| Unofficial Website of Ms. Janice de Belen |
| It looks like a scene straight out of real life. Except that, in a sense, it is. Despite the showbiz ambience, the clucking of harassed PAs, the hum of TV cameras, bright lights, and tangled cable wire, the �Sis� set in a Quezon City subdivision residence looks like any normal suburban home. In the living room-cum-TV show set, �Sis� hosts Janice and Gelli de Belen are swapping kiddie stories as they wait for the cameras to grind. Like any proud mother, Gelli tells Janice that youngest son Julio has just learned a new trick: throwing a crumpled piece of paper in the trashcan. Just like any supportive sister, Janice listens intently before sharing her own parenting experiences (and parenting tips) with Gelli. It is as if they were all alone in the living room, the way they seem totally oblivious to the production people setting up lights and adjusting cameras. Talk eventually turns to sibling rivalry and how to best handle it. Janice reminds Gelli of �the importance of listening to both sides of the story.� Gelli concurs: �Yeah, a kid can be sneaky. You should find out why a kid is acting up; his brother might be pestering him without you knowing it.� Janice bows her head in agreement, apparently knowing only too well the scenario Gelli has just painted. �So if a kid poured soy sauce on her sister, it might be because her sis-ter is teasing her,� Gelli continues. �Weren�t we like that before?� she asks (er, reproaches?) Janice. For the first time in their conversation, the consistently agreeable Janice turns noncommittal. You can almost hear canned laughter in the background. Except that the scene is for real. The above exchange shows vividly the unique relationship between sisters Janice and Gelli de Belen both on-screen and off. It is this chemistry that GMA-7 sought to capture in the daily gabfest �Sis�. �The concept is fresh,� Gelli points out. �Since we are sisters, there�s no need for us to force ourselves to get along with each other. We�re very comfortable with each other.� Instant rapport, Janice says, is the secret of their show�s success. �We�ve had chemistry since birth!� Indeed their easy banter and candid chatter have made Sis a toprater. Being sisters, they have an almost �telepathic� connection that comes in very handy in a talk-show format. �Sometimes all it takes is just one look,� Janice relates, �for one of us to tell the other that someone is talking way too long. That we need focus in the discussion. Sometimes we just nudge each other.� The division of labor on the set somehow reflects their real-life partnership. �Janice is more serious than I could ever be,� Gelli explains. �So if you want sense, talk to Janice. If you want wacky comments, talk to me.� �Gelli is more talkative than I am,� Janice admits. �I tend to think first before opening my mouth. She�s more like, strike first, ask questions later!� Janice, however, corrects the impres-sion that she is as no-nonsense as her sister (and the general public) would like to believe. �I�m not that serious,� Janice protests. �I think the impression that I am serious comes from my being reserved. But I am as crazy as she is. It�s just that when it comes to life, I am serious about certain things.� Gelli agrees, to an extent. �It really depends on the situation. If I have something serious to say, I will say it. But if not, you wouldn�t get anything from me even if you forced me!� YOU COULD say Janice and Gelli know each other like the back of their hands. But this tender familiarity, this telegenic rapport, didn�t come overnight, they emphasize. The De Belens� bonding evolved (and continues to evolve) through the years, strengthened (and made more co-lorful) by life�s varied experiences, the ups and downs, the joys and heartaches, the tears and triumphs. �When we were kids we were not that close,� Gelli reveals. �It was only when we started our own families that we became closer. That�s when we really formed a quote-unquote sister relationship.� It was as if they rediscovered each other, Gelli explains. �I guess it�s because our priorities have changed,� Gelli says. �Especially now that we have children. And you know what? The show even brought us closer together. It�s like we don�t have any choice,� Gelli jests. �We have to see each other twice a week.� Janice shares Gelli�s sentiments. Gelli, Janice recalls, made all sorts of racket at home. Janice, Gelli remembers, would be just as difficult. They just didn�t hit it off. Tales of hair-pulling and soy-sauce dousing aside, the De Belen sisters, at least to the casual observer, also seemed unconditionally �loyal and devo-ted� to each other. �We�re just like other sisters or siblings, I suppose,� Gelli surmises. �The only dif-ference is that we are in show business. But I swear we were not this close before.� Still, sisters being sisters, they would rush to each other�s aid, when necessary. Janice retells an old story: There was this particularly annoying boy who was hanging out on the set of Flor de Luna. Janice found him so arrogant, so irritating that she asked Gelli to get him off her back. �I asked Gelli to kick him,� Janice recalls. Gelli, the dutiful little sister that she was, wholeheartedly complied. �She kicked him and he fell down,� Janice re-calls, blushing at the memory. Other than that fleeting moment of unity, however, they spent more time arguing about this or that, Janice remembers. |
| Part 1 S.I.S. FILES BY: Bayani S. San Diego Jr. |
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