MANILA — Ivana Alawi’s character, Bubbles, in ABS-CBN’s top-rated primetime series “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo,” made her exit last night after being shot by Mccoy de Leon’s character, David. This dramatic episode reached a new peak for the series, with 610,927 concurrent viewers on Kapamilya Online Live via YouTube.
In an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News, Alawi shared her thoughts on leaving the series.
Alawi described “Batang Quiapo” as ‘one for the books.’
“It’s something that I’ll treasure for a long time ‘cause this is the first project na parang lumabas ako sa shell ko and I got to do a lot of things which is action, may comedy kami meron romance and you get to do that all in one project and of course, with that ‘yung tulong ni Direk Coco Martin,” Alawi said.
She added, “He (Coco) was very hands-on at talagang inalagaan niya ko from day one and I’m very thankful also to the whole cast. The whole cast, the whole team, ‘yung production sobrang babait nila.”
Alawi revealed that her stint with “Batang Quiapo,” was originally only for three months.
“Unang-una, tumawag sa akin si Tita Cory (Vidanes), sila Direk Coco (Martin) sabi nila may project, itong ‘Batang Quiapo.’ This was during the time nung kinasal si Lovi (Poe). So sabi ko, ‘Okay po, how long?’ kasi hindi ko kayang matagal ‘cause I have other work. I have my vlog, I have other commitments also abroad. Sabi ko ‘how long?’ ‘Tapos sinabi 3 months. ‘Okay, sige 3 months. I’ll do it,’ sabi ko. Okay kasi ganon ako eh. Pagpapasok ako sa isang trabaho gusto ko ibibigay ko lahat. Hindi ‘yung after one month pagod na ako. Hindi eh. So, 3 months taping okay.”
Time flew by, and Alawi was surprised to realize she had been with the show for almost a year.
“Magwa-1 year na! So nag-click siya and magwa-one year na so nag-catch up lahat ng commitments ko. As in nahuhuli na ako so, nagpaalam ako ng maayos sabi ko hindi na talaga kaya,” she said.
Saying goodbye and killing off Bubbles was very hard for Alawi to accept.
“Minahal ko talaga ‘yung character kong si Bubbles, so nagpaalam ako. So walang nangyaring tinanggal ako or something like that. That’s not true.”
She added, “Ang nangyari talaga tumawag ako, ako na po mismo nagpaalam and it’s because of my work and other commitments na hindi na talaga kinakaya at kahit gustuhin ko man mag-5 years 6 years kung wala lang siguro akong trabaho, I will do it.”
Rumors had surfaced that the actress would leave the set in the middle of taping, and she was accused of having an attitude problem.
Alawi set the record straight: “’Yung sinasabi na umaalis ako na hindi pa tapos ‘yung taping, I’ve never done that. Unang-una alam ko malaki ang cost ng production so kahit lumagpas ako ng oras, wala kong commercial the next day, walang problema. Hindi ako nagsasabi na o tapos na tayo aalis na’ko. Hindi ako ganon kasi may production cost. Everyone’s working hindi lang ako, so bakit magdedepende ako sa sarili ko na ayoko na eh tapos na oras ko so I respect everyone.”
“’Yung attitude problem. Hindi ko alam eh. Alam mo kasi isa sa mga problem ‘yung face ko.”
Laughing it off, she pointed to her face, “Ito ‘yung normal ha ‘pag hindi ako naka-smile. I was born with an attitude face siguro. Hindi ko alam.”
When asked how Martin took her resignation from the show, Alawi said: “He understood kasi syempre I’m sure artista siya, director siya, creatives so he knows when you have so much. Sabi pa sa akin nila Tita Cory (Vidanes) ano ‘yung death scene. Sabi ko kahit ano, kahit anong gusto ni Coco kasi I trust him and if he thinks that this is the way I should leave the show or ito ‘yung dapat pumatay sa ‘kin hindi na’ko nagtanong.
“I really left it to them. Basta sabi ko wala kahit ano pong gusto nyong gawin hindi po ako nanghihingi ng big exit or anything sabi ko kayo po bahala and I have so much respect for Coco Martin and it was a privilege and I still respect him and I still love the show.”