The papa in Aga

A late-bloomer father.

That’s how Aga Muhlach describes himself in a free-wheeling Father’s Day article in the latest issue of People Asia.

He has a teenage lovechild, Iggy Boy, with Janice de Belen; and twins, Andres Antonio and Atasha Aaron, with his wife Charlene Gonzalez.

"When Iggy Boy was born," confessed Aga, "I knew I was a father but I never really felt like one. I was very young then. Besides, Iggy Boy didn’t grow up with me, so I never experienced how it was to be a real father. It’s only now that I’m savoring the pleasure and the thrill of being a father, especially now that the twins are turning four years old (on Nov. 5)."

Asked what kind of a father he is, whether lax or strict, Aga said, "I’m strict; mahigpit ako. I believe that while you can control your children, do everything that you want (with them). Give them all the (pieces of) advice that you can and discipline them any way you want to. When they grow older, it will be harder to discipline them. You know, no matter how much your children love you and how much love you give them, the moment they mature, they’ll have their own minds and make their own decisions. So parents should do their best to give their children a solid foundation – you know, the right values, etc."

Like Charlene, Aga is a disciplinarian. He doesn’t spare the rod and spoil the twins.

"I spank them only on the hands or the buttocks but never in other parts of the body. That’s to make them realize that they have committed a mistake and they deserve to be punished."

But like all fathers (and mothers), it’s him who gets hurt the more everytime he spanks (any of the) twins.

"I can’t bear to see them cry, so I turn away. It was easier to spank them when they were small. But now that we communicate, it’s harder. I realized that I don’t have to spank them anymore; they know how to be scared na kasi, e. So, I just talk to them. They understand things better and more clearly now."

As a kid, Aga (and his siblings) grew up with only their mom, Anita, who had separated from Aga’s father, Cheng.

"Papa would visit us regularly but it was Mama who strived to raise us. Nakita ko kung paano niya kami iginapang."

Unlike Aga who had a normal childhood (he and his brothers and sisters rode the bus to and from school), the twins live more sheltered lives with their own "twin" nannies. If times now were as safe as yesteryear, according to Aga, he would love to let the twins (accompanied by the nannies, of course) also ride public transport so they’ll know what life is on the other side of the fence.

"But that’s too risky to do now," he said.

Like all parents, Aga wants only the best education for the twins.

"That’s something I missed," he mused. "I never finished my schooling."

(Note: For the full story, buy a copy of the June 2005 issue of People Asia, with Bianca Araneta on the cover, now available in newsstands.)

A Tondo lass in Hollywood

A Funfare contributor reports that a Tondo-born girl has made it in Hollywood, playing medical student Ludlow in the top-rating NBC TV show ER (whose 11th season premiered in October last year).

She’s none other than Giovannie Pico, who’s arriving next month for a sentimental homecoming. I heard that Manila Mayor Lito Atienza will present Giovannie a key to the city as recognition for helping put Manila (and the whole country for that matter) on the Hollywood map.

The Funfare contributor said that Giovannie beat dozens of other aspirants for the ER role originally written for a Caucasian actress but had to be rewritten after ER director Brian Ging was impressed by Giovannie’s acting talent.

Acting is nothing new to Giovannie, 26, who was born in Tondo and migrated to the US (San Francisco) with her parents when she was a kid. Giovannie Anne Cabangis-Espiritu in real life, she studied at St. Ignatius College of Preparatory and later had formal training at the Adda Clavenge Theater School, The American Conservatory Theater, The Lefler Academy of the Arts, Bressi & Company and The Nancy Berwid’s First Take Company.

Giovannie started her career while still a kid in San Francisco, playing roles in such plays as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamboat, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Pinnochio.

She has also played lead roles in independent films, including Mail Order Bride; Love, in the End; Broken Wings; I Adore You; Counting the Days; Seasons Under the Bridge and the recent one, American Yearbook which won the Audience Choice Award at the Santa Monica Film Festival.

Besides ER, the other TV shows she has done include (among others) Shadowlands, Botong X and Colossal Pictures’ What’s Your Problem?

Although Giovannie grew up in the States, she has remained a typical Filipina.

There you are...Another very welcome addition to Funfare’s growing List of Pinoy Sightings in Hollywood and US (and other Foreign) TV Shows.

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