Buboy sings his blues away

SUNSHINE Cruz and Cesar Montano (on the Film Academy red carpet in 2005) need to ignore the noise and listen to dictates of their hearts. AFP

As a close friend of Cesar Montano and Sunshine Cruz, I am saddened by the legal battle they are facing. I wish I had a magic wand to make things right between them. I hope they can settle things amicably. No need for lawyers if they let God take control.

Actors Alvin Anson and Mon Confiado, some relatives of Buboy (Cesar’s nickname) and I went to his restaurant, Bellisimo, last Thursday to cheer him up. (The last time I saw him looking that helpless was when his son Angelo committed suicide three years ago). He sung his woes away that night. You could feel the pain in his voice when he belted out “Who Can I Turn To?”

He had an early call time in Tagaytay the next day for his new teleserye on GMA 7 (“Akin Pa Rin ang Bukas”), but he stayed till past midnight. We could sense that he needed company and was glad that we were there.

Shine’s pain as a wife is valid. A week after Mother’s Day, her interview with Janice de Belen was aired in ABS-CBN’s “Showbiz Inside Report” (youtube/xy85wFKyWv8). In that interview, Shine said they had a happy Mother’s Day celebration with the kids and that she no longer felt pain or hatred. In her interview with Tito Boy (Abunda) in “Bandila,” she said she couldn’t deny that Buboy was a good provider.

I am not saying that Buboy is a saint. He has faults but, as far as I know, he has always been a gentleman. I can never forget the time he pulled me away while I was crossing the street and almost got hit by a motorcycle. Buboy  wanted to chase the rider—like a scene straight from an action film.

As a BFF (best friend forever), Buboy is that protective, what more as a husband?

Of course, what happened in their bedroom is something only the two of them know. Like any husband and wife, they must have quarreled and argued. But as I’ve seen in their unguarded moments, they get sweeter when they kiss and make up.

For the love of their three beautiful daughters, it would be better if they  didn’t wash dirty linen in public. Couples like Buboy and Shine can divorce themselves from each other but not from their kids.

According to Buboy’s lawyer Joel Ferrer in his interview in “Unang Hirit,” the kids prefer to stay with their father. Wouldn’t it be in their best interest if they weren’t torn this way? What’s the use of badmouthing your ex? There must be some good in him/her that made you stick it out for so many years.

I really hope this is just a chapter in Buboy and Shine’s love story. Maybe they just have to be apart for a while to appreciate what they once had. May the wonderful memories outweigh the painful moments so that even if they can no longer work things out, they can still love each other as friends. More than just a feeling, love is an ability. I know Buboy and Shine still have it in them.

The media frenzy seems to have drowned out all the beautiful memories. When the noise has died down, perhaps they will be able to hear the dictates of their hearts more clearly.