Veteran actress Isabel Rivas was alarmed when all her efforts to find best friend Azenith Briones proved futile.
In exasperation perhaps, Rivas made public her search for her missing friend via her official Facebook account.
“Friends: I just want to inform everyone that I am looking for my dear friend Azenith Briones who was abducted & up to this time we cannot find. It all started when I saw this post on my wall.
I have talked to the proper authorities & we her friends will do everything we can to get her out where they are keeping her.
She is not an addict, not alcoholic, not addicted to gambling & definitely not mentally challenged nor crazy as others claim.
She is in her best state at 67 years young but yes she’s going thru heartbreak’s bcuz of family issues,” she said on 18 November.
She is praying that nothing has happened to Azenith, saying, “May God protect her wherever they are hiding her, give her strength & hope. May our authorities help Azenith Briones in her time of need.”
“This is one of her lowest times after her husband died trapped in a casino years ago. No mother deserves to be treated like this.
I plead to her family to pls help us find or just see her as we all know how devastated she must be at this time. Pls let’s all pray for Azi as I fondly call her for us to see her. amen Jesus Christ we lift her up To You Lord God… amen,” she said, noting that “her FB was taken down too.”
Rivas’ post came with a screenshot of Paul Macasiano’s message, also on Facebook, which somehow gave a glint of what had happened to Briones.
“May nakuha akong balita pinasok sa bahay kong azenith briones dinukot sya 10 p.m. ng gabi ng apat na kalalakihan wala pang nakaka aalam anong nangyare sa kanya mag 4 na araw na yata? (I got a report that men got into the house of my friend Azenith Briones. She was abducted at 10 p.m. by four men. Nobody knew what happened to her. It’s been four days already?)” Macasiano said .
He then asked Senator Lito Lapid to do an investigation as he claims that Briones was his consultant.
Macasiano also claimed that last month, Briones asked for bodyguards from him and he gave him four. Briones then asked her bodyguards to go on vacation while she went to Davao.
“Raffy Tulfo in Action TULFO ACTION ang problema ilan sa mga anak nadiskubre nya nag withdraw ng 4M ng di nya alam kaya nagalit sya at pina close nya ang bank account nya. Dun nagsimula ang banta dahil pinipilit syang ibigay na mana kahit di pa sya patay. Un dahilan ng threat nya (Raffy Tulfo in Action TULFO ACTION the problem is she discovered that some of her children withdrew four million without her knowledge, which was why she got mad and had her bank account closed. That’s where the threat started because she is being forced to give her their inheritance even though she’s not dead yet),” he said.
According to Macasiano, the driver heard Briones’ screams and was asking for help.
LA Santos regrets not being slapped by Maricel Soriano
If there’s one regret that young actor LA Santos felt during the shooting of In His Mother’s Eyes, it is not being slapped by Diamond Star Maricel Soriano.
Santos plays Soriano’s son who has a condition. He was left to the care of Soriano’s twin brother played by Roderick Paulate.
When asked if he already experienced being slapped by Soriano, it was with seeming regret that Santos said it didn’t happen.
“Hindi nga po, eh. Sayang nga, eh (Not really. Too bad),” he said.
On the contrary, it was he who got physical with Soriano as there was a scene where he pushed her when she embraced him upon arrival from abroad.
“Kung alam n’yo lang po, after ng eksena na iyon, sorry ako nang sorry kay Inay. Siyempre po, kapag nasa eksena na kami, hindi naming puwedeng iarte. Totoong ginagawa po namin, eh. Kaya nga po ano eh, isang karangalan na matulak si Inay. Pero sobrang sorry Inay, I love you (If you only knew, after that scene, I was saying sorry to Inay. Of course, when we are in a scene, we can’t just act it out. It’s true that we actually do it. It was just, it’s an honor to push Inay. But I’m so sorry, Inay),” he said.
Working with Soriano was a happy experience for Santos.
“Sobra siyang parang nanay para sa akin. Si Inay Marya, isipin n’yo natutulog ako sa set, kinukumutan niya ako. Sinisigurado niya na lagi akong kumakain. Isa pa, ‘yung itinuro niya sa akin sa pag-arte na galing sa puso (She is more than a mommy to me. Inay Marya. Come to think of it, when I’m sleeping on the set, she kindly covers me with a blanket. She makes sure that I always eat. One thing more, she told me that my acting should come from the heart),” Santos said about Soriano.
In His Mother’s Eyes will hit the big screen on 29 November.