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Why is Claudine getting
all the breaks? What has Claudine Barretto done to deserve an almost royal treatment at ABS-CBN, and at Talent Center, for that matter? The youngest of the Barretto sisters is now on her third consecutive soap opera, Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan, in which she has half-a-dozen leading men: Troy Montero, Carlos Agassi, Bernard Palanca, Luis Alandy, John Lloyd Cruz and Victor Neri. A costume and period soap, Sa Dulo is arguably very expensive to produce in terms of location, costume design, and the big cast. The show will replace Saan Ka Man Naroroon, which ran for more than a year. At her solo press conference at Annabel’s restaurant in Quezon City last week, Claudine said she was getting the good breaks all because of hard work. She has been slaving herself with work for the past three years. She goes to taping two to three days a week and she does movies in between. By virtue of her three soap operas, Claudine is now being hyped as the “Teleserye Queen,” a title that she undeniably deserves. No one but no one in the history of Philippine television has been accorded the chance to star in three consecutive soap operas. Is she comfortable with the title? “I take it as a challenge. As an actress you should embrace the thought of being scared pag may bagong show or may bagong katapat na artista. That’s the time you get challenged and you strive harder. Importante sa ’kin na may kakambal na takot talaga para mag-survive yong soap ko. It keeps me on my toes,” she said. From Mula Sa Puso, to Saan Ka Man Naroroon and now Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan, Claudine reveals that the secret of her soap operas success is the teamwork of the cast, the staff and the director Wen Deramas. “Importante iyon sa akin. Naniniwala akong malas yong hindi mo kasundo kahit isang tao sa staff, yung co-workers mo lalo na yung director mo. We are open to suggestions; we criticize our work which I think is also good. We’re one big family,” she enthused. Having been in showbiz for the past 10 years, Claudine is a young millionaire by now. She admits she is a tightwad, and she even lists the minutest details of her spending, such as when she buys a canned softdrink or a bottle of mineral water. “Kahit saan ko binili, kahit sa sidewalk lang, inililista ko,” she reveals. Claudine spends her earnings wisely. She invests in realty and her properties include a condominium in Greenhills, land in Tagaytay, Baguio, Batangas, and Subic. When she turned 18, she started managing her own finances, with guidance, of course, from her parents. Rich she may be now, but did she have a normal teenage life considering that she embraced the world of showbiz at the tender age of 11? Claudine averred that she made sure she enjoyed the perks of being a bagets. “Lahat napagdaanan ko na, yong disco, yong gimiks, lahat yan tapos na sa akin,” she said. The young actress claims she is now a homebody who goes out only for dinner dates with boyfriend Rico Yan. For relaxation, she watches movies in her state-of-the-art home theater system that cost her a fortune. She has also transformed a portion of her bathroom into a big spa as she is into aromatherapy. She uses imported products for her skin and practices her beauty regimen for an hour everyday. She also does taebo when she has time. Now turning 22, Claudine says marriage is far from her mind as she is not yet emotionally and mentally prepared for married life. “Gusto ko bata pa ako mag-asawa para halos kasing-age ko lang ang mga anak ko kaya lang I am not yet ready,” she intoned. Claudine is now filming with boyfriend Rico a new project with Star Cinema, aside from taping her new soap. At the press-con, Claudine also mentioned that Janice de Belen would be working as assistant director in the new soap. This should come as a big break for John Estrada’s wife who for the longest time has been nourishing a dream to take the directorial rein but has not been given a big break. “She has been helping out since Saan Ka Man Naroroon days pa. When she is not busy acting out a scene, she helps our director Wen Deramas,” Claudine related. We know for a fact that Amy Perez is also aiming to be a director someday. To prepare for that, she volunteered to do production work as production assistant in Martin Late@Nite. No, she didn’t mind doing what some people consider humiliating work.
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