GORGY RULA
Walang sama ng loob si Toni Gonzaga nang magpaalam siya sa ABS-CBN.
Paano ang proseso nang ipinaalam niya na lilipat siya sa ALLTV?
“I guess siguro yung nangyari, it’s very internal,” lahad ni Toni nitong Oktubre 22, Sabado sa Coffee Project saWil Tower, Lopez Drive, Quezon City.
“That’s something that I really cannot share because very internal yung mga nangyari, you know.
“There’s so many things that have happened that I will not share because huwag na lang.
“Huwag na lang nating pag-usapan yun. But yung pagdating sa mga… may sama ng loob kay ganito, wala. Wala nang ganun.
“Kasi parang, I choose to move forward and instead of magkaroon ng sama ng loob, maging grateful na lang tayo.
“Kasi, di ba, lahat naman ng nangyayari sa buhay natin ay preparations sa kung ano ang susunod na gagawin mo sa next chapter.
“So, grateful. Mas grateful ako sa mga nangyari in the past. Siguro yun siguro ang state ng aking puso.
“I’m grateful that everything happened, how it happened, and why it happened because it has led me where I am today.”
Masasabi niyang walang tulay na nasunog?
Tinimbang-timbang ni Toni ang tugon, “Ahhh… I don’t know. Hindi ko masasagot iyan sa ngayon.
“But I’m in contact with my bosses. So we exchange messages, yun. So I think, that’s good enough na we know the real story and we know the truth.
“So, I respect kung ano man yung napag-usapan. And I think yun na lang siguro ang puwede kong ma-share.
“Ahh, we personally text ni Sir Carlo [Katigbak, CEO ng ABS-CBN] before everything happened, even before the whole thing was happening na mine-message ko si Sir Carlo.
“And between the two of us, I could say that it was a good conversation, the one that we had the last time.”
Ang daily talk show niyang Toni ay napapanood tuwing 5:00 pm sa ALLTV. Bale ito ang comeback niya sa TV, at hudyat ng pagdiriwang niya ng ika-20 anibersaryo sa showbiz.
JERRY OLEA
Hindi namimirata ng talent ang ALLTV. Wala nang kontrata si Toni sa ABS-CBN nang kunin siya ng istasyon na tinaguriang bagong Channel 2.
May offers ba ang ibang TV network kay Toni?
“Yes, meron din. Meron ding offer. Actually, may mga offers even before pa, 2020 pa lang, I remember that,” pagtatapat ni Toni.
“May offers na, not just one channel, but also the other channel. Wala pang ALLTV nun.
“I remember there were two channels na may mga offer. Actually, Toni Talks pa nga yung gusto nila.”
Noong 2020 pa natapos ang kontrata ni Toni sa Kapamilya channel.
“Everything that happened, wala na. Natapos na yung contract and you know, so yun… walang contract,” saad ni Toni.
“And then I got offers from other networks, ganyan. 'Tapos, parang… hindi ko pa nararamdaman sa heart ko nung time na yun na parang I’m ready to take that leap of faith.
“Parang sabi ko, hintayin muna or chill lang. Stay still. Hindi kasi ako mabilis magdesisyon, pinag-iisipan ko.
“I guess ganun talaga pag mga introverts, matagal mag-marinate sa isang desisyon.
“And then ayun, parang nag-isip muna ako. Nag-isip muna ako. Hanggang sa hindi na, pinalipas ko na muna.
“And then parang one day, it was Paul [Soriano, her husband] who said na, ‘You know, ALLTV is going to open and I talked to ganito, ganyan.’
“And then he said, ‘They wanna give an offer.’ So I consulted my mom, so we talked about it. And then we gave in.
“Laging sinasabi ni Paul na, ‘When you make a decision, choose the one that scares you because that’s the one where you will grow.’
“Kasi sure na… dun sa tatlo, parang pinaka-nakakatakot na desisyon ito. Pero sabi niya, ‘When you make a decision, piliin mo yung the one that scares you,’ because that’s where you will discover more about yourself, your capacity, your ability.
“And that’s where you will grow as a person and learn. Lagi, he always tells me, there are no failures in life, only lessons learned.
“And when something doesn’t work out, you can always start again. But when you start again, you’re not starting from zero.
“You can start from experience. So mas may baon ka. Mas may wisdom ka.
“So if they would ask na, ‘Whoa! Tinanggap ito dahil malaki ang offer, ganyan,’ if I would compare it to the previous offers that I got, hindi mo maiisip na I accepted it because the offer is this much.
“It’s because I like the challenge, I like to be part of something new. I like to be a part of something that’s building, growing.
“And I wanna grow also and deal with it because I know I can learn a lot from this experience.”
Kasabihan na pinaghihilom ng panahon ang lahat ng sugat.
Kumusta ang relasyon o turingan niya sa Kapamilya stars? Meron na bang healing process?
“Wala namang kailangang mag-heal,” pagmamatwid ni Toni.
“Kasi, wala namang… for me, maghi-heal ka lang kapag nasaktan ka, di ba? Ako kasi, parang… hindi ako nagdu-dwell dun sa mga...
“Ako kasi, I know the whole story. I know what really happened. So, parang… I don’t think ‘healing’ is the right term.
“Parang… for me, it’s not healing. It’s just that you chose to move forward. Walang healing.”
May mga nagri-reach out ba sa kanya?
Lahad niya, “Yeah. Meron naman. E kasi, yun naman siguro. Wala naman kasi akong… if you notice, even before, I never responded.
“I never said anything against anybody even before. So wala akong sinabi, kasi naniniwala ako, what comes out of your mouth will always come back to you.
“So wala. So walang… I don’t know. I don’t think healing is the right term. Because ang attitude ko is, if something happens to you, you move forward.
“I don’t want to dwell on anything that’s damaging or anything that’s not healthy for my soul, parang ganun. Move forward.”
Paano ba ma-achieve ang taguring ‘Unbothered Queen’?
“Yung mga netizens yung nagsabi na Unbothered sa akin, I didn’t claim that. But I liked it when they said, may nagsabi na ganun daw,” napapangiting pahayag ni Toni.
“Ganun ba? It’s nice, it’s fun. I guess you choose the people who can bother you. Just choose the people who will bother you.
“Choose the people that you will spend your time and attention, too. If it’s not healthy for you, if it’s not healthy for your well-being, mental state, we just move forward.
“Alam natin yan nung pandemic, you know, time is so valuable. Today, nandito tayo; tomorrow is not promised.
“So let’s choose to spend our time wisely in this day and age. Let’s be mindful of where we put our energy.”
NOEL FERRER
Ang daling magsabing mag-move on talaga… pero kung isaalang-alang ang mga naging proseso sa buhay ni Toni, lagi naman siyang may history na madaling maka-move on…
From Eat Bulaga to WazzUp WazzUp and ABS-CBN. Pero lagi nating alalahanin na bahagi ng bawat pag-move on ang pag-look back.
Di ba, sa pagtanaw natin sa ating nakaraan, doon talaga tayo may natutunan?
Sana nga, mag-grow siya sa paglipat niya sa ALLTV. Pero in time she has to mend the bridges that she burnt, the relationships that she sacrificed.
As she said, “Matagal mag-marinate ng desisyon ang mga introverts” like her. Sana, manuot ang lasa ng minarinate niya at maging well done sa huli’t huli!