Sarah Geronimo not
in a rush to fall in love

Also, now that she’d have to stop working, she has to worry where to get payments for the monthly amortizations of her house and two cars that are not yet fully paid. This would really be quite a problem so she’s hoping she can still work even if pregnant. But how, when she’s not feeling well most of the time?

Even her fans admit that they were taken by surprise by her "infanticipation." Someone told us they just made an email campaign asking GMA 7 to give her the "Dyesebel" or the new "Darna" role but with her being "bulky," this is definitely out of the picture. "Nanghihinayang nga po kami ng friends kong sumusuporta sa kanya," the girl fan says.

Jen herself feels bad that some quarters won’t stop in sowing intrigues her way, what with the insinuation that it’s really Mark Herras who sired her child and not Patrick Garcia. "Sana naman po, tigilan na nila," she wails. "Inamin na naman namin ni Patrick ang sitwasyon at alam ni Patrick na kanya ito. Patahimikin naman nila kami. Tama na po."

She was also aghast when some reporters asked where the baby was conceived. "Made in Boracay ba ‘yan nang magbakasyon kayo roon o dito sa Manila?" asked one reporter.

"Ano ba ‘yun? Respeto naman po. Sa amin na lang po ‘yun," was Jen’s reply, more evasive than ever.

Lightning struck twice for Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo. In 2006, their "Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo" became the Metro filmfest top grosser. They duplicated this in the recent 2007 filmfest with their "Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo" that has already earned P130 million, so far. One can say that they’re on a winning streak and really lucky in both love and career. We’ve seen "Sakal" and, although we find "Kasal" the more entertaining film, it does have its own engaging moments. It helps that you’ve seen "Kasal" to fully appreciate as it shows the continuing saga of Judy Ann (aka Juday) and Ryan as a newly married couple. They’re shown coping with various problems, like waking up late at night to tend to their baby, adjusting to the fact that they’re both busy with their respective careers, and also attending to the attention-getting needs of their respective moms, the tactless and flamboyant Belita (Gina Pareno) and the hypochondriac Charito (Gloria Diaz).

The first part is fast paced with short scenes so you won’t get bored, but the second half lags and the sequence shot on location in Barcelona, Spain (where the couple went on with their second honeymoon) really drags when the travelogue scenes are supposed to be added attractions. The Spanish actress they hired to play the girlfriend of Dominic Ochoa (Ryan’s friend who invited them there) is fat and it’s never mentioned what happened to them after they had a spat.

It’s not easy to do a sequel to an acclaimed and highly successful movie and writer-director Joey Reyes tried his best to duplicate the likeable qualities of the first one. But he’s not always successful as some supposedly funny scenes just don’t work, but still, the movie remains a heartwarming chronicle of the ups and downs in the life of a young married couple. What carries the film mainly is the fact that Juday and Ryan have perfect on-screen chemistry in the lead roles and deliver very relaxed performances in each other’s company, whether they do comic or dramatic scenes.

Star Cinema hosted a special dinner for them as victory party for the film’s success and as despedida since they left soon after for the film’s premiere nights in the US and the start of Juday’s five-day taping with Derek Ramsey for her new soap, "Habang May Buhay," in San Francisco. They just returned from Subic where they had a vacation with their three-year-old adopted child, Yohan, who enjoyed playing with the dolphins at Ocean Adventure there.

This early, Star Cinema wants them to do a third installment of the film. If the first one was abbreviated to "KKK" and the second one was "SSS," what would the next one be? "Siguro ‘XXX,’ para triple X na," Juday laughs.

Racer Gaby De La Merced got only P150,000 of her P600,000 prize as third placer in the "PBB Celebrity Edition 2" because she went out of Kuya’s house for two weeks to attend an international driver’s seminar in the US. "Okay lang po ‘yun, I don’t mind," she says when the four winners were formally presented to the press recently. "My goal then was magiging masaya na ako kundi ako ang unang mae-evict. I never thought I’d be part of the big four. But the things I learned and realized while I was inside Kuya’s house, okay na sa’kin ‘yun. I realized how much I love my family kasi we spent Christmas in ‘PBB’ and I missed my family so much. Dun ko na-realize I didn’t appreciate the little things they did for me when we were together. It meant a lot pala."

