Jessy focused on work

MANILA, Philippines - Amidst cryptic posts on social media, Jessy Mendiola has remained mum on rumors that she has broken up with boyfriend JM de Guzman.

In the two occasions that The STAR met with the 22-year-old actress, she politely begged off from answering questions about the actor, whom she only reconciled early this year.

During an event that introduced to the Philippine press Asia’s largest video-on-demand service HOOQ, of which Jessy is one of the endorsers with fellow Kapamilya Xian Lim, she said, “I’m OK naman. I’m happy with work. I’m focused on work because obviously, I’m blessed in that aspect of my life.”

It was almost the same thing she said during the press launch of her newest teleserye, You’re My Home, starring alongside acting heavyweights Dawn Zulueta and Richard Gomez.

She said she’s contented getting the love from her mom and family. “Love of family is always present so…Hindi nawawala ang pag-ibig ng pamilya, nandiyan lang siya sa paligid.”

In You’re My Home, a new primetime drama on ABS-CBN that’s slated to air on Nov. 9, she plays the eldest of the children of Richard and Dawn’s characters. The soap tells the story of a once-solid family torn apart when the youngest son disappears. “The youngest son disappears because of me,” said Jessy, “as the story goes along, paano namin mahahanap yung brother namin? The conflict of the story is, (may nag-kidnap ba ng brother ko) or is it my fault that he went missing?”

With fellow HOOQ celebrity ambassador Xian Lim

Jessy said of her character, “It’s a big challenge because you’re working with big actors. Second, it’s a heavy drama. It’s super heavy drama! It’s challenging in a way that’s productive because I know that whenever I do heavy drama in the future, I’ll be able to do it because I’ve already done it in this soap.”

While she had to step up acting-wise, it wasn’t that hard finding inspiration for the emotionally-charged scenes. “I always play for the moment. But it’s easy to draw emotions when the role or project is about family.”

Meanwhile, Jessy expressed her happiness at being handpicked to be the celebrity ambassador of HOOQ (pronounced as Hook), an international online streaming site offering over 30,000 hours of content. These include thousands of Hollywood films as well as the widest selection of Filipino-produced content with movies and series from ABS-CBN, GMA 7, Star Cinema, Regal Entertainment and Viva Communications. The start-up venture of Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. Entertainment, HOOQ first launched in the Philippines last March, then rolled out to Thailand and India.

According to Jessy, HOOQ has an app that can be downloaded through any Internet-enabled device. “I have to be honest with you, I first learned about HOOQ like a month before the shoot (for the brand). What was HOOQ? They sent me a background and I downloaded the app. You can watch any movie or series that you want. I’m really happy I’m one of their ambassadors.”

Jessy’s co-ambassador is Xian, who also has a busy schedule ahead. Aside from being a mentor on ABS-CBN’s iShine Talent Camp, he’s also part of a romantic-comedy teleserye Story of Us, with perennial love team partner Kim Chiu and will soon star in a film with no less than Vilma Santos and Angel Locsin.