On Her Own

Because Enrique Gil was paired with Julia Barretto in the serye “Mirabella”, his blossoming loveteam with then rising star Liza Soberano had to wait. At hindi pa sigurado kung mangyayari pa uli. So Liza went on with several appearances and guestings by herself. The reception were good naman. Maraming mas naka-appreciate ng ganda niya. She was starting to shine on her own - as Liza. 

During that time, isa sa mga vocal na gandang-ganda kay Liza at gusto siyang maka-partner ay si Yves Flores. We thought, pwede kasi Moreno si boy, at tisay si girl. We can see an “ordinary” guy falling for an ingglisera, sosyalera type of loveteam in a serye in them, not underrating the boy. Nagkataon Yves was already a part of “Got To Believe” then as Pedro, and as the show’s new chapter is drawing near, we needed someone who will play Alexandra, the beautiful girl who would come in between the love of KathNiel’s Chichay and Joaquin’s characters.

Liza had always been the choice for the role. Star Creatives was keen on developing her as another teen leading lady to watch out for. Gandang-ganda kami kay Liza buong team. But we had reservations then, as putting her again in between KathNiel may not do good on her. Fangirls may start to hate her. Some other girls were considered and auditioned. Pero we kept on coming back to Liza. So after some serious discussions and deliberations, Liza was cast as Alexandra. And shortly after, she went to Singapore along with the series’ main cast to shoot some key scenes.

The reception on her G2B stint were mixed. Siyempre, if KathNiel fan ka and/or engrossed ka sa lovestory nina Chichay at Joaquin , you’d hate her character. But casual viewers, who didn’t have the chance to watch her on movies, were curious who this pretty girl was. E ang cute pa ng slang niya, you didn’t want to hate her.

Visiting her on the set of G2B. Photo taken by Yves Flores.

During her G2B stint ko masasabing naging close talaga kami. Hindi man ako nakakadalaw ng madalas na sa set, dahil busy rin kami sa series, so ang pagkikita namin ay sa ASAP na. She would tell me about her taping experiences on G2B, and would sometimes ask where her character was going to. I remembered one time asking her if how she was, given some bashers taking her third-wheeling on G2B really personal. Some would even tweet that she was ineffective, she was just a pretty face. Na favourite namin kaya nandun sa show.

Naturally, Liza would be affected. Sino ba namang hindi? But she earned my respect and admiration with how she handled those. She took them constructively and worked on her acting in the show. She didn’t bother in replying to them. Ni hindi ko nga narinig yan na nagsalita against anyone kahit kami lang magkausap. For her, it was work and she had to good. Make or break ito. And she wanted to make it.

Backstage of ASAP during G2B's Finale Week

I had two unforgettable moments with Liza on the set of G2B. First was on the set, when I visited her, Yves, Kathryn and Daniel before I went to Baguio for some soul searching. We had this long conversation, where we shared our thoughts sa kanya-kanyang pinagdaraanan namin. Then I remember her words then, “please stay. Let’s do some more.” That time, hindi ko alam if magpapatuloy pa ako sa ginagawa ko, or G2B na ang last show ko.

Another was in ASAP, a week before G2B’s finale show. We were talking about what she would do in the event. Then she asked, “will you be there?” I asked why. “I want to see you para lumakas ang loob ko.” Nagulat ako. Hindi ko alam how I would react. I just remember touching and squeezing her hand at the moment. I meant something to this girl. Sinong hindi tataba ang puso?

At G2B's Appreciation Dinner

During G2B’s Appreciation Party, unang lumapit si Liza sa akin, hugged me tight and said “thank you”. I told her, “sana hindi pa ito ang last nating pagsamahan” because I realized I wanted to do more with her. Nasa isip ko nga, LizVes project tutal naman parehong walang loveteam ang dalawa at nagkaroon naman sila ng following sa G2B. Liza was hopeful.

Weeks after the party, pinatawag ako sa isang meeting. Bagong serye raw. Then I learned sino ang magiging mga bida nito: Enrique Gil, Yves Flores and, yes, Liza Soberano. Our road to forevermore was to begin.