“It’s boring inside the hotel,” exclaimed actor Gary Estrada as he described his solitude in his designated room in a hotel in Bataan Province where he stayed for the rest of the shoots of the GMA Network TV drama “Raising Mamay.”
“Imagine, I was billeted in the hotel for two months and I could only go out if I was needed in the set,” recalled Gary who plays a corrupt politician in the television series.
“Mabuti na lang at may mga dala akong papel, nagsusulat ako ng mga storyline. ‘Yon ang libangan ko,” quipped Estrada beaming with confidence.
According to Gary, before he and the rest of the cast of the TV show were whisked away to Bataan from EDSA Shangri-La Hotel, he had to be quarantined for seven days to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus still prevalent in the country.
Estrada admitted he didn’t want to go back to show biz anymore after doing a lot of on-cam media work.
“Pero sabi ko, hindi puwedeng hindi ko maranasan ‘yong lock-in taping. So, nang i-offer sa akin ang ‘Raising Mamay,’ tinanggap ko agad. At saka, gusto ko ang role ko, ibang klase ,” Gary enthused.
Right after he was let go of his taping, he met up with wife Bernadette Allyson and their three daughters in Bataan where they started going to their farm in San Antonio, Quezon. After the visit to the country, the whole family went to Tarlac City for the birthday celebration of his mom, actress Agnes Moran.
be served after the event.