Derek Ramsay: Girls still flirt with me

Aneglica Panganiban and Derek Ramsay

Actor Derek Ramsay admits that girls still flirt with him even though they know he has been dating actress Angelica Panganiban for five years now.

“I won’t lie to you and say that if I see a pretty girl, I won’t admire her beauty. But I want you to know that hanggang tingin lang ’yon. No touch,” Derek told Inquirer Entertainment. The actor added that he knows well enough not to get into trouble.

“I keep my hands to myself. If girls come up to me and flirt, I just smile at them. ’Di ko naman sila pwedeng bastusin. It’s the same way when guys flirt with Angel, I don’t stop them or fight with them. I want Angel to be able to handle the situation on her own. That makes me feel better, more loved.”

In the Ruel Bayani drama film “No Other Woman,” Derek plays Ram Escaler, a furniture salesman eager to succeed on his own. He resents living in a house that was a wedding gift by the father of his wife Charmaine dela Costa (Cristine Reyes).

When Ram learns that the Zalderiaga Group of Companies is looking for a furniture supplier for a new resort, he grabs the opportunity to earn and save enough to buy his own house. This is where he meets Kara Zalderiaga (Anne Curtis), who is carefree and adventurous.

Kara flirts with him and proposes a relationship “with no strings attached.”

Charmaine struggles to save the marriage but her personality changes for the worse. Kara, the once carefree mistress, becomes clingy and transforms into a person who can destroy her family’s good reputation.

“It’s been a while since a movie like this was made,” said Anne. “A lot of people said they could relate to the characters. Many were actually excited to see it. This makes me nervous. I hope we’d be able to live up to their expectations.”

The cast members gamely answered questions during a recent press conference at the Dolphy Theater in the ABS-CBN compound, Quezon City. Excerpts:

How would you react if you find out your partner is cheating on you?

Derek: The best thing to do is to make her choose. It’s hard because I don’t know if I’d be able to forgive and forget. You have to be willing not to bring up the issue in the future. I don’t know if I could do that.

Anne: When you’re put in that position, ’di mo talaga kakayanin. You’d want to know na ikaw pa rin ang pipiliin niya. You’d fight for your love. You’d also want to show to the other girl that it’s you he chose and not her.

Cristine: I’ll ask him to choose between the two of us. If he chooses the other girl, it would only mean he’s not for me. If he chooses me, then he should leave the other girl.

Derek: I think you also have to know why your partner did it, baka may pagkukulang ka rin. Put that into consideration, too.

Would you fight for your partner’s love?

Anne: Yes. I’m the type na kapag na-in love nababaliw talaga. I will go all-out for this person and not think about the consequences of my actions.

Derek: I think we’re all created to love. In the movie, I’m with someone who I think is the perfect partner until another person comes into my life and then I find myself torn between them. I hope this doesn’t happen to me.

Cristine: I don’t want to force myself to someone who doesn’t want me anymore. I know that there’s another person who will treat me with respect and will be loyal to me.

What would you like others to learn from your characters’ experiences?

Anne: You should know when enough is enough. If you know from the very beginning that what you’re doing is wrong, don’t push it anymore.

Derek: Life is filled with temptations. The most important thing is how you deal with the consequences of your actions. If you fall in love with a girl and hurt someone else in the process, make sure you have the decency to make amends with the person you hurt.

Will it make you less of a man if you admit that you made a mistake?

Derek: It makes you more of a man if you accept that you’re wrong. I don’t think all men are cheaters.

Have you ever cheated? Do you consider your current relationship the perfect one?

Anne: I’ve never cheated and never want to cheat because I believe in karma. I don’t want it to happen to me. I don’t think anyone can have a perfect relationship, but I’d like to think that my relationship is the closest thing to perfect. (Anne is currently dating Filipino-French model Erwan Heussaff.)

Derek: I disagree with Anne when she said you can’t have a perfect relationship. I think I have one because I’m very happy. Do we have problems? Yes. Do we argue? Yes. But am I happy? Yes I am.

Cristine: Yes, I think it’s already perfect. (That’s why) I don’t want to cheat. (Cristine is dating actor Rayver Cruz.)

What’s it like working on the film?

Anne: It was a pleasure working with smart actors like Derek and Cristine. We went all-out in this movie not only in the physical scenes, but also in helping our characters grow. If we don’t understand a particular scene, we sit down and discuss it.

Derek: I’ve worked with Anne on TV, but it’s my first time to work with her and Cristine on the big screen. At first, I was very nervous. I thought Cristine is mataray. After working with her, I found out that I was completely wrong. She’s a wonderful woman. So is Anne.

Cristine: I feel flattered to have worked with them. I learned a lot. It was hard to do the drama scenes because Derek was cracking jokes. Anne is really sociable. Direk Ruel also gave his input, that’s why lumabas nang maganda ang lahat.

Ruel: This project came at a time when all of us were ready to tackle more mature roles. The work they did in this film reflects their maturity. Here, we’re attempting to tackle serious issues like morality, human behavior and the collapse of marriage.

“No Other Woman,” a co-production of Star Cinema and Viva Films, is now showing in theaters nationwide.