• Ina happy in role as housewife • Dr. Gary Sy soon on RPN 9

The last time I saw Ina Raymundo six years ago, she was engaged to be married to Canadian businessman Brian Paturnak. They were then staying at a rented unit at Oakwood in Makati City which would be the scene of a mutiny in 2003.

Several months later, Ina gave birth to her first child, Erika, now four years old, who looks like a walking-talking doll (perfect for commercials).

In 2002, Ina starred in Alamat ng Lawin (shown at that year’s Metro Manila Filmfest) which turned out to be the last movie of FPJ. After that, Ina slipped back into the background and nothing much was heard and/or seen about her.

Last week, I saw Ina again at her and Brian’s rented house in Bel-Air, also in Makati City. She’s a mom twice over, with their second child, Jakob, barely a year old. The house is airy and spacious, with a high ceiling and a winding staircase leading to the second floor. It has a "lived-in" atmosphere, with bicycles and various toys in one corner of the ground floor big and wide enough for a game of hide-and-seek. At the back is a small garden that looks more like a playground, complete with slides and swings.

Asked why they prefer renting a house to buying one, Ina said that she and Brian plan to eventually settle down abroad, not in Vancouver, Canada, where Brian comes from but, maybe, in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, where the weather suits Brian just fine.

"Brian doesn’t like the weather in Canada," said Ina, with Jakob, fresh from his afternoon nap, on her lap. (Erika was at nearby Mother Goose, a pre-school.) "He doesn’t like a cold climate, that’s why he loves it here in the Philippines."

At home, Ina is a far cry from the seductive actress who lit up men’s fantasy. She’s as slim and as sexy as ever, all right, but she has been "domesticated."

"I live a simple life now," said Ina. "I realized that being wife and mother is also a career, a full-time job as demanding as acting. I’m a hands-on mom. I bring Erika to and fetch her from school every day. I play with my kids at home. We run around the house a lot, that’s why I’m slim. Nakakapayat pala talaga ang maging nanay. I don’t have time to get bored. Time flies fast. Before I know it, it’s nighttime and another day is over."

Every now and then, she goes with Brian on his business trips abroad. They had just come back from a nine-day trip to Bucharest with little Jakob (Erika couldn’t join them because she’s in school). Thrice a year, the whole family visits Brian’s folks in Vancouver, like they did last Christmas.

"Do I have any regrets laying low from showbiz? None! I have a wonderful husband who is very generous in many ways. I have beautiful children. I have nothing more to ask for. Although we come from two different countries, Brian and I get along well. We learn from each other. From Brian, I learned how to be on time and how to be healthy; he’s a health buff. From me, Brian learned how to be affectionate and malambing. You know how Filipino women are..."

And how has motherhood changed her?

"I’m more responsible now, more loving and more caring. And more careful. I used to be adventurous. I’ve become selfless; I put my kids’ needs before those of my own."

Doesn’t she miss showbiz?

"Of course, I do, especially when I read the entertainment section of The STAR and I watch TV. I also miss earning my own keep. My husband is generous, as I’ve said, pero iba ‘yung mayroon kang sariling income. If and when I go back to showbiz, my family will still be my priority."

Last seen in Alamat ng Lawin, Ina might soon do a fantaserye to be directed by Erik Matti and produced by Dondon Monteverde, her manager.

"Brian doesn’t stop me from working," said Ina, "as long as work doesn’t take me away from home for long periods of time. With a TV show, I can work only twice or thrice a week. One season lasts for only 13 weeks, so it’s easy for Brian and me to schedule our family activities (such as their regular trips abroad)."

But Ina has limitations now: No more love scenes, bold scenes nor kissing ("Not even smack") scenes.

The bold star has been tamed.

"I’m a mom now and I won’t be comfortable doing sexy scenes," said Ina.

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If you tune in (as I do) to Dr. Gary Sy’s program on DZRH with Andy Verde (all the time) and Tia Dely (sometimes), you will get all the medical tips that you need without paying a single cent. He can even "diagnose" you on-air via telephone and he’ll give you pieces of (medical) advice in a witty and humorous manner that makes seeing a doctor less scary, even if he’s telling a cancer patient how to cope with his condition.

In short, Dr. Gary is a medical delight as a dozen of movie writers found out a few days ago during the mini-presscon to announce his TV show (his first) called Kalusugan TV (KTV), produced by Kaizz Ventures Inc., with Amy Perez (as fit as a fiddle whose diet consists mainly of oatmeal almost round-the-clock) as co-host. To be aired every Saturday on RPN 9 from 11:30 to 12 noon, KTV will premiere on April 1 which happens to be April Fool’s Day, prompting the humorous Dr. Gary to quip, "So I’m inviting fools like me to watch our show!" I promise I will.

KTV will be different from the typical medical shows which leave you a helpless hypochondriac because of the frightening way doctor-hosts describe the symptoms.

"Instead of making patients feel worse," promises Dr. Gary, author of Gabay ng Kalusugan (a "must-read" book which contains ailments from A to Z and their symptoms and what to do with them; and also the title of his other, award-winning, program on DZMM), "Amy and I will make them feel better."

Among other features, KTV will impart the A to Z’s of staying away from disease and keeping fit, present in a lively and easy-to-understand way health issues, discuss both physical and emotional health and educate televiewers on leading a healthy/active lifestyle.

Dr. Gary is such an interesting (and interested) speaker that merely listening to him can be curative. He’s the feel-good kind of doctor like many others I know (including Drs. Wilson Lim, Danny Chua, Welson Yap, Joven Cuanang and Pepe Oreta, who’s celebrating his birthday on March 29).

At the mini-presscon, Dr. Gary (who specializes in geriatric medicine) ended up giving "prescriptions" and medical tips to the mostly-above-40 movie writers, such as:

• Virgin coconut oil is good for your health,

• Taking lots of pain-killers and antibiotics is bad for your liver,

• Organic vitamins are better than synthetic ones, and

• Drinking two small glasses of water preferably every two hours cleanses your system and makes bowel movement easier.

(Incidentally, I asked Dr. Gary if the Maxellium Psyllium Fiber I and my friends – among them Ronald Constantino and June Torrejon – have been taking is really good for the health and he confirmed that it does help in lowering one’s blood-cholesterol level and makes going to the bathroom in the morning quite a breeze. Maxellium is available at Watson’s outlets. For inquiries, call 533-8992 or 533-8993.)

Lenten healing recollection set

A Lenten Healing Recollection entitled Taking Hold of Lenten Blessings will be held on Saturday, March 25, Feast of the Annunciation, at the second floor of Gateway Mall (Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City), near Watson’s Drug. Main speaker is Fr. Teofilo Rustia, the healing priest. It’s an uplifting and cleansing experience, assures Maribi Mapa-Garcia, one of the organizers. Everybody is invited. (For inquiries, call Maribi at landline 633-0153 or cellphone 0918-9380979.)

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