Ser Chief practises family planning: Two are enough

Until end of November when the phenomenal hit Kapamilya soap Be Careful With My Heart closes, Richard Yap and leading lady Jodi Santamaria will have to shoot more episodes. Only then can Richard, fondly called worldwide (thanks to The Filipino Channel) either Ser Chief (his character) or Papa Chen, make up for missed opportunities to spend more time with family and friends.

He has been keeping a hectic (read: punishing) schedule, admitted Richard sans regrets. After all, the soap turned him into a superstar beyond his wildest dream.

“For the first year and a half,” said Richard over lunch during the first-anniversary celebration of Wangfu (at the corner of Tomas Morato Avenue and Roces Avenue Quezon City), one of the restaurants he co-owns with two friends, “we would shoot five days a week. Early this year, the schedule was medyo lighter. But since we are finishing episodes for the show’s ending, we are back to five-days-a-week shoot.”

On the side, Richard manages to shoot for The Unkabogable Praybeyt Benjamin (with Vice Ganda reprising his role in an earlier movie) which is Star Cinema’s entry in this December’s Metro Filmfest.

So what did Richard miss during those very-busy days?

“Siempre, the birthdays of my children (who appear with him and his wife Melody, a former flight attendant, in a Manulife commercial),” admitted Richard. “Babawi na lang ako kapag off ako. I also miss relaxing with friends by playing billiards, and working out in the gym.”

Melody is not complaining. No matter how late Richard goes home from work, he and Melody try to snatch quality time, no matter how short.

“Nag-uusap kami,” he said,

Nag-uusap lang? The movie writers present wondered. No wonder they have only two children (Ashley, 18; and Dylan, 11).

“We practise family planning,” Richard confessed, blushing. “Dalawa lang talaga ang nasa plano namin.”

In the Manulife commercial, what you see is what you get. The Yap family is portrayed as is.

“Showing affection is one of the ways that I get to bond with my children,” said Richard. “As often as possible, I hug or kiss them even if they’re grown-ups. On weekends when I’m free, Melody and I see to it that we all dine out and watch a movie. Or take short vacations.”

When they share a meal at Wangfu, Richard always orders his favorites: Salted Eggs, White Chicken and Cereal Lapu-Lapu. Wangfu has another branch at Il Terrazzo (near the Timog-Morato Rotonda) where Richard and his friends Lester Pimentel Ong and Ace Wang also own the Luna J restaurant which specializes in regional Filipino dishes.

Hungry souls troop to the three restaurants not only for the food but also for a chance to have a photo-op with Richard who drops by every now and then. Soon, there will be another Wangfu branch at the Ayala Techno Hub (along Commonwealth Avenue, right across from UP).

(Reminder: As part of its first anniversary, Wangfu is offering an eat-all-you-can-dimsum promo for only P399 until Oct. 31, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.)

Good neighbor Sam

The PAL flight to Cebu two weeks ago was uneventful except that one of the prime movers of the publishing industry happened to sit beside Sam Milby on Business Class.

Although he was reluctant to, the businessman greeted Sam who returned the greeting not just with a friendly “Hi!” but with a big smile.

Then, the businessman phoned his wife (who happened to be a Sam Milby fan) who couldn’t believe that her husband (good-looking enough to be an actor) was seated beside Sam; she thought that he was trying to pull her leg.

So he, although still reluctant (since he wanted to let Sam have some privacy), passed his phone to Sam who gladly talked to the businessman’s wife. The still unbelieving wife told Sam, “Uhm, I think you’re just one of my husband’s friends, you’re not really Sam.” Sam assured her, “Ako po talaga si Samuel, si Sam,” speaking in Tagalog. The wife was convinced.

It was only when the plane landed in Cebu did the businessman introduced himself by giving Sam his business card. Sam shook his hand.

“You once attended our Christmas party in the office,” Philippine STAR president/CEO Miguel Belmonte reminded Sam.

Boss Miguel purposely earlier withheld his identity to avoid being given “special attention” by Sam.

But Sam was really nice and friendly even to a “stranger.”

“Mabait talaga siya,” said Boss Miguel.

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