Marian Rivera: No place like Kapuso station

MARIAN Rivera’s wishes are for other people.

Ending speculations about network-hopping, Marian Rivera on Saturday renewed her contract with GMA 7 for three more years. While her fans waited in nervous anticipation for Marian’s next move after her old contract expired early this month, GMA 7 chairman and CEO Felipe L. Gozon said he was quite confident that the actress would remain a Kapuso.

“She grew up with the network; there was no reason for her [to jump ship],” Gozon told the Philippine Daily Inquirer after the contract signing held at the Manila Golf and Country Club. “We have many big plans for her. We love her not just as an actress, but also as a person.”

Also present during the contract signing were GMA 7 president and COO Gilberto R. Duavit, executive vice president and CFO Felipe S. Yalong and entertainment television vice president Lilybeth Rasonable.

Marian said that she owed GMA 7 a debt of gratitude. “I wouldn’t be where I am right now if it weren’t for them.”

She admitted that she received offers from elsewhere, “but it wasn’t a hard decision [to stay].”

Marian didn’t disclose details of her new  contract, and went only as far as saying that she would soon meet with network executives and the creative team to discuss future projects. “We’ll be talking about a new teleserye or a sitcom,” said Marian, who last appeared in the drama series “Temptation of a Wife.”

As for rumors that her boyfriend Dingdong Dantes would transfer to ABS-CBN, Marian said: “Just because we’re in a relationship doesn’t mean that we have to be in the same network. Dong makes his own career decisions. I respect him and his manager.”

Marian, who’s celebrating her 29th birthday today (Monday), revealed that she and Dingdong were set to go abroad for a vacation yesterday (Sunday). “But the location is still a secret, and I don’t even know if it’s just the two of us,” she said. “He just told me what things to bring: a swimsuit and a formal dress … I will share [with my fans], on Instagram, what will happen!”

What’s Marian’s birthday wish? “It’s not for me, but for other people,” she said. The answer that the press wanted to hear came from Gozon: “I wish her more success and a good married life!”