FINAL na. Inulit ni Piolo Pascual ang dati na niyang deklarasyon na titigil na siya sa paggawa ng mga teleseryes, kaya mangangahulugan ito na pahinga muna siya sa pagganap sa telebisyon.

Dahil dito, wala nang pag-asa na magtambal sa teleserye sina Piolo at Judy Ann Santos.

Sa eksklusibong panayam ng PEP kay Papa P, nagsalita na nang patapos ang aktor.

“No, I won’t be doing teleseryes anymore!” sinabi n i P i o l o nang mainterbyu nitong Lunes sa AMA Building sa Panay Avenue, Quezon City.

“ I a l r e a d y said... that was my last, you know,” aniya, tinukoy ang

Since I Found You (2018) with Arci Muñoz.

“I’m old for that. I’m not old-old but, you know, I’ve done more than a dozen soaps, I’ve been in the business for 20 years. It’s the same thing I’ve been doing the last 10 years. I want to be able do other things and diversify.

“I’ve become a producer and there are so many things that we can work on. And acting-wise, endorsement-wise, I still have my hands full. So, that’s something that I don’t enjoy doing anymore. I don’t want to be stuck in a set.

“It’s hard. I mean, I don’t want to take it away from somebody else, but it’s not something that I wanna pursue for now anymore, yeah.”

Target ni Piolo na matapos ang anim na pelikula ngayong 2019, kabilang ang isang idinirek ni Brillante Mendoza tungkol sa pagdiriwang ng ika-100 taon ng Philippine cinema.

“We’re just really excited because it’s a good project. We’re almost done. It should be out soon,” sabi ni Piolo tungkol sa nasabing pelikula.

May natapos na rin siyang bagong movie kay Lav Diaz.

“It’s done already but he’s asking for one more day. He needed me to grow my hair,” sabi ni Piolo, kaugnay ng pagpapahaba niya ngayon ng buhok.

Gagawa pa kaya sila ng pelikula ni Juday?

“Juday and I will always be friends, no matter what happens, you know,” ani Piolo.

“’Pag nagkikita kami, parang... wala namang isyu talaga sa amin, eh. It’s just a matter of time, I guess, when she’s free already to do the film.

“But, keeping my fingers crossed, I hope, bago kami tumanda, and that’s what I always say. And anytime she’s free, I’ll make myself free for her.”

Nakikipag-usap na rin si Piolo sa Star Cinema para sa isang bagong movie, pero hindi pa siya puwedeng magsalita tungkol dito.

“ I t ’ s a reunion film as well,” tanging nasabi ni Piolo bilang clue sa Star Cinema project.

Hindi si Juday ang ka-reunion niya sa nasabing Star Cinema movie, pero ayaw niyang sabihin kung sino ang makakatambal dahil baka maudlot pa.

Malapit-lapit nang mawala si Piolo sa bansa for 10 weeks. Mag-aaral kasi siya ng eight-week course na film producing sa satellite campus ng New York Film Academy sa Florence, Italy. Kasama niya ang kaibigang si Direk Joyce Bernal.

“It’s been planned since last year,” nangingiting rebelasyon pa ni Piolo.

Aminado si Piolo na nalungkot siya dahil sa sinapit ng pelikulang Kuya Wes ni Ogie Alcasid, na co-producer ang Springs Films, kung saan investor siya.

“We’re a bit sad because, you know, we weren’t able to get a lot of cinemas. And since we’re transitioning, people don’t want to go to cinemas anymore, if you’re not Marvel, so we’re looking at, studying other platforms which we have, you know.

“It’s just like when we came out with our first movie before, Kimmy Dora. We were transitioning from analog to digital, and from film to digital. So it’s hard nowadays, we’re transitioning from cinemas to phones, TV.

“So, mahirap, but we’re not giving up, you know, as long as you know you have good content and you have a good material.

“And we just wanna be able to champion Philippine cinema and, you know, we’re celebrating 100 years this year. And I don’t know what’s in store for me when it comes to Philippine cinema, but for me, that’s my contribution, you know, to be able to pay it forward and give opportunities for people who want to be able to create and have a platform for them to show what they have.”

-ADOR V. SALUTA