A proud father of 18, Jeric Raval has undeniably lived up to the aphorism, “The more, the merrier.”
As his daughter, former Vivamax star AJ Raval, shared during her guest appearance on the podcast “Your Honor,” she recalled growing up under one roof with her 17 siblings, born to different mothers.
AJ said she initially thought she was simply spending playful moments with cousins. Theirs was a blended family, even before such arrangements became common.
Despite it all, Jeric hardly played favorites. To this day, she said, he treats all 18 of his children fairly and equally.
“Kapag kadugo mo, kadugo mo. Walang anak sa labas (Kinship always matters. No one is illegitimate),” AJ quoted as her father’s unwritten house rule.
For all the values he instilled in his children, AJ said her father also had a playful, even eccentric side — often as a way to bring the family closer together.
“Ewan ko kung ano ang trip ng tatay ko (I didn’t know what my dad was up to). Pero may time na kinalbo niya kaming lahat (There was a time he had all our heads clean-shaven)! Mukha tuloy kaming Shaolin (We looked like Shaolin)! Sumakay kaming magkakapatid lahat sa pick-up, umikot-ikot sa bayan (We all rode a pick-up truck that went around town),” she recalled.
Following in her father’s footsteps in showbiz, AJ also hopes to raise a big family of her own.
Now a mother of four — two from a previous relationship and two with Aljur Abrenica — she dreams of having eight more children to make it a dozen.
She recalled being asked in school how she envisioned her future, to which she quickly replied: a mother of 12.
For AJ, a happy family is a big family — and vice versa.
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Even during her prime, Elizabeth Oropesa was no stranger to lewd remarks from men who hit on her.
The former Miss Luzon in the 1972 Miss Republic of the Philippines pageant entered show business two years later, gaining attention in Ang Pinakamagandang Hayop sa Balat ng Lupa by Celso Ad Castillo.
In an interview with Philippine Entertainment Portal, the septuagenarian actress said there is little difference between her era — the 1970s and 1980s—and today, except for the absence of social media back then. The “predators,” she noted, including politicians, remain the same.
“If the guy happened to be good-looking, it was flattering. But if it was a politician, parang hindi maganda (it was kind of awkward). But it’s all the same — they’ll tell you: ‘Wow, you turn me on!’” she said.
Ultimately, Oropesa stressed, it was always up to the woman how to respond to such remarks — whether to accept or reject them.
Asked if politicians had ever fallen for her, she replied without hesitation: “Dyusko, andami (My God, a lot)!” — though she declined to name names.
