ONLY ON OMG! - What it takes to be Janelle Manahan

Mention Janelle Manahan years back and you’d get a puzzled look. But mention her name today and you don’t even have to explain a thing.

The teenager who gave up a budding showbiz career for her boyfriend, Ramgen Revilla is now synonymous with everything a survivor should be:  courageous, driven and blessed with lots of  presence of mind.

But after surviving her boyfriend’s gruesome murder, Janelle has another hurdle to face: the sex video between her and Ramgen.  Uploaded many times over, it laid bare what should only happen in the privacy of one’s bedroom -- in this case,  Ramgen and Janelle’s  bathroom.

“Yes, the person in the video is me,” Janelle admitted in a one-on-one with Yahoo! Philippines OMG! last Jan. 12.

Her legal counsel from the GEM Law Office warned that the office won’t go easy on whoever uploaded the video and broke the Anti-Voyeurism Act of 2009.

“Ang mensahe namin sa mga taong patuloy na tumatangkilik sa sex video na yon by clicking on it ay, alam naman natin ang naging motibo dito ay siraan at yurakan ang reputasyon ng isang babae na nakikipaglaban upang makamit ang  hustisya,” says lawyer Renecio `Luke’ Espiritu. “Hindi kami titigil. Hahanapin namin kayo at papanagutin namin kayo sa ginawa ninyo.”  

Janelle is matching her lawyer’s grit with an inner strength the most scandalous sex video can’t break.

No choice

“I have to be strong.  Wala akong choice.  Kung hindi ako magiging strong, paano lalabas ang totoo?” she says.

Yes, it’s she and Ram in the video. The other truth, as far as she is concerned, is “Walang ibang capable of uploading (ng video) kundi family nya (Ramgen’s).”

And she will suffer everything and anything to prove this.

As it is, Janelle has suffered more than enough.

“Bilang babae, masakit sa akin kasi I have nothing to hide anymore,” she reveals.

The words don’t have a tinge of bitterness. She’s talking as if she’s  describing what happened to her in school that day.

Janelle’s fear

It’s a far cry from the fear that gripped Janelle the first time she realized her family might turn against her the minute they learned about the sex video.

“Sobrang conservative ng family ko.  Ayaw kong malaman nila yon kasi magagalit sila.  So I tried to hide it from them,” admits Janelle.

But her fears vanished as soon as she saw her mom’s face.

“Nung nakita ko ang reaction ng mom ko, sinabi ko ok lang. Di siya nagalit sa kin.  She didn’t judge me. They were prepared na may lalabas na ganito.”

To their credit, Janelle’s family taught her to look at the new ordeal in a positive way.

“Huwag daw ako padadala,” states Janelle. “Every trial in our life makes us stronger.  I’m gonna use this to make myself stronger and better. Kung magiging negative pa ako about this, dadami lang yung negative na darating.”

Friends also rallied behind Janelle.

“Hindi nag-iba ang pakikitungo nila sa akin,” Janelle reports.  “Five years na kami (ni Ramgen).  Nakakatawa namang sabihin na sa buong five years walang nangyari.”

Surprise of her life

Those five years turned out to be a roller coaster ride of emotions for Janelle.  She saw Ramgen’s family up close and got the surprise of her life.

“Iba ang environment  na kinalakihan namin.  Iba ang ugali ng family namin,” Janelle begins.

“Sila, (they’re) not like the normal family.  May murahan, away. Nagwawala tapos nag-aaway.  I am not used to that. Ang family namin, kapag nagkakagalit, hindi nag-uusap.  Hindi kami nagmumurahan.”

Janelle chose to stay out of the family fray.

“Hindi ko sila pinigilan. Ayaw ko maging sawsawera. Kinakausap ko si Ramgen after kung too much yung ginawa niya or kung okay lang.”

It is against this setting that Janelle had her first taste of physical violence. 

Battered girlfriend

Yes, she admits.  She was a battered girlfriend. 

She couldn’t stand the shock and pain at first.

“Never akong nasaktan, kahit kurot or palo ng kahit sino sa family ko while I was growing up,” explains Janelle.

So the first time Ramgen slapped her, “sobrang gulat ko, I wanted to leave.”

But she herself didn’t know why she changed her mind.

“Hindi ko alam bakit I forgave him and gave him another chance.”

Forgiving

Janelle doubted if she can ever get over her anger and forgive the person who killed her boyfriend.  Until her grandmother opened her eyes in a recent heart-to-heart talk.

“Sabi niya, patawarin ko na ang gumawa no’n.  Nung sinabi kong hindi ko kaya gawin yon,  sabi niya, `Subukan mo. Gagaan ang loob mo.’ Tapos sabi niya makakatulong din ito sa soul ni Ramgen na mag let go ka.”

The  words “soul ni Ramgen” worked  like magic . It  changed Janelle’s heart.  She decided to learn how to forgive.

Janelle’s heart melted even more when she learned how her religious   grandma would always say daily prayers with a group of fellow devotees for Ramgen’s soul.  The gesture, coming as it does from someone who has never met Ramgen, touched Janelle to the bone.

Her grandmother’s spirituality has inspired Janelle to seek divine guidance as well. 

“I pray to my guardian angel Uriel and to St. Anne, whose feast day falls on my birthday , July 26.  That’s why my real name is Janelle Ann Caren,” she says.

Moving on

It may still be too early to plan the next step to take, but Janelle has mapped out her life after the Ramgen case.

Showbiz is out of the question because Janelle thinks her safety may be at stake.

Granting that the case will be over in a year or two, Janelle doesn’t expect things to go back to normal at all.

“Siyempre,  yung buhay ko nakuwentko ko na sa lahat.  Let’s say na-convict yung mga taong gumawa non, hindi ko matatanggal sa isip ko na hindi nila ako pwedeng galawin.”

Whatever happens, Janelle is sure of one thing: she will continue her studies.  This time she will shift from Export Management to a fashion-related college course.

“I started a clothes line called State of Pink last August. Pero hindi ko  naasikaso kasi na-hospitalize ako,” she reveals.

Janelle adds that she will work with a footwear brand for State of Pink, so called because it is a fashion line for girls.

Lessons

Still, no school – no matter how good -- can match the one that is now teaching Janelle important lessons in life and love.

She ticks off the three most valuable things the three stormy months that started in October 28, 2011 have taught her so far.

“Every time kasama mo ang taong mahal mo, you should always say `I love you’ because you’ll never know kung kelan siya mawawala.”

Lesson number two: “Never neglect your family and friends.  Sila nag makakasama mo, no matter what.”

And finally, ”Always trust God and offer everything to Him.  Always be positive.”

That’s saying  a mouthful, especially for someone who’s only 22.  But it’s not a matter of age. It’s a matter of experience.

And Janelle, a wealth of experience solidly behind her, must mean every word she says.