Maliban sa pagiging model-actor ay negosyante si Gino Roque IV, kaya lubhang nanibago siya nang lumaganap ang COVID-19 pandemic at idineklara ang community quarantine sa bansa.
“Siyempre sa umpisa, medyo naninibago,” pagbabalik-tanaw ni Gino sa exclusive Zoom interview ng Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP.ph) noong Mayo 23, 2022, Lunes ng gabi.
“Kasi, di ba, we’ve never experienced a pandemic like this sa buhay natin. So, we had to decide, ano ang gagawin namin sa negosyo?
“Kung magiging online siya, are we going to expand sa online? Or parang we’re going to stick sa mga traditional, which is brick and mortar.
“So, ang ginawa namin po, sa start pa lang ng pandemya, is nag-invest talaga kami sa online, sa internet. And it did pay dividends.
“Kasi ngayon, halos lahat ng tao sa Pilipinas, bumibili sa mga Lazada, sa Shopee, sa online. Bago magpandemya, hindi talaga ako bumibili online, kasi parang nakakaduda din minsan, di ba?
“Parang, oh, baka hindi darating ang tamang size. Paano ire-return? Pero ngayon, iyong ibang mga platforms, at saka kami, we’ve studied how to do it online, how to have easy returns, how to advertise everything, and to create a very holistic business plan.
“At iyan ang ginawa namin sa Forza at iba pang kumpanya namin. And then, nung pandemya, since wala masyadong nagpo-produce especially noong 2020, sabi ko, ‘I-try natin.’
“Imagine niyo po, nung 2020, mabibilang mo sa mga daliri mo kung ilan lang ang nagpoprodyus, di ba?”
Iprinodyus nila ang seryeng Beauty and the Boss kung saan magkatambal sina Gino at Elisse Joson. Nanguna iyon sa WeTV, kaya nasundan iyon ng isa pang serye last year, ang PasaBuy kung saan sila naman ni Heaven Peralejo ang mga bida.
“Gusto kong magpasalamat sa ABS-CBN saka sa mga kapwa actors who also supported. And all the fans that supported the series!” bulalas ni Gino, na alumnus ng Pinoy Big Brother: Otso.
Bilang follow-up project ay plano ni Gino na magprodyus ng movie next year. Inilalatag na niya ang pagpapa-workshop sa mga makakasama niya sa project.
“Itong pelikula na ito, I want it to be really good. And everthing good takes time, di ba?” sambit ni Gino, na isa sa endorsers ng Solmux Advance.
“So, magpapraktis ako even more. Kasi, iba ‘to, e. Kasi kapag pelikula, it’s a little bit different. So we’re really trying to get the best people for the job.”
BATTLE WITH COVID
Inamin ni Gino na nagka-COVID siya noong nakaraang taon.
“Sa awa ng Diyos, walang sintomas. Not at all. At ako, ako mismo, bilang isang tao, hindi ako takot sa COVID,” pag-amin ni Gino.
“Pero takot lang ako para sa pamilya ko, sa mga lola at lolo ko. Kasi, we live in a compound. So, katabi namin yung bahay ni Lola at Lolo.
“Bumibisita ako minsan. So ngayon, ang istrikto namin dito sa compound namin. Like for example, katatapos lang ng Star Magic All-Star Games.
“So, nag-compete po ako dun. E, siyempre, di ba, ang daming contact sa iba’t ibang tao. So ngayon, naka-quarantine ako dito sa kuwarto ko for three days.
“Tapos, magte-test ako. So, every time na lumalabas ako, nagku-quarantine ako nang tatlong araw, and yan, nagsa-swab ako. So, ganun kaistrikto dito sa bahay namin.”
Si Gino na mismo ang nagsa-swab sa sarili.
“Meron kami ditong mga test kits na puwede sa self-swab. Kaya na, kaya na,” pagngiti ni Gino.
Inaasam ba niyang pagsapit ng Kapaskuhan ay wala nang COVID sa bansa? O sa tingin niya ay parte na talaga ito ng buhay natin?
“Ahhm, feeling ko talaga, hindi mawawala ang COVID. Pero magiging parang The Flu siya,” pagtangu-tango ni Gino.
Ang tinutukoy ni Gino ay ang 2013 South Korean disaster film tungkol sa pagkalat ng deadly strain ng H5NI sa pumapatay sa mga biktima nito sa loob ng 36 oras.
Pagpapatuloy ni Gino, “Kasi, that’s kind of what happened, di ba? Lahat ng mga sicknesses of before, in kinda molded into the flu, like chicken pox or something like that.
“Yung mga ganung klaseng sicknesses na once our bodies already developed that sense of immunity, then it becomes something like that.
“By December, sana OK na. Sana, people are not scared. Kasi ako, ahhm, pag lumalabas ako for example, I go to the movies also, ahhm… kahit papaano dumadami at dumadami yung mga tao.
“Hindi pa full as how much I would like it to be pero I think it is getting better. And ayun, so we can all start going out, di ba? Sana, magkaroon din ako ng love life, di ba? Matagal na.”
LOVE IN THE THE TIME OF PANDEMIC
Nakaapekto ba talaga sa pagkakaroon ng love life ang pandemya? As in kailangang mag-social distancing, iwas sa kissing and embracing? Nagkaroon ba siya ng ganoong frustration?
