Amy Perez’s advice to Karla Estrada as ‘Face 2 Face’ host: ‘Umpisahan mo ang show bilang ikaw, hindi ako’

Amy Perez (left) and Karla Estrada (right). Images: Screengrab from YouTube / TV5 Philippines, Instagram / @karlaestrada1121

Karla Estrada has revealed that “Face 2 Face” original host Amy Perez advised her to take charge of the community center-inspired show without the pressure to live up to the original.

Estrada admitted that she felt “pressured” to live up to the TV5 show’s legacy during a media conference on Monday, April 17, saying she even sought advice from Perez and Gelli de Belen, who took over as host until 2012.

“Napakaraming binigay na tips sa akin si Ate Amy [Perez] dahil magkaibigan naman talaga kami. In fact, tiyahin ni Daniel [Padilla] ‘yan. Matagal na kaming nag-uusap about this. Humingi ako ng advice dahil of course, si Tyang Amy talaga ang nag-umpisa nito. Ang sabi niya, ‘Umpisahan mo ang [bagong] show bilang ikaw, hindi ako,’” she said.

(Ate Amy gave me a lot of tips because we’re really friends in real life. In fact, she is Daniel Padilla’s aunt. We’ve been talking about this for a long time. I asked for advice from her because Tiyang Amy is the one who started this. She said, ‘Start the show as yourself, and not as me.)

READ: ‘Face 2 Face’ returning to TV5 with Karla Estrada as host

The singer-host then expressed her gratitude to Perez and de Belen for being supportive as she is set to take the reins of the show.

“Marami kaming pinag-usapan, pero at the end of the day, maganda ang aming usapan bilang kamag-anak. Kaya thank you very much kay Amy and Gelli de Belen kasi nakaka-happy magkaroon ng support sa mga dating hosts,” she said.

(We’ve discussed a lot of things. But at the end of the day, we’ve had a lot of good conversations as relatives. Thank you very much to Amy Perez and Gelli de Belen because it’s nice to be supported by the show’s former hosts.)

No bad blood with former ‘momshies’

Among the highlights of the press conference was a series of well wishes from Estrada’s showbiz colleagues including her former “Magandang Buhay” co-host Melai Cantiveros. However, fellow host Jolina Magdangal was not present in the montage.

READ: Karla Estrada tells ‘Face 2 Face’ team: ‘Dapat ang mga viewers merong matutunan sa atin’

When asked about Magdangal’s absence, Estrada clarified that there is no bad blood between her former co-hosts in the ABS-CBN morning talk show.

“Hindi ko naisip [na may alitan] kasi kilala ko si Momshie [Jolina Magdangal]. May mga reasons na tayo na dapat irespeto bilang kaibigan. Hindi ako judgmental sa mga kaibigan ko. Ang importante is that, magkaibigan kami. Ayokong bigyan ng meaning si Jolina kasi siya ‘yun. So, I don’t think na merong problemang personal,” she said.

(I don’t think Jolina Magdangal and I went through a rough patch. I know her. There are certain reasons that we have to respect as friends, and I’m not judgmental towards them. What’s important is we’re friends. I don’t want to give meaning to it because it’s Jolina. So, I don’t think we have personal problems with one another.)

The “Face 2 Face” host then shared that Cantiveros is a type of person who goes public with her support for her friends.

“Si Momshie Mels, ganyan ang pagkatao bilang kaibigan, so i-celebrate natin ‘yung kanilang mga type na gawin bilang kaibigan ko,” she added. (That is the personality of Momshie Melai as a friend, so let’s celebrate whatever they prefer to do as my friends.)

Estrada was one of the original hosts of “Magandang Buhay” with Cantiveros and Magdangal before leaving the show in 2020.

READ: Karla Estrada on leaving ‘Magandang Buhay’ as host: ‘Naging mabigat ang desisyon’

During the media conference, Estrada laughed when she was asked about how she deals with bashers and negative comments, as “Face 2 Face” is known for having guests expressing swearing remarks and engaging in occasional physical altercations.

“Ang bashing, walang effect sa akin ‘yan. Na-master ko na ‘yan,” she responded with a smile. (Bashing has no effect on me anymore. I’ve mastered how to handle it.)

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