The Asia Connection

She beats Eddie Garcia by 11 — tablets, that is.

While the country’s probably most durable actor (suspected to be into his early 80s) takes as many as 19 vitamins and minerals, Asia Agcaoili downs 30 everyday.

Is that how she maintains her to-die-for figure?

“Besides that, I just don’t eat...Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!” Asia, star of Casa

(opening today in Metro Manila), breaks into her signature teasing/seductive laughter. “I eat only when I’m hungry.” (I first heard that comment from the late Vice Pres. Doy Laurel who said he got that piece of health advice from then China’s leader Deng Xiaoping.)

But doesn’t that deprive her body of much-needed nutrients?

“I guess my body has been conditioned since I was in first year high school. But I do take breakfast — you know, bread, chicken, lettuce with mustard. No lunch, please! I let the 30 vitamins, minerals and herbs take care of my nutritional needs. Did I consult a doctor before I started taking them? Oh yes, I did.”

And she doesn’t even have to work out.

“I’m hyper by nature; I’m moving all the time.”

She’s an insomniac and she gets only as much as four to five hours of sleep every night.

“I’m a late-late sleeper. Do I spend nights out? No, I’m actually a homebody,” insists Asia who just came home from a holiday in Amsterdam with friends and not, as some people suspected, with a DOM.

Because she writes a column called Sex Confidential for FHM magazine, people conclude that Asia is promiscuous.

“No, I’m not,” she swears.

Is she faithful?

“I am, I stick to one — when everything is going right. You know...”

In the latest issue of FHM, Asia marks the third anniversary of her column in which she justifies the need not only for the Premiere Condoms Ad Campaign which she’s involved in but also for sex education.

The Philippines’ counterpart of Xaviera Hollander writes: “I’ve always wondered why ‘sex’ as a subject to be discussed was taken as taboo. I didn’t think there was a balanced and clear presentation of sex-related subjects preached out there — of how we should plan families, of the knowhow on sex, of how we could protect ourselves, things like that. Talking about sex is not encouraged, and very few people endorse safe sex and give us the facts.”

Her going bold (as in very, very, very!!!) in Casa, a suspense-thriller directed by Deo Fajardo for Artiste Entertainment Works International (with Tonet Gedang as producer), is dismissed by her detractors as “much too late,” but Asia is unperturbed.

“Casa is my first movie and it’s an indie film,” explains Asia.
“I’ve done sexy videos, the latest being Bedtime Stories (sponsored by Premiere Condoms; the DVD at P299 per copy and the VCD P199) which I myself wrote, and I’ve always wanted to do an indie film. I’m an artist and an actress, and if a role is challenging enough I will take it.”

Being “an artist and an actress,” Asia goes all out in her scenes, especially the sexy ones.

“My scenes in Casa? Yes, I went all the way; I mean, my sex scenes with Paolo (Paraiso) and Michael (Rivero) were almost for real, Did we cover our sensitive parts with plaster? What for? But I made sure that no, you know, ‘accident’ would happen. Paolo and Michael were careful, too — if you know what I mean.”

She even has love scenes with another woman, newcomer Mikaela Espinosa.

Asked who among local actresses she would like to go to bed with, if ever, Asia’s face lights up.

“Anne Curtis. Ang pretty-pretty niya. At saka, I like her personality.

Mabait siya. She seems to be a very smart girl.”

In the recent FHM party, Asia as host was said to have deliberately stolen the thunder from the other girls, including Katrina Halili and Cristine Reyes (the latest FHM cover girl) who were among The 100 Sexiest.

Did she do it on purpose, wearing as she did a revealing dress that hardly left anything to the imagination?

“Of course, not!”

She said that it took her several days to finish the dress she herself designed specially for the affair.

“Why,” asked Asia, a Clothing Technology graduate from UP. “Do I have to try hard to steal the scene from anybody? I can just stand there and, that’s it.”
FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo
Philippine Star