Carla still a Kapuso

CARLA Abellana

It took a lot of hemming and hawing, but Carla Abellana finally renewed her contract with home network GMA 7, inking a three-year deal last week.

“It was not a decision I could rush into,” she said.

Carla added that she had considered moving to other stations but decided to stick with her home studio.

GMA 7 baby

In favoring GMA 7, she listened to the opinions of everyone in her inner circle. “This is where my heart is. My lola (LVN star Delia Razon) and mom (former GMA 7 talent Rhea Reyes) wanted me to stay.”

But Carla made clear that she did not follow her family’s wishes blindly. “In the end, it was still my choice. My mom and grandmom do not meddle in my show business career. They give their input, but they allow me to make my own decisions.”

Network head Felipe L. Gozon said Carla is a homegrown Kapuso star. GMA 7 gave Carla her first soap opera “Rosalinda” in 2009.

Carla jokes that she was practically conceived in GMA 7 because her mom had met her dad, Rey “PJ” Abellana, on the set of the station’s old soap, “Anna Liza.”

Rewarded

Her next big project with GMA 7 is the new teleserye tentatively titled “Rancho Paradiso,” where she will be paired for the first time with the network’s prized hunk, Richard Gutierrez. “StarStruck” winner Sarah Lahbati completes the show’s love triangle.

Carla is thrilled that she will star with the station’s top leading man in a primetime drama.

Boyfriend Geoff Eigenmann is also excited for her. “I tell him everything. He wants me to start working as soon as possible,” said Carla.

Of her role in the new soap, she says she is no doormat. “She is strong yet down-to-earth. She fights for her family.”

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