During the ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ press conference on April 11, Ina Raymundo and Donny Pangilinan revealed how they channeled their personal experiences with family to effectively portray the mother-son duo, Annie and Bingo, in the series.
In the storyline, Annie had to leave Bingo due to financial constraints. Years later, she returns seeking reconciliation with her estranged son, who is hesitant to welcome her back.
Raymundo shared that she and Pangilinan expressed genuine emotions, drawing from their personal experiences—hers as a mother and the actor’s closeness to his own mom.
“Working with Donny… you know, it would always come from raw emotion. Hindi inaral, hindi pinlano,” she said.
As a mother of five, Raymundo found it easy to tap into her character’s emotions, especially as she imagined her own son Jakob in Pangilinan’s place.
“When we hug each other, I close my eyes and I imagine it was my son kasi three months ko na siyang hindi nakikita. So it’s so easy to feel ‘yung talagang pain. ‘Yung ma-imagine ko lang na hindi ako mahal ng anak ko eh talagang sobrang [masakit],” she expressed.
Pangilinan echoed Raymundo’s sentiments, emphasizing the natural chemistry that developed between them on set.
“I think from that moment, nag-relate talaga kami. Because of that relationship, doon lumalabas ang raw emotions. Thank you so much also for being such a patient co-actress,” pointed out the actor. “Before the scene, actually, minsan, wala na kaming sinasabi eh. We just feel each other’s energy, and we get some pointers from direk [Mae Cruz-Alviar]. It’s so much easier kasi ‘yun nga, parang nakikita namin ‘yung family namin sa isa’t-isa.”
He added, “So I really treated her like that mother figure here. Whenever direk would say just one-liners, in character na agad kami. So, nag-work na kaagad.”
With a few remaining episodes left, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ continues to captivate audiences. Tune in to ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida or stream it on Netflix.
