Bettina and everything nice

"i won’t eat rice," declares Bettina Carlos over lunch at the Marina Seafood Restaurant in Quezon City, as she cuts up her serving of chicken barbecue into small, nugget-size portions. "So this’ll have to suffice."

The place is completely deserted at the moment, but it would be packed with hordes of famished night owls come dinner time. The young actress/ramp model/TV host looks over at her mother Irene, seated at another table. Bettina smiles as she sees her mom eating baked oysters

"I really don’t know much about restaurants, but isn’t it nice to know that you’re still a co-owner of this place?" she enthuses. "I mean the food here is great. I’m glad I invested my money here."

So you can add "business-woman" to her list of personas, as if there aren’t enough already. And all that at the ripe old age of 17

Anna Bettina Christina Pineda Carlos has already accomplished more things than most people only dream about. "It has indeed been one hell of a ride," she says. "And it’s a wonderful feeling you get when you have gone so far so fast."

While she isn’t totally bashful about giving herself a well-deserved pat on the back, the concept of being an overachiever may not really sit well with this young, carefree talent of GMA-7

While still a relative newcomer in the entertainment world, Bettina is already one of the busiest celebrities around. Having just finished her roles in a couple of TV series (the top rating fantasy Mulawin and Love to Love), she now co-hosts GMA’s Sunday morning show, 3R (Respect, Relax, Respond) along with Chynna Ortaleza and Iza Calzado as they tackle issues and topics encountered by many Filipino teenagers of today

"I act, yes, and I can sing, too... ‘can’ lang ha," she clarifies with a laugh. "But I think I’ve found my niche talaga in hosting. It’s what I like most because I learn a lot from the people I meet and feature in interviews."

"It’s true that you learn from acting din naman, but the benefits are rather limited compared to what I’m doing right now in 3R. Here kasi, I can help empower people my age, especially young women, to be more confident, self-assured and have a positive outlook in life."

Bettina has proven to be so effective in the show that she has now gone international with her hosting duties. She was recently selected to appear as a guest star host in this year’s Nickelodeon’s Kids Choice Awards on May 22

"It all just happened so fast," she says, breathless. "And I’ve been incredibly busy juggling work and school the past few months. That’s why I’m so glad it’s summer. At least medyo nabawasan ang ginagawa ko."

There is this popular notion in local showbiz circles that young actresses of today in general aren’t, well, very bright (to say the least). And while this may actually hold true for some (there are those who even have trouble speaking grammatically-correct Taglish), Bettina is certainly an exception

While there is no doubt that her good looks are on par with other celebrity headturners, there is a depth to her that is commonly missing among young celebrities. Genuinely sensible with a bubbly personality, Bettina’s gracious manners balances her quick wit. She is naturally outspoken, and can probably be nearly as funny as Giselle Sanchez–but in a more wholesome way. Adept with words, Bettina easily gets her message across, which makes her just as interesting to talk to as she is to look at

And this is certainly not just because of a gift for gab. Bettina had been a consistent scholar during her high school years at the UP Integrated School in Diliman, graduating with honors (15th in her class of 130 students)

"I’m entering college in June sa Ateneo (de Manila) to take up Humanities," she says, at the same time admitting that it was "too bad I didn’t qualify sa UP" because she made the "mistake of applying for a quota course". "But I’m still not totally sure what path I really want to take, so I might shift din next year."

"I make it a point na hindi pumapasok sa ulo ko ang pag-aartista. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that hard to adjust to it. In terms of my family and friends, nothing has changed much. They’ve always been supportive of me naman eh and for that I’m thankful. School, of course, is quite a challenge since I’ve a lot of other activities going on. Pero pag nag-a-absent ako, I make sure na I catch up with my studies."

Although Bettina is still a bit too young to decide on what she really wants to do, her maturity and determination to excel in whatever she does earns her character a few brownie points. For the moment, she is leaning towards a "career in communications"

As the only girl and the eldest of three, Bettina never gave any serious thought to the fact that she’d have a difficult time getting along with two younger brothers.

"Someone always has to reach out in order to bond well with a sibling of the opposite sex," she says. "And in this case, it was me, mainly because I’m older than them. So I really had to take a liking to their interests. Kaya I was a bit of a tomboy dati. I’m really close to them now, unlike before when we used to fight over the simplest things. But I guess we’re past that stage na rin. We’ve grown up."

