Kapuso star Benjamin Alves won't be able to celebrate Valentine's Day with his loved ones due to lock-in taping for his new series "Owe My Love" which will air on GMA Telebabad beginning Feb. 15.
"Nasa taping kami ngayon. Lahat kami naka lock-in hanggang mid-March so kasama ko ang cast. May picnic po kami. Ang taya po ay si Miss Ai-Ai Delas Alas. Magluluto po siya and we are looking forward to it. Lahat kami ay may naiwan na mahal sa buhay," said Alves during a Zoom press conference for his new TV series recently.
"Kahit 10 kilometers lang sila bawal talaga. Small sacrifices para may maibigay kami na magandang show. Pagpasok ng lockdown taping hanggang dulo na po yun. Wala na pong labasan. So makakabuo kayo ng community. Mapapagusapan ninyo ang show at makikilala mo ang mga kasama mo," he added.
Asked to whom does he owe some love, Alves answered: “Siguro, my mom. Especially now because I haven’t seen her for going to two years na, so I really do owe her my love and my time."
Alves also said that his mom remains to be his No. 1 inspiration.
“I think a lot of my love language comes from her words, and being able to give your time and service. Nanggagaling kay mommy ’yun, so I think yeah I ‘owe my love’ to my mom," he added.
Having been an actor for may years now, Alves realized that it is more difficult to do comedy than drama.
"Parehong mahirap ang drama at comedy pero mas mahirap ang comedy. It's a different animal. Different art form, different attack. Yung mga kasama ko rito magagaling (sa comedy). Ang galing nila gumawa ng punchline. Mapapasabay ka sa kanila," he said.
"Owe My Love" follows the story of Pacencia “Sensen” Guipit (Lovi Poe) and Dr. Miguel “Migs” Alcancia (Benjamin Alves) whose lives intertwine in a world of debt, near-death, and dogged dedication to family.
Alves said he has known Poe for several years now. The first time they did a series together was for the teleserye "Beautiful Strangers" six years ago.
"Nine years na kami magkaibigan. Nagsimula ako sa showbiz kilala ko na si Lovi. Nagstart ako nuon sa showbiz 2012."
Alves revealed he was attracted to Poe ever since but it didn't work out.
"Sa akin I've always been attracted to Lovi pero hindi nag-mature into a relationship. She's attractive. Noong nakilala ko siya bilang kaibigan, naging attractive lalo siya. Ang samahan namin is puro fun and laughs. But who knows? I'm happy that we're friends. Pareho naman kami masaya sa buhay namin," he said.
These days, Alves believes has has matured as an actor. "Mas malalim na ang hugot ko."
"Owe My Love" began shooting in March 2020 but it was delayed due to the pandemic.
"Halos one year in the making na ang series na ito. Masaya naman kami at maganda ang namin. Alam na namin ang story from beginning to end. So alam na namin ano ang gagawin," he said.
After the lock-in taping, Alves said that he wants to focus on his new business House of Roses, an online flower shop.
"I want to focus on the House of Roses to make sure we are growing. When I'm out it's gonna be Mother's Day na so ibang marketing na naman. Down the line, siguro sana makapagbakasyon din ako sa ibang lugar sa Pilipinas sa pagbukas ng ibang locations," said Alves when asked about his plans for 2021.
Launched in August 2020, House of Roses sells large and beautifully arranged Ecuadorian roses.
“I wanted to be productive. We found out that there’s still a market for sending flowers or reaching out to people. We just wanted to send something, to reach out to someone hindi na natin magawa physically, that’s where the concept came up,” Alves added.