But when I moved to Manila, it was like, “You need to be fluent in English. If you have an interview, you have to…” Right? My daughter actually teaches me now. Zia teaches me. That is so good! Right? I told myself, this is where I’m comfortable. Sometimes, when Dong and I talk, I tell him about it. That’s why I love my husband so much.

He tells me, “No, we love you for who you are. You don’t have to change.” ut he also says, “If you really want to improve your English, why not? ” “There are many teachers out there who can teach you.” But I’m not really into that. I feel like I’m okay as I am because this is where I’m comfortable. But I can try if you want! You can ask me, and I can speak in English.

[Laughs] I even told my daughter, “My weakness is yours to make up for.” Because my daughter— wow, she’s super fluent in English, with a British accent! It’s crazy. That’s funny. “Just put my things in a bin.” What bin? Turns out, she meant ‘cabin!’ Oh my God, Zia. I learn so much from my daughter, really. How are you as a wife? Are you super watchful? Oh, no.

Even if you ask Dong, when we were just boyfriend and girlfriend, we never checked each other’s phones. I never called him like, “What are you doing? Who are you with? What are you eating?” Never—not when we were dating, and not even now. What about him? Does he check on you? Sometimes. Sometimes. – Really? – Yes.

Why? He’s protective. He always wants me to be secure, to be okay. He would never leave me somewhere unless he knows I’m safe. “I found the reason why I was born, and that is to love, and to love greatly.” Thank you, because you are the answer to all my prayers. Thank you, because you completed the meaning of true life.

You’re a powerhouse.  He is my… That’s his personality. And through our experiences as a couple, his character was honed even more. Especially now that she’s a mother and having experienced all the success in terms of her career, it’s like she matured as a person. – Into the woman that she is now.

– Because before I was immature? We all are like that. But through the years, especially now, her identity has become sharper because of all the opportunities she’s had. How many years were you boyfriend and girlfriend? – I honestly don’t know anymore. – Married for 10. Married for 10. And… maybe together around 6 years before we got married.

Something like that. How did you know she was the one? Oh, right away. Right away. I’ll throw this at you. [Laughs] The first time I saw her. I’ll treat you to lunch. Then treat me to papaitan! She said she’s a submissivie wife, is that true? – Yeah. – Oh, you agreed? A submissive wife? Yeah, she’s a Leo. So we have the same personality, but most off the time, we agree on anything… Only sometimes— Only sometimes there’s a Leo clash.

Yes. But really, she serves, as she said? Yes, she does. That’s so sweet. Because, you know, I wouldn’t know. It’s just not obvious. Yeah, not obvious. But a lot. Wow. Aww, that’s why I love you. Your family is so privileged. What do you do to teach your kids good values? Yes, actually, my wife and I never fail to remind our kids every day.

We can’t say, “We’re eating chicken, and they get dried fish”—that’s not right. We have to balance things out with the situation and the behavior. And as parents, we never fail in that aspect. For example, they have tasks when there’s no school. Like sweeping, cleaning—Zia even washes her own underwear. Even now, she does it.

Whether there’s school or not, she has to wash her underwear before going to bed. And why did you teach her that? Because that’s what my grandmother taught me. That’s how I was raised. “Wash your own underwear.” So I passed it on to Zia. And she’s okay with it. That’s amazing. But honestly, after she washes it, I wash it again.

Because she’s not really good at it yet. But at least she knows she has a task, a responsibility. – Are you a strict mom? – Strict. Very. We really don’t have gadgets. Wait, at all? None at all. At home? They have an iPad, but only for school. When they get home—no iPad. We have a no-iPad policy. No games? None.

Wow. Netflix, they watch Balota and Rewind. [Laughs] What about a cellphone? They don’t have a cellphone. Even Zia? Actually, we sometimes feel sorry for our daughter. Because she says, “Mom, all my classmates have a cellphone, except me. Why not me?” So her dad explains it to her, and she understands why. Because a cellphone comes with a big responsibility—are you ready for that? These are the things that can happen if you’re not careful.

So we laid it all out for her. Because as parents, it’s not enough to just say, “No cellphone, no iPad” without giving a reason. Every time you stop them from doing something, you have to explain why, so they understand. They use the landline when they need to call us. – No. – Yes! Sometimes it’s sad, especially when you see all her classmates with cellphones.

