“It’s exciting!” Janice de Belen on what makes her “Sigabo” role different from her past projects

Those who watched Episode 81 of Coco Martin’s Sigabo on October 12 were surely surprised to see award-winning veteran actress Janice de Belen, who was revealed to be portraying Secretary Carlotta Vergara, the latest addition to the series’ growing ensemble cast. She appears to serve as a liaison between the covert vigilante group Anino, led by “Paps” (Joonee Gamboa), and the president. 

For her first scene, Carlotta was seen arguing with Paps upon seeing the profile of Gabo (Coco Martin), questioning his decision to recruit a criminal for the mission. However, Paps defended Gabo, asserting that not everyone who has been imprisoned is bad, as some are simply victims of circumstances. Most importantly, Gabo possesses the intelligence, strength, and heart that Anino needs. 

Carlotta further expressed her doubt, recalling that they’d already tried recruiting numerous intelligent, highly capable, battle-hardened individuals with military expertise including those from the NLEA, lawyers, and members of the special forces. Yet, these individuals either ended up dead or turned traitor. Paps explained that Gabo’s sincerity was precisely why he chose him for the job, adding that this quality made him confident that Gabo would neither betray them nor make a mistake. 

But Paps’ reasons were still not enough to convince Carlotta to trust his decision, especially since Gabo had spent a significant portion of his life in prison. This prompted Paps to remind her that she should never judge a person based on their past without first getting to know who they truly are. 

Still unconvinced, Carlotta insisted that Gabo would have to undergo a series of challenges and training sessions before they could present him to the president. Paps swore that Gabo is going to succeed because he will be the one to personally train and mold him until he is fully prepared. 

As we look forward to seeing more of Janice in the coming episodes of “Coco Martin’s Sigabo,” the award-winning veteran actress enthusiastically shared her experience working on the series and with its lead actor-director, Coco Martin, in this exclusive video uploaded to CCM Film Productions. 

She began by revealing that dinner at home would never be complete without watching the well-loved primetime series after “TV Patrol.” According to her, their cook had actually expressed a wish to see Janice appear in the show—and now, that wish has finally come true! 

Besides, working with the “Hari ng Aksyon sa Ating Henerasyon” had also long been one of Janice’s desires. In fact, she and Coco would often talk about it whenever they crossed paths at parties and other showbiz gatherings. 

Unlike the characters she has portrayed in previous teleseryes throughout her more than four decades in the industry, Janice teased that audiences would see a completely different side of her in this series. As Carlotta, she will be neither overly emotional nor a crybaby but will instead be stern and strong. 

“It’s different kasi makikita n’yo kakaibang Janice. Hindi emotional, hindi ‘yong iyakin,” she said. “Kasi kapag pumasok ka rito, tapos binigyan ka ng character, ang daming pwedeng mangyari eh. In truth, magkakampi pala kayo or pwede namang magkakampi kayo tapos maya-mayang konti ay hindi pala talaga kami magkakampi. It’s exciting.” 

Furthermore, Janice imparted that she had heard positive feedback about the work ethic on the set, which she found truly outstanding and exciting. 

Are you ready to see more of Janice in “Coco Martin’s Sigabo”? Will she turn out to be an enemy or an ally of Gabo? Find out by catching every episode, weeknights at 8 PM on ABS-CBN sa ALLTV2, Kapamilya Channel, TV5, A2Z, and Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), or stream the series anytime on iWant!