So will she now pursue a showbiz career? "I have no definite plans kasi I don’t know how to act, I can’t sing or dance. Ang puwede kong lang gawin is to host a show, sana a sports show like ‘yung kay Diane Castillejo. Maybe I can try acting also, but I have to take it one step at a time. Racing will still be my priority."

Why did she get mad with Baron Geisler after he got drunk for the second time? Gaby says, "Actually, hindi naman ako galit sa kanya. It’s a mixture of different emotions: Sad, frustrated, inis na rin kasi I really got close to him. At nag-usap na kami. Very positive na siya that he can change for the better. We were all supporting him and I felt he didn’t control himself from getting drunk again. When I saw the video na lasing siya, I felt sad for him. But we’re okay now. We’ve talked na and I really wish him the best."

She posed before for FHM. Will she be ready to be more daring now? "No. What I did then, that’s the most daring I can go. I felt good about myself after I did that pictorial kasi they were trying to convince to show more, but I stood my ground," she says.

How come she’s been linked before with Onemig Bondoc, Diether Ocampo, and Derek Ramsey?

"Ano ba yun? Friends ko lang sila. I haven’t even talked to Onemig for a long time now," says Gaby. "Si Diet naman, I’ve known him for ages pero close friends lang talaga kami dahil we like the same kind of music. As for Derek, we were together in football, then I introduced him sa frisbee at nagustuhan niya ang sport."

Erik Santos has no Valentine this coming day of hearts, but last year was very memorable for him as he was still on then with Rufa Mae Quinto. "I made it very special for her," he beams. "We were together sa labas and while she’s out, pinalagyan ko ng flowers ang buong bahay niya, with balloons and stuffed toys. Then, the way to her bedroom pinalagyan ko ng rose petals and candles. When we got home, she saw my surprise for her and she cried."

Does he miss her? "Oh yes, hindi naman basta malilimutan ‘yon. But we’ve both moved on."

But Erik has a Valentine concert at the Big Dome with co-champions Sarah Geronimo, Rachel Ann Go, and Christian Bautista. At its presscon, Sarah says she’s tired of writers asking her as to when she’ll have a boyfriend. "I really don’t know why they’re rushing me," she sighs. "I don’t want naman to have a boyfriend para masabi ko lang na nagka-boyfriend na ako. Also, 19 pa lang naman ako. Mahaba pa ang tatakbuhin ng buhay ko at hindi naman siguro ako mauubusan."

How can she sing love songs with so much emotion when she has never been in love? "It’s just like acting. All you have to do is internalize the lyrics. In love naman ako with my career and with my family."

Meanwhile, Sarah is happy that the construction of her dream house for her family, somewhere in Tandang Sora in Quezon City, has been completed. They used to just rent a small apartment in Sta. Cruz, Manila. Now, they have a big house with a separate room for each member of their family and with a swimming pool at that.

"It’s the product of all the hard work that I do and since I won sa ‘Star for a Night’ when I was 14," she says. "Hindi pa kumpleto lahat ng gamit at appliances, but the important thing is that the house is our own and it was paid on a cash basis. I can proudly say na wala akong utang kahit kanino. Ni hindi ako nag-loan sa bank just to finish it."

This coming Valentine, Sarah is joining Erik, Christian, and Rachel Ann at the Araneta Coliseum for the "All 4 Love" show on February 13. "It’s going to be a night of love songs and we’ll sing songs about the various phases of love from courtship to breaking up," she says.

Why is she performing with three other singers when she has proven she can do solo shows at the Big Dome and fill it up? "Aba, siyempre, masarap din ‘yung marami kayong nagpe-perform," says Sarah. "We get to bond well with each other and become better friends habang pinapasaya namin ang audience."

"All 4 Love" is produced by "ASAP Live,"with Pooh and G-Force Dancers a guests. For tickets, call Araneta or Ticketnet at 911-5555.

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