They had a lot of anxious moments, especially trying to get out of Bohol. They made it to Cebu, but their flight to Manila was delayed several hours because planes could not take off safely due to the aftershocks, which were coming one after the other. Meanwhile, John Lloyd Cruz was waiting at the airport in Manila. When Angelica and her group finally made it back, there was a deep sense of relief for both of them.

Days later, she changed her mindset. “After Bohol, I started to look at things in a positive way; I changed my negative thoughts. I told myself, this is my second life so I have to celebrate. And I think yung pagkamatay ng mommy ko, sabi ko, kailangan ko na siyang tanggapin na celebration din ‘yun — celebration of life. Tapos na ang buhay niya sa earth. Masaya na siya ngayon, and dapat, masaya din ako para sa kanya.”

So she hosted a small dinner party to which she invited her close friends, including Bea Alonzo, and the Banana Split cast who had been with her in Bohol. Things were okay for a while, then Typhoon Yolanda struck, and Angelica found herself having to deal with the trauma all over again. “I couldn’t sleep, I got very scared,” she recalls. “Feeling ko, naiiyak ako, kung ano yung takot na naramdaman ko sa Bohol, ganoon din ito.”

These tragedies affected her deeply — so deeply that even up to now, she still feels her own “aftershocks”. During the recent launch of her latest endorsement for Excelente brandy at One Esplanade, Angelica was standing onstage, being introduced by hosts Ramon Bautista and Grace Lee, when she felt the stage shake slightly because of the vibrations coming from the large speakers that were very near them. “Earlier, on stage, the sounds were so loud that the floor shook,” says Angelica.

But she managed to stand her ground and made it through the event as if nothing had happened. The Excelente brandy launch is Angelica’s second tri-media campaign, and its “good shots” theme is something close to her heart. The product, she says, does not mean to encourage heavy drinking, but is more along the lines of celebrating with family and friends. Angelica is always very careful about choosing her endorsements, and when Excelente approached her, she made sure that it was clear what approach the campaign was going to take. “I’m very careful, especially when it comes to endorsing a liquor product, especially since people here are still quite conservative. Naging malinaw naman nung tinanggap ko kung paano ang approach na mangyayari, nung malaman ko na barkada, masaya lang, gaya ng commercial, okay sa akin ‘yun.”

Aside from her new endorsement, Angelica is also doing well with her career. She was named Best Actress in the recent Cinema One Originals Film Festival (Plus Category) for her role in “Alamat ni China Doll. She is also slated to do a movie opposite Gerald Anderson, a heavy drama to be directed by Ruel Bayani. As for her personal life, her relationship with John Lloyd is also okay. Marriage? Not yet, as Angelica — who planned on getting married maybe (and that’s still an “if”) when she’s 28, is only 27 years old. “When I was younger, I wanted to get married at the age of 28 so by the time I’m 30, I’ll have kids. Gusto ko kasi mag-enjoy muna ng buhay mag asawa,” she says.