Angelica Panganiban and Carlo Aquino have yet to reconcile. Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@jose_liwanag
It seems the ice has yet to thaw between former lovers Carlo Aquino and Angelica Panganiban, even as Aquino admits he has had some wrongdoing. He also finally admitted that his girlfriend is Trina Candaza.
Last January, Panganiban said she was avoiding her ex-boyfriend and “Exes Baggage” co-star after fans’ supposed criticism over her posts about self-love, which some took as a sign that Aquino had soured their relationship.
In March, she said she and Aquino were not on speaking terms after the actor claimed in a separate interview that they were “OK.”
An interview on “Tonight with Boy Abunda” on Monday, Oct. 7, extracted more answers from Aquino about the breakdown of his relationship with Panganiban. He appeared on the talk show with Maine Mendoza, who stars opposite him in their upcoming movie “Isa pa with Feelings.”
Talk show host Boy Abunda asked if Panganiban’s statement about him “not existing” in her life was “fair.” Aquino seemed to respect her sentiments, explaining, “Kung nasaktan ko siya, karapatan niya ‘yon. Karapatan niyang pagdaanan, karapatan niyang ramdaman iyon.
“Hindi ko dapat pigilan ‘yon. Kaya nung sinabi niya ‘yon, tapos nakarating sa akin, sabi ko, ‘OK lang naman. OK lang.’”
(If she was hurt, that is her right. It is her right to go through it, to feel that way. I should not stop that. That is why when she said those things and it reached me, I said, “It is OK.”)
When asked if he might have been “paasa” or led her on, he hesitated and said, “Siguro po. Siguro (Maybe, maybe).”
He was then asked to explain “what went wrong” in their friendship. He said he loved her, but preferred that they stay as friends. “Natatakot lang talaga kasi ako masaktan siya ulit (I was afraid that she would get hurt again),” he explained.
Abunda wondered if Aquino’s relationship with Trina Candaza had a hand in the fallout with Panganiban. Aquino said yes and added, “Na-meet ko si Betrina bago mag-start yung movie. Tapos biglang hindi kami nagkita ng ilang buwan. Tapos after nung movie kami nag-reconnect.”
(I met Betrina before the start of the movie. We suddenly did not see each other some months. After the movie we reconnected.)
He also said “oo” (yes) when Abunda asked if Candaza was his girlfriend. This comes months after speculations of their relationship in the start of the year.
As of July, Panganiban remained firm in refusing to reunite with Aquino. The two dated in their teens for six years and broke up in 2006. The CarGel tandem was brought back with “Exes Baggage,” which premiered in September 2018. The actors also starred together in the TV series “Playhouse” from September 2018 to March 2019, even if their relationship was rocky in the latter part of the show. Niña V. Guno /ra
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