“Ahhm, wala pa akong love life, e. So, ikaw ang magsabi sa akin kung mahirap ba!” napapatawang tugon ng 26-anyos na binata.
Maraming single na deadma muna sa love life, bagkus ay itinuon ang panahon sa pakikipag-bonding sa kani-kanyang kapamilya.
“I realized the quality time I have with my family, especially sina lolo at lola, di ba?” seryosong pahayag ni Gino.
“Na-realize ko na, you know, andito lang sila, as in literally mga one-minute walk away from sa bahay namin. And before we would take it for granted na, di ba, like they’re super young, like sina Lolo at Lola, they’re in their 70s.
“And si Lola, sumasayaw. As in kaya niyang sumayaw ng five hours. Tapos si Lolo, nagba-basketball din, di ba? And then nung nagkapandemya, I couldn’t see them for like a year. A year and a half.
“Parang na-realize ko na, grabe, we’ve been taking these things for granted. At saka yung mga friends that have been there for you this whole time, di ba? You realize.
“Tapos yung pag-travel, di ba, kung kaya ninyong mag-travel. Those things are now so precious. Kasi, you never know when it’s your time, di ba?
“When it’s your time, it’s your time. Kasi di ba, nung start ng pandemya… old, young, lahat nagka-COVID. At saka minsan, di ba? Namamatay pati yung mga bata, di ba?
“Yung COVID, hindi pinipili yung mga nagka-COVID. So, those are the things that I take to heart. So, for me it’s just quality time with your family, especially kina lolo at lola.”
Pagpapatuloy ni Gino, “Kahit paano, nakakatakot pa rin ang COVID. If you’re not, baka yung family mo, mahawa sa ‘yo, di ba? So, everybody has still to be vigilant…
“And di ba, konting ubo lang sa bahay, ‘Uy, COVID na yan! COVID na 'yan!’ Ha! Ha! Ha! I mean, it can become a joke. But still, di ba?
“Like for example, pag nasa elevator ka, tapos may isang tao na umubo, di ba? Lalayo na sa ‘yo, di ba, parang ganun?! We’ve all had that experience.
“Or for example, nasa grocery ka and gusto mong umubo, di ba? Di ba, ang hirap?! Kasi nakakahiya. Saka feeling mo din, oh, baka COVID ‘to. So, andaming instances.
“As much as possible, you know, we can minimize those things, the better, di ba?”
START GOING OUT
Bilang COVID-survivor, sa tingin ba niya ay hindi na dapat matakot ang mga tao dahil meron namang mga pangontra rito?
“Yes, yes, yes. People should be vigilant and safe but I mean, especially like for me, I’m a pro-economy guy,” paliwanag ni Gino.
“I think economy has to keep on moving for everybody to survive. Kasi, you know, if COVID doesn’t kill… like, you know, if we don’t go out or we don’t start up the economy again, hunger naman will take over, di ba?
“It’s so hard. We have to make the economy move in a way that is safe, in a way to prevent as much as possible the spread of COVID, and to keep our family safe.
“Like for me, personally, I go out sometimes. But then, ano yung requirements ko? May three days na isolation sa kuwarto. So, everybody should have their own quarantine measures sa bahay nila.
“Like, yung mga pinsan ko, medyo mas loose sila, di ba? Pero choice nila yun. It’s everbody’s risk, di ba? All of us have the same consensus na economy needs to start growing, so people need to start you know, living their old lives kahit papaano. Get the groove of things!” bulalas pa ni Gino.
Yung political climate sa darating na bagong gobyerno, conducive kaya sa pag-unlad ng economy?
“My hope for the incoming government… I hope that the government really values the economy also,” pag-asam ni Gino.
“Really values the growth of our country, not just for the near… kasi, I feel, there are two kinds of needs, e. There’s needs now, and needs later.
“So, if you serve kasi all the needs of today, you might be finishing the needs of the people five years from now, di ba? Yung mga children, your kids’ kids, di ba?
“We’re trying to build for the future, but also not look too far ahead na nakakalimutan na yung mga tao ngayon, di ba?
“Mahirap, mahirap siya. I’m not saying it’s easy. Hindi ko alam yung mga sagot. Pero masasabi ko lang, I think, the government needs to understand, and needs to realize which ones we need to do now, we need this to happen now, and others, OK, we can do this in a later date so we can save for the next generation.
“That’s basically how it is. Kasi, if you feed all your resources for the needs now, what about the needs for tomorrow? Di ba?
“You have to plant the seeds so that it would grow, di ba? If you chop down all the trees, everybody would be happy today.
“But what happens for the people tomorrow? Wala na silang wood. But if you plant seeds, you cut some, you plant… di ba, you cut one tree, you plant two seeds, di ba?
“So, it’s something like that, it has to grow, and I hope the government gets to do that. And I hope the government is also very vigilant.
“Kasi now, I mean, it’s the age of social media, di ba? There’s so many things going around, di ba? Di mo alam kung totoo. Di mo alam kung hindi, di ba?
“It’s also up to the people to keep everybody in check. To keep other people, to keep the government, to keep even us artists, di ba, to keep us in check also.
“Kasi, even though we have a platform, we have to also do our own research, di ba? As public figures, we also need to do our own vigilant research and to think, and to really think before we post.
“And to really you know, to really go out and be a part of the community, di ba?”