Pam and Vanessa: What you see is what you get

MANILA, Philippines - They laugh without tension, shriek in adulation and blush in admiration. The real personas reveal the moment you see them onscreen. They are Pam Spella and Vanessa Ishitani who, after making a “loud and transparent” entry into the consciousness of televiewers via TV5’s Philippine version of The Amazing Race, are here to stay. They will continue in their quest of carving a niche in showbiz with a reality show of their own titled after their popular tag Alabang Housewives.

The newest reality show, to air weekdays on the Kapatid network, has automatically validated Pam and Vanessa’s every right to be called celebrities. Thus, in their pilot episode to air today, at 10 a.m., televiewers will see them making their presence felt and introducing themselves to some of showbizlandia’s popular stars like Susan Roces, Nora Aunor, Angel Locsin, JM Rodriguez and Derek Ramsay. They, too, “cornered” director Brillante Mendoza who amusingly and gamely entertained their questions. Susan and Nora’s pieces of advice are also worth noting.

“To persevere in everything that you aim for is one advice that I keep in mind and to be punctual all the time,”says Pam in an interview with The STAR. “Aside from talent, I know being in showbiz requires much dedication.  I know in my heart that I can survive everything. I’ve been working hard since I was 10 years old.”

Pam admits she didn’t expect to be in showbiz. She had no inkling that her joining the Amazing Race would open the doors to showbiz. “I just wanted to try if I can survive the challenges. And now that I’m here, I feel so overwhelmed because I never imagined myself hosting a show, dati nanonood lang ako ngayon ako na ang papanuorin at meron na ding mag-i-idolize sa amin ha,ha,ha,ha.”

Does she feel nervous taking on the new challenge of handling a show?

“Not at all because I’m an adventurous woman who loves to try everything.”

Even the intrigues, Pam knows she can stand and live with them. “The best tool is to just ignore them. They can say whatever they want to say; bahala sila kahit sabihin nilang wala akong K kasi alam ko na meron at may naniniwala na may K ako.”

She considers Alabang Housewives as another way to continue her charity work. “God knows that through this I can continue helping others. My dream is to have a foundation parang Oprah Foundation. That’s why I hope the projects will come one after the other para magamit ko pang pondo.”

For Vanessa, getting into the limelight is a dream come true. When she was younger, she tirelessly auditioned in every contest just to be in front of the camera. She once tried to be one of Eat Bulaga’s resident dancers but fate didn’t allow it.

“Perhaps, it was not meant for me and I’m thankful that God is giving all the chances to me now. In Amazing Race, we were always in the last, kulelat lagi and we often failed in the challenges but I told Pam to go on, to just continue our being natural, kikay kami talaga. Probably, our being natural created a good impression on the people and led us to having a show of our own.

Honestly, I never thought that at 35 my wish to be in showbiz will happen. I’m very happy.”

For those not in the know, Pam and Vanessa are married to foreigners. Pam has two kids Felix, 11 and Marlon, 5, by an Italian husband while a Japanese fathered Vanessa’s children Kirsthy Joy and Mitsumuro.

Pam has been married for 17 years now and happily settled in a posh Alabang subdivision where she got to know Vanessa who is separated from her husband for years now.

Now that they are in showbiz, do they find it hard to divide their time between family and career? For Pam, proper time management is the key. “Before, we have two beauty salons in Australia which were in operation from Monday to Saturday so it’s not new to my kids that their mother has to also work. I’ll just make sure that I also devote some time to them.”

Pam also spends time on writing poetry and brushing strokes as her hobby.

For Vanessa who also supervises their family’s poultry business and ventures in buy-and-sell:  “Since my schedule has become more hectic now, I spend less time with my children and I feel guilty about it kasi naman dati buhos ang oras ko sa kanila kaya ngayon talagang pag may libreng oras dinodoble ko ang atensyon ko sa kanila, pinapaliguan ko sila at pinagluluto ko sila. But I can handle all this, you will see what kind of moms we are.”

Behind the make-up and the fashionista get-up, Pam and Vanessa possess the qualities of a good mother. The show offers televiewers a peek into their lives as they balance their time among various undertakings.

“Simpleng tao lang din kami na marunong ding magtipid kahit na pinalad na maging marangya. At shini-share namin ang bawat blessing,” Vanessa stresses.

In a press statement, TV5 FVP for Creative and Entertainment Production Perci Intalan says, “Pamela and Vanessa represent a new breed of modern Filipinas – driven to succeed and committed to the well-being of their families like never before. We are optimistic that the housewives will not only make our viewers smile but also inspire them to achieve their dreams.”

And in the show’s teaser, Derek fittingly puts it, “This is not a joke, this is a reality show.”