Director Jeffrey Jeturian candidly shared that he once strongly disliked working with Angelica Panganiban, admitting to a difficult experience early in their professional history.
The revelation came during the media conference of ‘UnMarry’, one of the official entries in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2025, which now stars Panganiban as its lead actress.
Jeturian recalled an incident from years ago when Panganiban was juggling multiple projects at the same time, which affected her focus on set.
“Naglalagari siya noon, e. Tapos, noong nag-report siya sa set namin, siguro pang-apat o pangatlong araw na niya na tuluy-tuloy na nagsu-shoot. Tapos, every time na nagbibigay ako ng instructions sa blocking, nakapikit siya, natutulog. Kaya feeling ko, parang nabastos din ako. Anyway, past is past naman,” the director said.
Panganiban did not deny the incident and openly took responsibility, explaining the circumstances behind what happened.
“Late na late na akong dumating [sa set] dahil pagka-pack up ko sa Batangas, hindi na ako umuwi, diretso na ako ng Bulacan. Siyempre, yung tulog ko sa biyahe lang. Tapos, I remember tatlong asawa ko yung namatay, so buong araw akong umiiyak. Tapos, 11:00 a.m. na nung Thursday, hindi pa kami na-pack up. Bina-block ako ni Direk, nakakatulog na ako. Tumawid na yung kaluluwa ko sa kabilang dimensyon,” she said, drawing laughter from the audience.
The actress admitted that the experience is one of the moments in her career that she is not proud of.
“Hindi nakaka-proud,” Panganiban said.
She reflected on how her mindset as a younger actress has changed over time.
“Noong akala mo ang paglalagari ay naipapakita mo kung gaano ka kasipag. Pero yun pala, nakakabastos ka na ng mga katrabaho mo. At least ngayon, may Eddie Garcia [law] na tayo. Napoprotektahan na ang mga ganung chances para makabastos ng mga katrabaho natin dahil sa puyat,” she added.
Despite their rocky past, Panganiban shared that their working relationship has since transformed for the better, revealing that Jeturian now considers her his favorite actress.
“Masaya ako na bawing-bawi na na favorite na ako ni Jeffrey Jeturian,” she said, laughing.
Unmarry also marks Panganiban’s major movie comeback after stepping away from acting for several years following her marriage to non-showbiz husband Gregg Homan and focusing on family life. The actress admitted she became highly selective about the projects she would accept.
“Noong may mga binibigay talaga… no offense sa mga nag-aaya sa akin na, ‘Tara na game, balik ka na.’ Parang wala talaga siyang lukso ng dugo, parang hindi nakaka-‘kembak’ yung dating niya,” she explained.
“Siyempre, gusto ko yung tahimik na buhay na mayroon ako ngayon. Kailangan n’yo ako pakitaan ng talagang, ‘Ay sandali, ang ganda nito. Luluwas ako para dito.’”
She said she was waiting for a project she would regret turning down.
“Kailangan ko nung manggigigil ako sa project, e. Yung parang kapag pinalagpas ko ito, panghihinayangan ko. Ganun yung hinihintay kong klase ng project,” she added.
Panganiban said Unmarry met that standard, which is why she accepted it immediately when it was offered by Jeturian and producer Atty. Joji Alonso.
Asked about her return to acting, the actress admitted it was both exciting and nerve-wracking.
“Talagang nanginginig na ang kalamnan mo,” she said.
“Siyempre, na-miss mo ang pag-arte and ayaw mo namang mapahiya dahil pinagkatiwalaan ka rin nila. Magandang-maganda yung project na ibinigay sa ’yo, so may gusto kang ipakita sa mga tao. Especially now, di ba, parang mas lumalim na ang pagkatao ko, of course, dahil marami nang pinagdaanan.”
She added that her life experiences have influenced her performance.
“Sa isip-isip ko nga, kailangan magpakita tayo rito ng maturity kasi iba na ang atake natin, iba na ang mga na-experience ko sa buhay.”
Panganiban also shared that her husband Gregg is fully supportive of her acting comeback, joking about his reaction to her paycheck.
“Okay naman magbayad si Attorney [Joji Alonso]. Kaya pag-uwi ko, may tseke akong inaabot kaya masayang-masaya ang asawa ko,” she said with a laugh.
She added that while the work setup has been challenging due to their living arrangement in Zambales, her family understands the demands of her career.
“Siyempre, sobrang supportive. Of course, mahirap kasi para kaming naka-LDR dahil sa Zambales kami nakatira. So minsan, straight five or six days na hindi ko nakikita ang mag-ama ko.”
“But napanood din naman niya ang trailer, sabi niya, ‘Okay, puwede ka pang gumawa. Go lang,’” she added.
‘Unmarry’ is set to premiere on December 25 as part of the MMFF 2025 lineup. (with reports from Loyd Pino)
