Sharon comes home to ABS-CBN

ABS-CBN welcomed back Sharon Cuneta as a Kapamilya in a grand presscon Monday. It was a grand event as they rolled out the red carpet for her and the big bosses of the Kapamilya network like Ms. Charo Santos Concio, Ms. Cory Vidanes and  Olive Lamasan were on hand to welcome her. Sharon had a contract signing first in an adjacent room at the 14th floor of 9501 before proceeding to the presscon.

“Thank you for welcoming me,” she says. “I feel overwhelmingly wonderful to be here in my home, where my heart never left. There are no words to describe how happy I am and what’s going on in my heart right now.”

She admits that she left because of “a small tampo” (she won’t elaborate anymore what it is) but when she met ABS-CBN execs, she learned her tampo did not reach them. She said her mistake was not telling her bosses how she felt but asked someone else to do it for her. But now, she is back home from a vacation.

“We never lost touch naman nina Tita Charo, Tita Malou, Inang Olive. Tita Charo was the first to know na wala na ako sa nilipatan kong station. We started having meetings and I was so grateful as there were no questions asked. When I said I’m coming home, they just said, ‘Of course!’ I was very humbled to be welcomed with open arms and hearts. I have no regrets naman that I moved to the other station, as I also made some friends there, and I was able to do comedy. But I was like a fish out of water there, dito, binalik uli ako sa dagat. Nakahinga uli akong mabuti.”

The past year has really been a bad one for her. Her mom passed away and she learned that someone betrayed her trust. But the strong woman that she is, Sharon won’t be bogged down by problems and heartaches.

“One thing with me is, I was never self-destructive. Even when my first marriage failed, I didn’t turn to drugs or alcohol. I just gave myself time to lick my wounds. Even the one who betrayed my trust, I’m for reconciliation, kasi blood relative siya, eh.”

She just signed a new contract with ABS-CBN to be a judge in “Your Face Sounds Familiar” that will start airing this weekend. “I think it’s a great project for a comeback. The show is popular in 33 countries and my own daughters love it. I’m excited as I’ve never been in anything like this before and I’ll be working with people I love, including Gary V and Jed Madela as my two co-judges. I also like the line-up of the eight contestants and I’m sure it will be a lot of fun.”

Sharon also noticeably lost weight. “You can’t believe how big I became because I have no work. Kain lang ako ng kain. But I’ve since lost 40 pounds through a special but really difficult diet. I have to lose 15 pounds more before I can exercise. Right now, I just do the treadmill because I can still watch TV while doing that. Dumating nga si Juday (Judy Ann Santos) and Ryan (Agoncillo) sa bahay. Magsu-swimming daw kami. Sabi ko, sige, mauna na kayo.”

She is open to doing a teleserye, something that she has never done before. Preparations for her first soap opera will start soon and this excites Sharon. She is likewise open to doing shows with her former husband Gabby Concepcion and even former leading men like Richard Gomez and Robin Padilla. And even with Kapamilya actors Piolo Pascual and Paulo Avelino who were both linked to her daughter KC Concepcion.

She is no longer being managed by Boss Vic del Rosario of Viva Entertainment. She is back with Sandra Chavez. Part of her plan is to produce her own album hopefully for Star Records. As for doing a movie, this will have to be put on hold first as she wants to lose more weight (about 15 pounds) before she starts work in a movie.

For the nth time, Sharon was asked if it’s true that she has plans to enter politics. “That news had been going around for 30 years and that had been asked many times. But I’m 49 and at this point, I know I am an actress and a singer and there’s nothing that brings me greater joy than performing in front of people. I’m not running for any public office.”

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Singer-actor Lance Raymundo was picked by Lou Veloso to portray the role of Jesus Christ in the passion play Senakulo 2015 to be staged at the Greenfield District on March 29. He was supposed to play the part last year after he was tapped by Lou when the latter met him at the Cinemalaya auditions. In fact, he was looking forward to doing it until he met that gym accident. His face had to be reconstructed, but he was ready to accept his fate if ever his face got disfigured for life.

“Even if I don’t look like Christ, I felt it was a big opportunity to play the role. I was preparing for it that was why I enrolled in a gym that was meant for the masses. I wanted to try working out in a gym that is just simple, not like the high end that I am used to,” he recalled. Because of the incident, Lance was unable to do the play and was replaced.

But when he was approached by Lou again to take on the role, Lance promptly said yes.

“It is my way thanking the Lord for giving me a second chance in life,” said Lance. “I was able to survive what happened to me. I was able to recover kaya bilang pasasalamat, I believe it’s but fitting that I play Jesus Christ kasi gusto ko naman talaga itong gawin.”

After what happened to him, Lance says he could feel the role of Jesus Christ even more and believes he could portray the character with more passion because of what he experienced. “It is God’s will that I am alive today and that is what I am truly thankful for.”