SA edad na 25, handa nang mag-settle for good ang actor na si Mark Neumann.

“Of course, yeah. I am getting the papers ready na. I am 25,” tugon niya nang tanugin kung handa nang pakasalan ang Filipina girlfriend mula Cebu. Ang inaantay na lang daw ng aktor ay papeles mula Germany, kung saan siya ipinanganak.

“We’re not engaged yet kasi the papers are taking too long. It’s not easy because there is a process if you talk about my German papers. It is so unlike here. There, it’s like localized doon so I have to talk to where I was born, right in the civil registry there. I just can’t go to the German embassy and ask for my papers. I have to contact them, ask for the papers, and I have to pass requirements to the German embassy and back to Germany and get them translated and back to the Philippines,” ani Mark.

Masaya si Mark sa naging partispasyon niya sa Mga Batang Poz, isang advocacy series ngayon sa iWant.

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“My character has a twist. It’s not all about the bold scenes. You really have to see the story, the life of the characters,” sabi pa nito. “No, it’s not a sexy series. It just happened na it’s part of life, ‘yung story. One of the most cases where you get HIV, one of them is through sexual intercourse, that’s really a part of it. Since the way Direk Chris (Martinez) depicted it, conveyed it, it’s not really focused on that. It’s just really part of the story.”

“The blocking came from Direk Chris because of the light of the cameras pero ‘yung pinakaano is kayo na ang bahala. If you want to kiss pa, you kiss pa.”

Sa umpisa ay walang ideya si Mark kung tungkol saan ang Mga Batang Poz.

“I didn’t know what it was like at first and when I came to know it, that’s where I really…it opened my eyes and I’m very proud of this project.”

Para sa kanya, higit pa sa trabaho ang mapabilang sa isang advocacy project.

“It’s not really about the project itself na may trabaho ka, no. It’s an honor to be part of an advocacy, to be educating and guiding people and to clear things up with the stigma attached to those who have HIV and living with HIV. I think we really need to raise this awareness, educating people or open their eyes. Old and young, single or not, we have to teach to become more aware and to be careful.”

“It is educational in a way kasi it’s part of the story, it’s part of life, part of society. All people do them regardless of what sex, the direction of what their sex is. The way you convey it is important as an advocacy,” aniya.

Ibinahagi rin ng aktor na parte ng curriculum sa England, kung saan siya lumaki at nag-aral, ang sex education.

“Well, first of all, you are aware that something like that exists when you are a child. Kasi what happens sometimes, if a child doesn’t know anything, baka masangkot pa siya sa isang pangyayari or something,” lahad habang nagbibigay halimbawa.

“For example. If your parents say, ‘Don’t talk to strangers. Don’t go with them.’ And it did happen to me. I was with my friends. We came from school. There was an older male in the bus asking us, ‘Oh, guys, do you know Teletubbies? I know them. Do you want to come with me?’ I knew already na that’s wrong and I was very young like 7 or 8 years old. I told my friends, ‘Hey, don’t go with him. We cannot just trust him.’ So it does give a benefit. Of course, some parents don’t want them to know at a young age about what sex is.

“Pero there is also an advantage to it. We have to keep that in mind na if may alam sila, there’s also less curiosity kasi they already know, they’re guided.”