Little did Rochelle Pangilinan know that some members of the audience would be saying ‘Get, get, aw!’ – a popular line from SexBomb Girls – while she went up the stage to accept her Best Supporting Actress plum at the Cinemalaya awards night.
‘Ang daming pinalaki ng SexBomb pala rito. Siyempre, kung malalaman ito ng grupo, matutuwa sila (I didn’t know that a lot of the people here grew up on SexBomb. Of course, if the group finds out, they will be so happy),’ a laughing Pangilinan told reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony while excitedly holding her Balanghai trophy.
The Best Supporting Actress plum is the first award Pangilinan received from the famed independent film festival, following her performance as a reluctant mother witnessing her son chase after his absent father in ‘Child No. 82.’
During her acceptance speech, she proudly declared that she now considers herself an actress.
‘Naisigaw ko nang aktres na ako kasi Cinemalaya ‘to eh. Pangarap kong makapasok sa Cinemalaya pero meron pang kasamang trophy,’ she said.
‘Hindi ko alam anong sasabihin [ko sa speech] kasi tinanggal ko sa isip ko na may chance akong manalo. ako ‘yung pinakaleast siguro [ang may chance manalo]. Ibang klaseng blessing. Iba talaga si God. Maghihintay ka lang talaga at ibibigay niya ang tamang blessing sa tamang time, ibibigay niya ‘yun sa iyo nang sunod-sunod,’ she continued.
(I shouted that I am truly an actress because this is Cinemalaya. It was my dream to enter Cinemalaya, but it even came with a trophy. I didn’t know what to say in my speech because I had removed the thought of ever winning. I had the least chance of winning. This is such a huge blessing for me. God is so good. You just have to wait, and once the right blessing at the right time comes, He will give it to you tenfold.)
As the topic shifted again to some of the audience members being SexBomb fans, Pangilinan said seeing the support for the girl group is a motivation for their upcoming reunion concert in December.
‘Hindi rin namin alam na gan’un karami ang pinalaki namin, hindi lang ito sa Cinemalaya kasi tulad nga ng sinabi ko kanina, matataba ang kanilang utak. Maraming tao ang nakakakilala sa’min (We didn’t know that we raised a lot of people. Not only in Cinemalaya, but also these people who are very intelligent. A lot of people truly know us),’ she said.
When asked if the members on the poster would be the only SexBomb Girls in the concert, Pangilinan clarified that there will be more than 20 girls who will be joining.
‘Yes! Hindi ko lang masabi, pero marami sa wala sa poster, kasama. Sabi ko naman, basta kailangan full commitment sila sa concert. Kasi hindi lang kami kakanta. Sasayaw kami ng napakadaming babae, nasa 20+ kami, pinaghahandaan namin lahat ng pinalaki ng SexBomb,’ she said.
(Yes, I just can’t reveal who they are, but a lot of the members who aren’t in the poster will be there. As long as they are fully committed to the concert. We won’t just sing. A lot of women will dance. We are over 20 girls and we’re preparing for everyone who grew up watching SexBomb.)
Pangilinan started her entertainment career as the leader of SexBomb Girls before transitioning to acting. /ra