Sunday, April 26, 2009

Mar, Korina Confirm Wedding Plans

Mar, Korina Confirm Wedding Plans
The Philippine Star
By: Aurea Calica with Joanne Rae Ramirez
April 26, 2009


Sen. Mar Roxas prepares to give a rose to his girlfriend, broadcaster Korina Sanchez, during a segment of the ABS-CBN noontime show ‘Wowowee’ where they confirmed their engagement yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Amid loud cheers and applause, Sen. Manuel Roxas II and ABS-CBN news anchor Korina Sanchez confirmed their engagement yesterday in the popular noontime television show “Wowowee” but the actual wedding date remained under wraps.

The festive mood was punctuated a few times when the senator shed tears while he and Sanchez were being interviewed by host Willie Revillame.

It was the first time for the couple, who have been together for five years, to talk about their wedding plans, confirming an earlier report by STAR Entertainment Editor Ricky Lo.

In a telephone interview with The STAR after the show, Roxas said he actually proposed last Feb. 14 in a resort in Cebu while he and Sanchez were on vacation.

He said he shed “tears of joy” as he recalled how happy he was when Sanchez said yes when he asked her to spend the rest of her life with him.

Roxas said the announcement was unplanned but then he had no choice because the “ring” on Sanchez’s finger bared it all and that Revillame already put him on the spot.

“Nandun na kasi. Napaluha lang ako sa tuwa. Pero nagulat din ako, na-shock,” Roxas said.

Roxas disclosed he asked permission from Sanchez if he could reveal specific details of his proposal and got the green light.

Sanchez was a guest co-host at Wowowee, particularly for the segment “Willie of Fortune,” and while Revillame was singing a song for her, Roxas came out and then the couple was interviewed.

During the show, Roxas said he thought he would remain a bachelor forever but found Sanchez. Roxas, who will be 52 years old on May 13, has a son with a former girlfriend.

“Siya ang nagpatigil sa pagbibinata ko,” Roxas said, to the thrill of the audience. He said there were many others who were courting Sanchez and he had to fall in line.

Asked why she chose Roxas, Sanchez told Revillame that of all the men she’s known only the senator was true: “Kasi sa lahat ng nakilala ko ring lalaki, siya yung totoo.” At this point, Roxas suddenly cried as he said “thank you” to Sanchez, adding he was “touched” by her answer.

When the couple was given the chance to give a message to each other, Sanchez joked: “Honey, will you marry me?’

“Gusto ko lang sabihin kay Mar na kahapon, ngayon at bukas, iyong iyo ako,” Sanchez said, pledging love unbounded by time.

Roxas, for his part, said since they have been together for quite some time, he assured Korina his heart and mind were set on having her as his life’s partner.

Roxas said they would not keep the wedding itself a secret because they would want to share their happiness.

Revillame also asked the couple to declare once and for all if they had been engaged because there has been a lot of speculation as regards the wedding but no actual confirmation.

The misty-eyed senator narrated that the moment came at a seaside resort at night while they were holding hands, and that he confessed to Sanchez that “Honey, I want to formally ask for your hand.”

For her part, Sanchez said the proposal came as a surprise. But that if Roxas would wind up an old bachelor it was also likely she would become an old maid, so she never imagined he would actually propose to her.

Sanchez assured Roxas that if he asked her yesterday, today or tomorrow, the answer would always be yes.

Revillame shouted “mabuhay” and confetti dropped on the two as the traditional wedding song played.

Roxas donated 10 pedicab units as prizes for the show and when asked what he was planning to do for the country as president and his reaction to criticisms that Sanchez would be the one to run the country for being a toughie, he remarked that as much as he loves Korina and would not replace her with anyone, he alone would make the decisions for the country that would benefit the greater good, not least the common folk.

Sanchez is ABS-CBN’s chief correspondent, news anchor and host of a show every Sunday evening that features positive and light stories.

She also has a program on radio station dzMM.

Revillame said aside from their love life, he wanted to talk to presidential hopefuls in his show so he and the people watching him could choose well in the 2010 elections.

Roxas is the known presidential candidate of the Liberal Party and his wedding is said to be one of the boosters to his campaign.

But everytime he would be asked if he would ever tie the knot, Roxas had been stressing that he would get married “not for anything but love.”

He also said money would not be an issue because “I don’t have much anyway,” despite being a scion of the Araneta and Roxas families.

Roxas admitted he was in a daze and could not figure out what he should say although he promised to announce the wedding date as soon as it was finalized.

The senator, who recently survived a brush with death in a helicopter accident, was to announce the engagement on April 20 but deferred it due to the tragedy that befell Ted Failon, a close colleague of his fiancée.

Roxas announced to the tightly knit Araneta-Roxas clan during the Easter Sunday dinner last April 12 at the Araneta ancestral home in Cubao that, “I proposed to Korina and she has accepted.”

Judy Araneta Roxas, the senator’s mother and a big influence in his life, “was very happy,” Mar’s cousin, Veana Fores, who was present during the announcement, said.

In an earlier interview with The STAR, Roxas, who has never been married, said he is looking forward to having more children.

“I hope so. I love kids. I’m best friends with, aside from my son (Paolo Gerardo, 15), my nephews and nieces,” he said.

Of Sanchez, the future mother of the kids he hopes to have, Roxas said, “We’re in a very good place. We respect each other. We give each other a lot of room. We argue and discuss and when we fight we fight like hell and then it’s finished.”

“We’re very passionate about what we like, what we don’t like and what we believe in. It makes for very spirited discussion and debates but at the end… we’re… you know… I got her back and she has mine.

Sanchez is said to be in talks with designer Pepito Albert for her wedding gown and will take a leave from her work at ABS-CBN starting next month.

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