Photo from Instagram/@rabiyamateo
TIKTOCLOCK hosts Rabiya Mateo and Pokwang are focusing on their work as hosts for their new variety show even as they recover from their own reported heartbreaks.
Pokwang admitted in a recent TV interview that she had split with Lee O’Brian months ago, while Rabiya has not officially confirmed rumors about her breakup with Jeric Gonzales after they unfollowed each other on Instagram and deleted their photos together on the platform.
In an article in PEP.ph, both Pokwang and Rabiya said that they are focusing on giving viewers happiness when they tune in to watch the TV show.
“What we focus on this show is [having] a happy time. We need to show that especially for our viewers who are in their homes,” Pokwang said. “That’s our goal – to be able to give joy to others.”
“Whatever sorrows we are experiencing, we need to leave those behind [for our viewers]. It’s not their fault. They just want to laugh. That’s why we will give them what they expect of us,” she added.
According to the comedienne, the camaraderie among the hosts made work very light.
“We did not even realize it, but we began to laugh about the things that we had experienced,” she admitted. “In fact, it was seven months ago… (referring to her breakup with Lee presumably), but I am okay now.”
“Now, we’re very blessed. That’s what we want to show to our viewers – our gratitude for the blessings we have,” Pokwang stated.
For Rabiya, a former Miss Philippines Universe winner, she constantly reminds herself that she should not bring to work whatever issues she is experiencing in her life.
“I need to remind myself that this is a very competitive industry. I do not bring any personal issues weighing me down to work,” she said.
“0ur goal is to make people happy. That’s life… no life is perfect. We all have problems,” she continued.
“Just because we have a problem or two, we shouldn’t focus on those,” she added.
Like her co-host Pokwang, Rabiya chooses to have a positive disposition despite any problems she may have in her life.
“Here, we have fun and are happy. On or off cam, we all focus on the positives that are happening in our lives,” the beauty queen said. “Just like this job. It’s not easy to get this spot (as co-host), but they (referring to her network, GMA) chose to give this to me because they saw the potential in me.”
As for new romance in their lives, both are just happy to focus on their work for now.
According to Rabiya, her costs Pokwang and Kim Atienza have told her to prioritize her career, especially since she has gotten the TV hosting gig.
“They tell me, ‘Whatever happens to you now, you’re are so blessed even at this age, you have gotten this spot’,” she related. “And I just want to focus on that. I really want to do my very best at Tiktoclock.”
As for Pokwang, she quips, “I don’t go against God’s wishes. I leave it all up to Him. It’s up to Him. I will just go and earn a living right now.”
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Joey Javier Reyes is one of the most respected directors in showbiz.
He is known to protect stars in his movies, especially when they have to film intimate scenes.
In an interview with PEP.ph, the director said making his artists feel secure and respected will make go a long way in making the shoot easy.
“It’s very important to make them feel secure. I am very, very protective of my actors, male or female,” he said.
“The baseline is respect. They are doing a job, they’re doing their job and they are using their instruments, which is their bodies, to achieve their jobs. So, you give respect to the job by respecting your actors,” he continued.
“I make sure that they never feel exploited when they are made to do those things and I make sure that I explain everything I’m going to ask them to do. Sasabihin ko, ‘This is what you’re doing, this is where the camera will be, this is what will get covered.’ In other words, it’s not leaving it up to them and then I will just shoot the scene. It’s not like that,” he further said.
“I don’t work that way because I feel that for them do their best, they have to trust me and I have to trust them as well. And a great part of the trust is respect,” he added.
His latest film, “Katawang Lupa,” will star Greg Hawkins and Janelle Tee.
According to the director, he nearly fell off his chair when he learned that Greg was a former Mormon missionary with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“I literally fell off my chair and went through the floor,” Reyes said, as he added with a laugh, “I mean, suddenly I really prayed because of the things I’m going to ask him to do [that] can possibly condemn me for all eternity to hell, but I shall blame Greg Hawkins for that.”
Hawkins, who has also been seen in “Pusoy” and “Virgin Forest,” is the original Kuya Escort in the variety program, “It’s Showtime.”
