Bernard Palanca di na nagbibigay ng sustento kay Jerika Ejercito

MASARAP interbyuhin ang ate ni Jake Ejercito na si Jerika, marami kasi siyang kuwento at open siya sa lahat – walang itinatago maliban na lang kung bawal ilathala at sasabihin niyang “off-the-record.”

Pagkatapos naming maka-one-on-one si Jake sa Novotel Restaurant pagkatapos niyang tanggapin ang Best New Male TV Personality sa nakaraang PMPC Star Awards for TV noong Okt. 23, ay ang ate Jerika naman niya ang nakakuwentuhan namin.

Na-curious kasi kami sa ipinakitang litrato nina Ellie (anak ni Jake kay Andi Eigenmann), Isaiah (anak ni Jerika kay Bernard Palanca) at Elijah (anak naman ni Meryll Soriano kay Bernard). Pinsan ni Ellie ang dalawang boys kaya ang sabi namin kay Jerika, “Close pala ang tatlong bagets?”

“Yeah, they were very close. Si Elijah, I told Meryll na whatever happened between me and Bernard, hindi dapat maapektuhan ang relasyon ng magkapatid. Anuman ang mangyari, magkadugo sina Elijah at Isaiah,” kaswal na sabi ng nag-iisang anak na babae ni Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada sa dating aktres na si Laarni Enriquez.

Close rin sina Jerika at Meryll bago pa raw nagpakasal ang huli kay Bernard. Hiwalay na sina Jerika at Bernard, “Bigla na lang (naghiwalay), and we’re not friends. Hindi ko na siya nakikita, ayaw magpakita, but he can visit anytime Isaiah, hindi ko naman ipagbabawal ‘yun, he will always be the father of my son.”

Wala rin daw financial support na natataggap ang anak niya mula kay Bernard, “Hindi nga nagpapakita, eh, so paano magkakaroon ng financial support, okay lang naman, kaya ko naman, baka someday magpakita na siya,” sabi ni Jerika.

Malabo nang magkabalikan sina Jerika at Bernard dahil masaya na ang una sa kanyang Spanish-Mestizo boyfriend na si Miquel Aguilar Garcia, na nasa Pilipinas ngayon at nagtatrabaho bilang country manager ng kilalang tiles sa Espanya, ang Togama.

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Kasalukuyang nagtatrabaho si Jerika sa Manila City Hall, “Personal Secretary to the Mayor (Erap) of Manila and Program Director ng Ilaw Ng Maynila.

“The Ilaw ng Maynila, they started October last year when my dad asked me to work for him, my only condition was, I will have free range on what kinds of programs that I want to do for Manila.

“So my first program was about Violence Against Children And Women and why that? I wanted to do a program of substance. Something that would really uplift the lives of women and children in Manila. I could easily do feeding program, medical program but I mean that’s needed. But I wanted something na may longevity and may impact. And that’s one.

“And then medyo na sidetrack ako ng konti the last few months because of the recent Tokhang. Earlier, before President (Rodrigo) Duterte won, I already proposed a project to my dad to build rehabilitation facilities sa Maynila, and then siyempre this will take two and a half years to build and the budget is malaki ‘yan.

“And all of a sudden this Tokhang happened, so we needed quick fix and at the moment, meron ng 11,000 surrenderees sa Maynila. So what we did was, we developed an outpatient program, Sagip Buhay, Sagip Pangarap. This will be a community based drug rehabilitation program. So ang mangyayari nito, we will asses the surrenderees.

“The first 2,000 muna and for the next six months, we will asses them. Tatlo lang naman (pupuntahan), either pupunta sila sa Bicutan (Taguig) because they cannot function anymore, number 2, they might be using drugs because they’re not meant to be stable and so this is NMH (National Mental Hospital) in Mandaluyong and then ‘yung matitira, ‘yan ‘yung papasok sa programa ni Mayor Erap which is Sagip Buhay, Sagip Pangarap.

“This program will run for six months. So nag-allot na si Mayor ng 50 million for this kaya ang mangyayari after the assessment, we’ll have seminars for the surrenderees including their family and then that’s phase 2 and phase 3, may skills training, livelihood,” esplika niya sa amin.

Biro namin kay Jerika, siya dapat ang pumasok sa politika, “Actually nagkapalit nga kami ngayon ni Jake, siya ang nasa showbiz, ako ‘tong nasa pulitika. Ako ‘yung dating mahilig sa showbiz tapos siya sa politics, pero for some reasons, the tables have turned. Ewan ko, I guess destiny, but I really can’t see myself (entering politics).”

Tinanong namin si Jerika kung bakit mental health o condition ang gusto niyang project, base ba ito sa personal niyang experience?

“Siguro. ‘Yung mental health, definitely personal experience with what happened to my father back in 2001, ‘yung impeachment, everything what we went through, yan mental health yan.

“Pero pagdating sa violence against women and children and addiction, yes, addiction I can say that pahapyaw, yes I have an experience with people around me, I will not name names (sabay ngiti), so, I can relate.

“Yung violence against women and children, like I said, I wanted a program that has substance,” pagtatapat ni Jerika.