That’s W hat F riends A re F or

Like the refrain of a broken record (ho-hum!), the nasty rumor romantically linking Regine Velasquez to Ogie Alcasid keeps playing and replaying, with the reverberations getting louder and louder – but more and more hollow – as Ogie’s wife, Michelle van Eimeren, and their two daughters, Leila and Sarah, linger on in her native Australia, obviously there to stay.

But also like a beautiful love song, the friendship of Regine and Ogie has remained untainted and unshaken by the nasty rumor. For them, the show must go on, no matter what and come what may.

On Feb. 13 and 15 at the Araneta Coliseum, the good friends will have a Valentine concert called The Songbird and The Songwriter... Journey of Love... Music To Remember, produced by Viva Concerts with Raul Mitra as musical director, Louie Ignacio as TV director and Regine and Ogie themselves as stage directors. Guest artists are Sarah Geronimo, Erik Santos, Sex Bomb, Hotlegs and the Viva Hot Babes. (For tickets – priced P2,500, P2,000, P1,500, P750, P500 and P200 – call Ticketnet at 911-5555 or Viva Concerts at 687-5853 or 687-1125.)

After that, Regine will fly to Germany on Feb. 18 for a series of concerts, come back to host the grand finals of the search for Star For a Night (on March 13) and, before she can recover herself, pack her things again for her and Ogie’s US-Canada concert tour from mid-March to late April.

Obviously, they don’t let the nasty rumor cramp their style.

As the song That’s What Friends Are For says, In good times and bad times, I’ll be on your side forever more. In short, let the (unfounded) rumor, generated by people suspected to be envious of Regine and Ogie’s ideal working relationship, die a natural death and let the rumor-mongers blabber about it until their tongues wag out.

Three days ago, Conversations invited Regine and Ogie to play The Truth Game over lunch at Annabel’s Restaurant in Quezon City. I’m sure everybody around was trying to "read" Regine and Ogie’s body language – you know: did they exchange tell-tale sticky glances... how long did they look into each other’s eyes... did they hold hands longer than friends should... did Ogie wipe a morsel off Regine’s lips with his hanky...did they blush when onlookers notice, uh, something unusual in the way they treated each other?

The answer to all of the above is a big no.

The truth was that Regine and Ogie were comfortable with each other, as friends should be, and they didn’t act "defensive" at all.

Read, if you wish, between the lines as bosom buddies Regine and Ogie tackle "tricky" questions in The Truth Game. Here we go...

Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but?

Ogie: We do!

Regine: So help us God!

What’s the real score between the two of you? Be honest now.

Ogie: Five all.

Regine: We’re friends, just friends.

Ogie: Friends through and through.

Define "just friends."

Ogie: Mahilig kami sa jazz. (To Regine) Ikaw na nga ang mag-define!

Regine: Ikaw na!

Ogie: Friends in every sense of the word – supportive of each other, nagdadamayan in each other’s problems. But I don’t know her innermost secrets.

What’s your innermost secrets ba?

Regine: None. Teka, how do I define "just friends"? ’Yon na nga, just friends. Real friends talaga.

Ogie: Except that hindi pa ako nakakautang sa kanya.

Regine: Try ko ’yon. Ako ang mangungutang sa’yo. Nagpapalibre ako sa kanya, parati.

Ogie: Besides, when you borrow from a friend, you don’t need to pay, do you?

Regine: But if you borrow money from me, you have to pay.

How has the nasty rumor affected your, ehem, friendship – if it did?

Regine: For a while, it did. It felt parang weird.

Ogie (Poker-faced): For a while, she was cold to me; she didn’t talk to me; she didn’t look at me while we were singing.

Regine: Of course, not! Huwag kang maniwala diyan!

You describe yourselves as "working partners." Please elaborate.

Ogie: Regine is probably the best (working) partner one can ever have. One, the fact that she’s talented you’d think that she’s mayabang but she’s not. Two, she’s hardworking, although moody sometimes because she’s a woman. Three, she’s very generous with her time. Four, she will make you shine in your own way; she’s shining all the time.

Regine: Masarap siya ka-trabaho. Very professional, hindi maarte. Kahit saan mo siya ilagay, he doesn’t complain. If you tell him to sit in one corner, he’ll sit quietly in one corner. He’s very creative; he has great ideas.

Ogie: Not all the time, though. Some of my ideas she finds a bit crazy.

Regine: But I still try them because I find them interesting. Besides, I’m willing to try new things. It can be challenging. ’Yung voice niya bagay sa voice ko.

As a friend, what would you do for each other that your other friends wouldn’t do?

Regine: Pauutangin mo ako?

Ogie: Oh, sure!

Seriously now...

Ogie: When I give her (pieces of) advice, my perspective is that of someone who would try to lose her. Yes, if she had a baby, I would be the ninong.

Would you, heaven forbid, kill for her?

Ogie: I would, I would! If somebody maligned her. Pag may dumapo sa kanyang lamok, papatayin ko! O langaw kaya. But not butterflies because she loves butterflies.

Regine: Pauutangin ko siya – as long as he pays. I don’t give good advice so he better not ask me.

What’s the best song that you’ve composed for Regine?

Ogie: Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw (theme song of Regine’s movie with Robin Padilla). She asked me to write it for her movie and I didn’t expect it to be a big hit. It’s one of my most memorable songs for her.

Regine: He has written a lot of songs for me – including Pangarap Ko’y Ibigin Ka, Hanggang Ngayon, Sa Piling Mo. You know what, he gave me the rough draft, complete with the erasures, of Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw as souvenir. I had it framed. That’s how memorable the song is to us.

If you were a song, what would you be?

Ogie: A ballad. Like I Am What I Am.

Regine: Pam-bading ’yon, e!