"Mommy" Irene comes over to join us for dessert. There is an unmistakable glint in her eyes as she looks at Bettina, obviously proud of her daughter. Irene shares some insights about their present life together and what it’s like to raise a family. She is very enthusiastic and animated when she speaks, and appears to be one of those people whose smile never changes. It’s fairly obvious where Bettina got her cheeful nature

"To be honest, hindi naman nila ako pinahirapan," Irene shares. "I was blessed with great kids, Bettina especially, kaya I was able to train them well and teach them good values.

"I’m just a little worried now na lumalaki na sila, people outside our circle can access them. At baka may dumating na bad influences dyan. No matter how good you raise them kasi, there is always the risk na makikipag-associate sila sa mga masasamang tao. So yun ang kinakatakot ko."

If Bettina maintains her attitude and philosophy towards showbiz in the same manner that she has in her two years in the industry, then Irene doesn’t really have to worry about her daughter getting into any major trouble

"Showbiz folk in general live in their own little world. I don’t know how to put it exactly, pero para bang walang pakialaman. They don’t give a rat’s ass about your world as long as you don’t infiltrate theirs," Bettina says. "Another thing is that many industry people only remember the bad stuff about you, never the good. And instead of helping each other to get ahead, they try to bring you down and ruin your career for no reason at all. It’s really sad that way."

She adds: "There’s definitely politics in showbiz and there’s virtually nothing you can do about it. Just accept it because it’s very difficult to change the mentality of these guys. Ganun na talaga sila, eh. So the most I can do is to just not be like them."

Bettina first displayed her acting prowess in GMA-7’s Kakabakaba, a weekend horror-adventure show. She then became part of Love to Love (Season 4). Here, Bettina shared the limelight with other young stars and blended comfortably with GMA mainstays Dingdong Dantes and Karylle. In fact, so good was Bettina at holding her own against more experienced actors that the network had no qualms about signing her up for next season’s series

Even at this young stage in her life, Bettina has already shown a budding maturity. She has already done some serious financial planning and investing (the Marina restaurant was suggested by her businessman father Alexander), making her one of the youngest enterprising celebrities around, putting long-term goals first before throwing cash away on shopping sprees

"She is very independent. Ever since she was a kid, she always made her own decisions," says Irene. "Feeling ko nga minsan, hindi ako naging nanay sa kanya, eh."

Bettina, however, insists that showbiz hasn’t really turned her life upside down, "as certain people would want you to believe"

"Basically, the only thing that has changed is that I now get recognized in public and get asked for autographs," she pauses, then adds, "Well, that plus the fact that I’ve already said goodbye to eight hours of sleep a night. Kaya thank God talaga bakasyon ngayon so medyo nakakabawi ako sa tulog. Less hectic ang buhay ko. But basically, I’m still the same old Bettina. It’s all about adapting well as your life changes."

During school days, Bettina stops over at Marina after her classes to check on the restaurant’s sales status, inventory, and other regular business operations. But besides delving into this side-passion, the teen star still prioritizes her education the most. "After all, I can’t be doing this forever, can I?" she says about her being a public figure. "I want to do other things din, syempre."

By normal standards, Bettina Carlos has already seen and done it all. And perhaps the scary thing about this is the fact that she hasn’t even reached her full potential yet. Despite this, she tries hard to stay humble, and continues to downplay her achievements–in true Bettina fashion

"I don’t wanna say that I’m smarter than the others just because I am able to juggle showbiz and school. That’s up for people to decide," she says. "So if you perceive me in a positive light, thanks. But if you feel that I’m just like everyone else in the business, that’s all right, too. It wouldn’t really bother me much anyway."

Bettina, however, insists that showbiz hasn’t really turned her life upside down, "as certain people would want you to believe"

"Basically, the only thing that has changed is that I now get recognized in public and get asked for autographs," she pauses, then adds, "Well, that plus the fact that I’ve already said goodbye to eight hours of sleep a night. Kaya thank God talaga bakasyon ngayon so medyo nakakabawi ako sa tulog. Less hectic ang buhay ko. But basically, I’m still the same old Bettina. It’s all about adapting well as your life changes."

During school days, Bettina stops over at Marina after her classes to check on the restaurant’s sales status, inventory, and other regular business operations. But besides delving into this side-passion, the teen star still prioritizes her education the most. "After all, I can’t be doing this forever, can I?" she says about her being a public figure. "I want to do other things din, syempre."