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LJ Reyes and Maxene Magalona are sisters and enemies on-screen. But what are they like off-screen? iGMA finds out.
In "Una Kang Naging Akin," LJ Reyes and Maxene Magalona are sisters and enemies. But how are they off-screen? Text by Jason John S. Lim and Jillian Q. Gatcheco. Photos by Mitch S. Mauricio. Onscreen LJ plays Liway, Jessa's (Maxene) half-sibling who feels neglected because the spotlight is always on her sister. In effect, she devises schemes to complicate Jessa's life. "Si Liway, nakakatawa, kasi siya yata yung talagang kontrabida!" LJ exclaims. "Sobrang sama niya talaga! Kunwari bati na sila, pero masyado siyang selosa na possessive. May mga times na hindi siya dapat mag-selos, [pero] sobrang obsessed siya kay Ronnie (Alfred Vargas), [kaya] ang nangyayari, kaunting ano lang, magseselos [na] siya kay Jessa, tapos bumabalik yung galit niya. So this time, sobrang sama ko na kay Jessa! As in! Na hindi niya alam, ha!" Jessa, on the other hand, doesn't really care much for Ronnie because she is in love with Darwin (Wendell Ramos ). Her main foe is Vanessa, played by Angelika Dela Cruz. "Yung character ni Jessa dito, pinaglalaban niya kasi na unang naging kanya si Darwin—or si Nick. So ang aabangan nila is 'yung anong gagawin ni Jessa to fight for her right as the mother of Darwin's son. "So ang ipinaglalaban niya is that even though their marriage is not legal, they have a child. So mas may right siya. Kasi nga, Vanessa, Angelika's character, is already barren. Hindi na siya pwedeng magka-baby. That's why yun 'yung pinaglalaban ni Jessa, na we have a child together. "And then also, aabangan din nila 'yung kung anong gagawin ni Jessa once she finds out na it was her sister who brought all of this upon Jessa. Na siya 'yung may kasalanan kung bakit nalaman ni Vanessa lahat. And 'yung sister talaga ni Jessa, hate na hate siya, that's why lahat ginagawa niya in order to ruin Jessa's life. However, si Jessa, hinahayaan lang niya. But [ang] pwede nilang abangan in the future is kung ano ang gagawin niya kay Liway, ano ang pwede niyang gawin kay Liway. Kasi parang mapupuno na rin si Jessa at one point." LJ remarks with a laugh, "Hindi! Alam mo, sa totoong buhay, masama rin siya!" On school Maxene and LJ aren't only rivals onscreen—their schools are also pitting them against each other. That's because Maxene is Atenean, and LJ is La Sallian. The two share their experiences after the recent UAAP basketball championship game, where the Blue Eagles won. LJ watched the first game of the championship. "Talo kami! Hahahaha! Talo talaga kami! Okay lang, actually, nagulat nga ako na pasok sa championships, e!" Maxene, of course, enjoyed rubbing it in, especially since she had an ally in Alfred, who is also Atenean. "E sinong panalo? Excuse me!" she jokes. LJ protests, "Pinagtutulungan nga nila ako pagkatapos ng game, e! Hindi naman ako player! " But the two aren't really rivals off-screen. In fact, they're very close, as brought about by similar experiences. Both are balancing school and showbiz, and are doing a pretty good job at it. "Tapos na 'yung first sem ko. May second sem na ako this coming November," says Maxene. "Tapos yun, I have around five classes left, and then I’ll be graduating na in March. So at least makakapag-full time na ako [sa showbiz]." LJ is currently taking up Economics and Management of Financial Institutions, a double-major course. "Una kong kinukuha yung Eco, tapos recently, I had my qualifying exam for Management of Financial Institutions. Okay naman! So this term, I'm getting my first major sa Finance, tapos may thesis proposal na kami sa Eco." "Actually, I’m very thankful na si Direk Joel 'yung director namin, kasi he finishes early," says Maxene, who's taking up Social Sciences. "Sobrang early. As in talagang nakakagulat na coming from my other shows na nage-end very late na, ito talaga pabor sa akin. Right now especially in my semester. This semester in school, kasi 'yung classes ko ng Tuesday-Thursday, 7:30 in the morning. E kung kunwari matapos 'yung taping namin ng 4 a.m. patay ako. But thankful ako na ngayon early natatapos, like around 10 p.m. tapos na, may rest time pa ako." You'd think that celebrities get special treatment in school, but this is not the case. Like everyone else, they have to talk to their professors and work out their class schedules. "Hindi naman yata nila ako nakikilala [e], sinabi ko lang na may part time job ako," LJ says. "Nakausap ko prof ko na mayroon akong work. Pumayag naman sila, so long as maka-cope ako." On sisterhood Aside from bonding over their school activities, LJ and Maxene also bond over food. "Mahilig kasi ako kumain. Kami yan, kami ni LJ, nagdadala kami lagi ng food sa set," shares Maxene. LJ adds, "Marami kaming parehong gustong food. Pati restaurants, pareho! Sobrang okay kami." Maxene explains, "Pareho kaming mahilig kumain!" "Pag pagod na kaming pareho, talagang hinihila na namin ang isa'-t-isa na kaya mo yan! Ok lang yan! Kasi parehong pagod from school, tapos we have to work," says LJ. Both LJ and Maxene agree that they'd love to continue their showbiz careers after graduating. Maxene says, "Syempre, I'd like to focus more on my career. Para talagang malaman ko ano pa ang pwede kong gawin—kasi there’s so much that I can do pa. Like, gusto ko rin magkontrabida, kung papayagan ako." To which LJ quips, "Agawan pa ako ng trabaho!" Then the two burst out laughing. Do you want to know more about LJ and Maxene? Subscribe to their Fanatxt service by texting LJ or MAXENE to 4627 (for all telcos). Each Fanatxt message costs PhP2.50 for GLOBE, SMART, and TALK 'N TEXT, and PhP2.00 for Sun subscribers. (This service is available only in the Philippines)