But she suffers another misfortune when she gets mugged and the money she earned for her Lola’s medicines was stolen by robbers. When she gets home, she discovers that their shanty was demolished by the government and they no more have a place to live. In fairness to Ritz, she’s able to portray all her dramatic scenes well, with tears just naturally welling from her eyes so effortlessly.
“She definitely has great potential for someone so new,” says Boots Anson Roa who’s seated beside her at the presidential table. “She knows what to do in front of the camera. May sense of lighting and timing siya.”
Even Vivian Velez praised her and said she certainly shows a lot of promise to be a big star in the near future. “I’m so overwhelmed to hear my seasoned co-stars say such nice things about me,” says Ritz. “Utang na loob ko rin ito sa kanila as they’re all very supportive in our scenes together, pati si Mr. Christopher de Leon and our director, Monti Parungao.”
Didn’t she have any hesitation doing her sexy dance scene where she’s removing her clothes one by one? “I did. Hiyang-hiya ako noong una. But I just kept on putting myself in my character. This is Maita, I told myself, hindi ako ito, si Maita ito, para maitawid ko nang maayos ang mga delikadong eksena. Kinakabahan nga ako, baka hindi ma-approve ng MTRCB. Kasi bale dalawa ang sexy dance scenes ko. Yung first time sa club, then a private show with Tito Christopher na nag-lap dance ako sa kanya. They said may puso naman ang mga eksena at hindi naman basta kalaswaan kaya nakalusot daw, according to the show’s business unit head Marge Natividad and production manager Camille Gomba-Montano. Thankful naman ako dahil inalagaan nila ako nang husto all throughout the tapings namin.”
