The Other Life of Joey Marquez

We know Joey Marquez as the comedian who ventured into politics and whose name was linked to many controversies, including his very colorful love life. But unknown to many, Joey Marquez is leading another life. Text by Loretta G. Ramirez. Photos courtesy of Joey Marquez and Mitch S. Mauricio. A known comedian in the industry, Joey Marquez starred in various sitcoms including Kool Ka Lang, Lagot Ka, Isusumbong Kita and Who’s Your Daddy Now? He was also active in doing movies in the 1980s and 90s, but before he became an actor, Joey led a quite different life than what he has today. Joey, the sports buff Tsong, as he is fondly called by his friends and fans, became known to the public eye when he joined the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in the early 80s. He played in the Alaska, Ginebra and Great Taste teams during his seven seasons in the league and represented the country in various international competitions—the World Youth basketball games in San Paulo Brazil, the Philippine-American Basketball games in Los Angeles, and the ASEAN games in China, among others. After retiring from basketball and entering show business (and also eventually having a political career), Joey has kept his body in shape by playing basketball and golf once a week. “Once a week, kami nila Direk Dom, sa Adidas Sports camp,” says the tall charmer. He also said that he plays golf not just to keep fit but also because of ‘economics.’ “I started playing golf not because of the sport but mostly because of economics…that’s the way the biggest transaction can be done and you can spend more time sa mga executives. So, it’s more of business kasi kailangan diplomatic ka, kapag kalaban mo ka-business mo, kailangan matalo ka,” shares the witty comedian. Nowadays, Joey confesses to iGMA that his current hobby is wakeboarding. “For fun, for sports and exercise din and siguro for myself to feel na I’m still young,” says Joey while smiling sheepishly. He frequents Subic, Bicol and Batangas to wakeboard and assures us that it is not dangerous at all. “Hindi [dangerous], kasi sa wakeboard, tubig sa tubig. Hindi kagaya sa basketball, may siko, may patid at may dapa. Basta kapag athletic ka naman or ‘pag athlete ka, madali ka naman maka-adjust, eh.” Joey, the host When Joey Marquez became a public servant, he worked on improving his communication skills. And now that he’s no longer a government official, he’s concentrating on honing his hosting skills. He started with hosting the showbiz-oriented talk show, S-Files, where he got to interview his fellow celebrities and established a name for himself as a credible and proficient host. When S-Files ended its run, he was tapped to lead the first ever comedy-reality show on Philippine television, Kung Ako Ikaw. Weekly, together with Keempee de Leon, Kung ako Ikaw features different celebrities taking on menial jobs, with each episode being supervised by a bisor (supervisor). Joey said that this show is an eye-opener of sorts for him and is quite happy that he got this job: “Akala ko noon, sa pelikula lang nakikita 'yung mga ganoon klaseng trabaho. And then, I realized that I think it’s about time for private and government sectors to do something to benefit them naman and for [the workers] to be compensated naman sa mga trabaho nila.” Said like a true public servant, Joey admits, though, that he has no plans of going back to politics anytime soon. The former mayor and basketball star is quite content with being a comedian and still managing to keep an active lifestyle. These are just bits and pieces of Joey Marquez’s colorful life, so stay glued to www.igma.tv for more updates about this sharp comic! Curious about what the celebrities do in Kung Ako Ikaw? Click on the links below to watch videos of the show, and then leave your comments at the iGMA forums! Strawberry Farmers Bangus fishermen Coffee Princess