Raymart denies Claudine seeking ABS-CBN return

Raymart Santiago

shrugged off rumors that wife Claudine Barretto is allegedly the cause of delay of GMA 7's upcoming fantasy teleserye “Iglot.”

“Kung totoo naman yun, makakarating sa akin dahil kaibigan ko yung (nasa) management,” the actor told members of the press during the press conference of “Futbolilits” last Tuesday, June 29.

He added, “Wala namang ganung nangyayari. Siguro haka-haka lang.”

“Iglot” will be Claudine's first daily primetime show after “Jillian: Namamasko Po.” The upcoming show reportedly will also star Jolina Magdangal and Marvin Agustin.

Raymart also denied reports that Claudine wants to return to her former home network, ABS-CBN. In fact, last Tuesday, Claudine was taping for “Spooky Nights Presents Nuno sa Feng Shui,” he said.

As for the persistent rumors claiming that his marriage with the actress is on the rocks, Raymart said: “Yung mga ganyan di ko na lang pinapansin dahil kung mamarapatin ninyo, ayoko na ring pinag-uusapan yung mga bagay na ganyan. Kung di naman totoo, bakit palalakihin pa, di ba? Hindi ko na lang din pinapansin.”

Lucky charm

“Futbolilits” will be Raymart's third show in the early primetime/pre-newscast timeslot. Director Mike Tuviera said they consider Raymart as their lucky charm, considering the success of his previous shows “Bantatay” and “Pilyang Kerubin,” on the pre-newscast slot . Is Raymart pressured due to the hefty expectations?

“Hindi natin maaalis (yung pressure). Pero sa tingin ko naman, kung maganda ang show mo, talagang papanoorin ka. Pinaghandaan naman namin itong show. At sa tingin ko, maganda itong show at nakakatuwa. Very light, pambata, pwede na rin sa matatanda. May drama ito, comedy, so kumpleto,” he said.

Raymart added, “Mas pinili ko yung timeslot na yun dahil yung oras na gising pa yung mga bata. Bago sila matulog, nanonood ng show. Bago mag newscast ito, di ba? (Early primetime) ang gusto ko kasi may mga anak na rin ako so gusto ko napapanood nila ang show ko. Di kagaya ng late na, e tulog na sila.”

The actor has two children, Sabrina and Santino.

In “Futbolilits,” Raymart plays Frank, a grief stricken football player turned coach.

Raymart said he played football when he was younger so he only needed minimal practice for the football scenes.

“Dati naman nagfo-football ako sa eskwelahan. Sa katunayan, ang football sa amin, si Junjun, yung kapatid, so may mga oras na naglalaro kami dati at di pa naman nakakalimutan. So konting pinolish lang,” he said.

Very much a family man, Raymart said he prefers a light work load so he can spend more time with his family.

“Masyado kong mamimiss ang pamilya. Ito nga three, four times a week, minsan di ko na kaya pag sunod-sunod,” he said. This is also the reason why a project with Claudine is out of the picture in the near future due to their busy schedules.

“Futbolilits,” which also stars Jennylyn Mercado, Paolo Contis, and Angelica dela Cruz, among others, premieres this Monday, July 4, before “24 Oras.”