So Dong and I just look at each other and say,  “Come on, let’s buy food or something.” You know, you try to distract them. But she knows. We always tell her, “Different family, different rules.” How do you discipline? It depends. We tried different approaches. At one point, I really thought of spanking. We tried spanking, scolding, yelling, and talking.

What worked? What? Talking. Heart-to-heart talks. Even my daughter told me, “Mom, even if you spank me over and over, I will never listen.” If you scream at me, I will never listen. ”But if you talk to me and tell me what to do, I will listen.” She’s a bit independent and mature for her age. Like you. So that’s what we did.

You really have to try different formulas to see what works. And what works is sitting them down and making them understand why they were wrong. And I’m not afraid to say sorry to my kids. We do Bible study every night. Every night, we read a verse about God. Then we reflect on what we read. I instill in my kids that we need God in our lives—we can’t be without Him.

I give them 100% of my love to them. But their joy?  I can’t give that to them 100%, but they’ll get it 100% if they have Him in their lives too. That’s the kind of love I teach them. There are many showbiz couples that don’t last. How do you both prevent that? I guess I’m lucky to have a partner who’s very supportive of everything I do.

Whether it’s my career, being a mom, or any personal goal, Dong supports me 100%. And what’s great is we’re both like that, we’re happy for each other’s success. There’s no insecurity—like, “Oh, you have more than me, while I only have this…” There never came a point where we needed to compete with each other.

For us your success is my success, that’s what my husband always says. When good thing happen to me, he’s always there to say that he’s happy for me. That whatever success he has achieved, is my achievement as well. From the moment we said “Yes” on the altar, we became one. We were molded into one being.

There’s no reason for us to separate, because we made our vos in front of the Lord, that no matter what happends we’re here for each other. We’ll make our union stronger, we’ll nurture our family from so much love. What will have to happen for you to agree to a third child? Dad! The truth is I have the same questions.

Just joking… – There. – You’re giving me a hard time here. ‘m kidding. He doesn’t need to do anything. Nothing. With Dong you wouldn’t have a hard time,  because all the way he’s there for you. With Dong you wouldn’t have a hard time,  because all the way he’s there for you. As in, he goes above and beyond.  He treats me more carefully than the baby.

Maybe if I give birth, he’ll be  baby-ing me more than the baby. So it’s really not hard for me. Dear you’re so lucky. You’re so fortunate. So much. Is he romantic? Super, but in different ways. We’re the same, but the good thing about us,  we’re both go the extremes. But his approach is different from mine.

What is your approach? I like to plan surprises.  I like to make things or do things  to surprise a person. I like doing that. As for him, he’ll give his all his dedication to you. Okay, what is your message of love for Dong? I will give myself for you. [Laughs] A message for Dong. I don’t see myself without him.

Maybe I wouldn’t be complete— what I have now, my dreams—he gave all of it to me. The dreams I had as a kid were fulfilled because of him. What is the biggest lesson life has taught you? Many. Like I said I can’t pinpoint just one. Maybe it all started when I was a child,  when I was 2 years old and my parents separated.

My grandmother took care of me, and I grew up  independent with my grandmother always behind me.  ntil I graduated, got a job,  met my husband, and had children. Everything formed who I am. There were good and bad things that  happened, but I am thankful for all of them. Because of that I became a strong woman.

What is your dream after the success of Rewind?  What do you want? What is next? Ay, that’s a good question, what is next. Right now, at this point in my life,  I can’t say everything is totally okay,  but I’m contented with how I  feel and what I’ve reached now. So, if Lord will give me another changce, why not.

But right now, I’m thankful to the  Lord for what he has already given me. I’m already a winner with just that. For those who are watching you now,  what should they do to feel empowered? My number 1 rule is to just be true to  yourself and never lose your values. You should surround yourself with positive  people who will always be there for you,  who will be happy for your successes.

And just in case of the opposite, you fall,  they should be there to hold  you and help you on your feet. Above all whatever blessing you haave, you should never forget that it all came from Him. Do you have a life verse? I’ve read something, sometime ago,  up until now I still remember it… “Man without God is nothing but God is still God.