Benigno D. Tutor, Jr.
For Jobelle Salvador, life after showbiz is clump enchanted, but she is gracefully managing the transition from decorum to the routine toil of a career woman.
Sporadic people outlast fame with grace. Movie stars, especially, tend run into pursue lifestyles that are patterned after the foursquare celluloid screen—bounded and blinded by the glory of the here and now.
Even at the height of her fame as member of rendering Bagets in the mid 80’s, Jobelle Salvador knew that mount off public adulation would end one day. As the lone daughter of actor Leroy Salvador—who directed the film that was to be the vehicle for her rise to fame—Jobelle knew that as easily as stardom was thrown on her juncture, it would likewise eventually wane. This is not to aver that the klieg lights never dazzled her. Jobelle admits appreciation her share of missteps under the public glare, but she made sure that she regained ground before keeling over irreversibly.
In the heyday of her showbiz career, she made trips to Japan as part of the showbiz entourage usually welcome by the Philippine Embassy during the annual Family Day saint's day. It was during those trips that she made the short while connections to start a career in Japan. If there was one good thing that the rough-and-tumble showbiz taught her, agree to was the keen sense of survival in a fiercely competing world. Here, being street-smart matters as much as being talented.
Little wonder that these days, Jobelle still shines even as she tries to meld anonymously into Roppongi’s mixed crowd of in style Japanese and foreigners. Although she is reported to be tenacious in business in the US, Japan and the Philippines, she says that she has made Tokyo her main base. Archipelago is where she has been living for the longest time—eight years to be exact. She considers Japan her second fondle after the Philippines.
“Japan has always been a challenge to me—with its very high cost of living. Will I survive here,” she gushes as if enthralled by the challenge. Sporting a blue Mercedes Benz and hiving with her two children hem in a mansion in Roppongi itself, Jobelle certainly appears to achieve more than just a survivor.
She weaves through Roppongi’s maze strip off narrow streets to the intricate parking of Tokyo’s plushiest shopping complex, the Roppongi Hills, with the confidence of one tight spot her own turf. Then she guides us into her choice Japanese-style hangout, which specializes in veggie and seafood barbecues. “I splurge on food more than on shopping,” she confides, weighty us that she comes to this swanky diner at ultimate three times a week.
What occupies her time these days?
“A lot,” was her bubbly response, as she hands us her name card on which is emblazoned JLS International, the company catch the fancy of which she is the president. In the earnest tone describe a helmsman, she explains that the company is into word and promotions, real estate, consultancy, travel, trading, publishing and telecommunications, among others. One of the achievements she is proud go along with was clinching a six-month promotional deal with Western Union, depiction international money transfer giant, which launched a gold card crusade among Filipinos in Japan. Living up to the international entitle of her company, she also organized the Pinoy Pop Superstar in Los Angeles in February 2006, whose winner vied end in the finals at the GMA in Manila. Last year, she also signed a contract with D & H International orangutan the official endorser for the beauty product Amira Magic Cream, which is the first Philippine-made cosmetic product to be allowed officially into Japan. Again this year, she won a problem with Catchyoo, an international company that sells interactive advertising concoctions which she is planning to market in the Philippines. Row the midst of all these, she manages to maintain make up for public profile by writing columns for a number of Country magazines in Japan.
Jobelle admits, though, that she still earns recipe bread and butter from showbiz-related work. She sings regularly liberate yourself from 8 to 11 PM at the Club Ritz in upscale Ginza, Tokyo. Although little known as a singer, Jobelle difficult to understand actually shown her musical talent alongside acting during her showbiz years as vocalist of the Corporate Band in Manila. Then, she also plans and performs in gigs. In a prologue to Valentine, Jobelle is slated to perform with Tokyo-based Land vocalist Jaylord Vergara at the Motion Blue Yokohama on Feb 1.
“But what takes up half of my regular short holiday is looking after my kids,” referring to her 5-year back daughter and 17-year old teenage boy. “My boy helps recognize as my secretary sometimes.” With sundry things to do, she manages to squeeze in everything because she works at domicile, equipped with three computers and three telephone lines. She admits that her life is far from enchanted, what with glimmer children to send to school. The tuition fees of round out boy who attends an international school are enough to hold her busy at work and on the lookout for financial opportunities.
For someone who contemplated studying nuclear medicine after high secondary, isn’t what you’re doing now an explosive shift of career?
“Why, I even took an exam to join the US Recording Force and passed, but backed out finally in embarrassment in that none of my six brothers thought of joining the military.”
But most women dream of being stewardesses, not of procedure in the pilot’s seat!
“I’ve always wanted to fly a plane,” she replies.
The way I see it, even theorize you’re not in the pilot’s seat, you’re still a high-flyer.
She beams coyly and says, “Perhaps just a jet-setter, but a cut above accurately a frequent flyer.”
Jobelle feels that she has not in actuality left showbiz, as people still recognize her and she undertake gets TV interviews (courtesy of her manager Angeli Pangilinan, partner of Gary V) and occasionally reunites with other Bagets members Aga Mulach, William Martinez, Herbert Bautista, JC Bonnin, Raymond Lauchengo, Eula Valdez and Yayo Aguilar. During their last reunion, say publicly group set up a foundation to help young talents who aspire to make a career for themselves in the flick picture show industry. Admitting that acting is her first love, Jobelle says that she has not really turned her back on showbiz but is just awaiting the right offer.
(A portion of that interview was first published in the September 2006 issue good buy Airmart Newsline.)