Ogie: Maybe one of the songs by Rey Valera.

Regine: I’d be a love song.

If you were a duet, what would you be?

Ogie: Batman and Robin. But you know, although we sing a lot of ballads, we would be a fun song – something like Kalabog en Bosyo.

How would you spend Valentine’s Day?

Ogie: I’ll be at home.

Regine: I’ll go out on a date, kaya nga wala kaming show that day.

Ogie: I’m visiting my wife and kids in Australia a week after Valentine’s.

Who’s your Valentine?

Ogie: Si Michelle. Valentine ko rin ang mga anak ko, sina Leila, six, and Sarah (a year and five months).

Regine: Me? None!

I understand you’re going abroad for shows.

Regine: I’m leaving on Feb. 18 for shows in Germany. I’ll be there for two weeks. I’ll come back for the finals of the search for Star For a Night (March 13) and then Ogie and I will leave for a US-Canada concert tour (March 20 in Los Angeles, March 27 in San Francisco, March 28 in Las Vegas, April 2 in Atlantic City, April 4 in Washington, DC., April 17 in Chicago, April 24 in Toronto and May 1 in Mangilao, Guam. May tentative schedule kami sa Atlanta, Georgia, on April 11.

How’s your long-distance set-up with Michelle?

Ogie: It’s hard. Since they left, I’ve been coming and going; I’ve been there five times already. It’s hard but we manage. When I’m there, I spend quality time with my family. Here, I work and work. There, I don’t work; I’m just with my family.

How do you cope with, uh, lonely nights (here)?

Ogie: I watch movies. I spend a lot of time with my friends.

Are you faithful?

Ogie: Yes. Very!

Have you seen or talked to Michelle since the nasty rumor started?

Regine: No. But I’ve met her before.

If you meet her, what’s the first thing you’ll tell her?

Regine: I don’t know. But she’s very nice; she’s very, very nice. She’s nice to me.

You seem to be very choosy. What are you looking for ba in a guy?

Regine: I’ll know when I meet him.

What’s your ideal man na nga?

Regine: Well, he must have the body and face of Richard Gomez, the sense of humor of Martin Nievera and the personality of Ogie.

Ogie: Wow, it’s a very hard combination to find.

Aren’t you scared of ending up an old maid?

Regine: Not bad. If that’s my fate, what can I do?

Your father, Mang Gerry, can hardly wait to have a grandchild from you, somebody who would inherit your talent. What if, by accident, you have a love child?

Regine: For example, I get pregnant "by accident"? Okay lang. I’ll keep the baby. I guess I can handle it. I think I’ll be a good mom.

Any advice and/or pointers for Regine?

Ogie: You know, people have been pushing her to find a man when it seems she’s happy with herself, with her life now, being herself. Siguro, I should give tips not to Regine but to the one who will be courting her.

Such as what?

Ogie: You know, the key to Regine’s heart is... You should befriend her first.

Regine: Di ba that’s what I’ve always been saying – you know, I have to know a person first, whether manliligaw or kaibigan, before I can trust him/her. I don’t easily trust people but when I do, you can bet it’s a lasting kind of trust. But the moment you break that trust, mahirap nang maibalik pa.

Ogie: Kung unahan mo kaagad ng ligaw, talo ka.

Regine: I get uncomfortable that way. It’s weird! It’s better if you start as friends – you know, kuwento-kuwento lang about nothing, no pressure. Then, eventually, if you feel something...

Does the guy have to also win your family?

Regine: So much the better if he also loves my family. You know, when my sisters got married, I appreciated my parents all the more. They’re so nice to my brothers-in-law. Sobra silang mabait na in-laws. They love us children so much, kung sino ang mahal namin ay mahal na mahal din nila.

Anyway, what can we expect from your Valentine concert?

Regine: A lot!

Ogie: Maraming surprises. It’s full of love songs and other things besides. Panoorin na lang nila.

Regine: Marami siyang (Ogie is also the concert director. – RFL) pinagagawa sa akin na normally ay hindi ko ginagawa.

Ogie: Expect the unexpected.

Don’t you get conscious performing a love song together especially with the persistent nasty rumor?

Regine: You know, we’ve never done a duet kasi everytime we do one, we’d end up laughing and laughing, hindi namin natatapos ang song. It happened six years ago when we had a show in Japan and it happened in other shows. During rehearsal kasi, Ogie would do something funny and the moment we performed onstage, I’d remember that funny thing and I’d end up laughing and laughing. He’s so funny.

Ogie: Conscious? Why should I be? In fact, I look forward to it. Kasi, ang galing-galing niya. Ang taas-taas ng boses niya pero nakakasabay ako.

Regine: You know, sa mga nakaka-duet ko, siya ang talagang nakakasabay sa akin. You know naman kung gaano kalakas ang boses ko; maski malayo na ang mike, malakas pa rin. At ang haba ng hinga ko. And yet, Ogie can sing in synch with me; nagdya-jibe kami.

What do you like most about each other:

Ogie: Mabait, bukod sa talented at maganda. I think that’s her most endearing quality. Mabait na tao.

Regine: He’s funny; he makes me laugh all the time. Katsismisan ko. We make tsismis all the time. As soon as I arrive on the set of S.O.P., first thing I ask him is, "O, Ogie, ano ang tsismis? Ano ang bago?" I think he’s a mabait na family man, a good husband and a good father and a good provider.

What’s the Song of Your Life?

Ogie: For the First Time (originally by Kenny Loggins). Another one is Rainbow (by South Border, written by Jay Durias). It says that no matter what we go through in life, there’s always a rainbow after the rain.

Regine: I can’t think of any. I want a happy song. ‘Yon. Happy!

(E-mail reactions at