Relos, Rolex particularly, at sa kotse ang ilan sa investment ng actor na si Jake Cuenca.
Bukod of course sa investment niya sa education.
“Well, aside from my education, I do go to drama school pa rin and am also studying directing and writing. Of course, what I tend to invest in is more property, something more tangible,” sagot ng actor sa amin sa isang chikahan para sa Spotlight presscon ng Star Magic.
“I like to invest in condos.”
Pero hindi aniya bet ang farm, like sa probinsiya, na ginagawa ng ibang celebrity. “No, not a farm. For now, I like to live in the city. I like to go down to BGC.”
How many condos do you have now? “I have two. But I also like, I mean, yeah, watches.”
“Watches, motorcycles—I have a lot of motorcycles.”
Like how many? “Watches, I have 15. Rolexes, Omegas, Cartiers. But I have mostly a collection of Rolexes. Motorcycles: I and my dad have 10. Cars, I have about three. Pero, like I said, all of these things are something I got over the years,” pagkukuwento pa ng actor.
Pero hindi na raw siya materialistic sa kasalukuyan: “Like, I’m not a materialistic person anymore. So for me, parang I also understand that, you know, accumulating more things only gives you temporary happiness. Perhaps a new car will only make me happy for one week, and I’ll still be unhappy with the things I’m not doing in my career.
“So for me, like when I talk to my management, I’m like, one thing that I’ve unlocked with myself, that’s one thing I’m proud of, na natuto na akong mag-ipon.
“And it came at a time that I was able to, you know, we were all able to…”
Kailan mo na-realize na kailangang mag-ipon?
“I think when I turned 30, it wasn’t about accumulating more things anymore. It was more about creating a legacy for my career. So parang these material things don’t define me or my character and the things that I’m about to do. And ultimately, that’s what makes me the most fulfilled,” paliwanag pa ni Jake sa amin.
Dagdag pa niya: “‘Yung ‘pag kunyari, I do a show like Batang Quiapo, and everyone knows your character, and everyone’s celebrating you. That feels like it’s more worthwhile for me than a material thing. Kasi sabi ko, the great thing about what I was saying is when you live life, burning both ends of the candle. I’ve really experienced all that. Lots of friends, lots of girls, seeing the world, I drove the most expensive car, wearing the most expensive watch.
“And then all those things just make you happy for a really short time. And then you want to buy more. So you’re chasing another material thing, hoping that it’ll make you happy.
“Ultimately, for me, in my life, what makes me happy is, let’s say, doing a project like Iron Heart. ‘Yung maaalala ng tao. Doing a project na Tayong Dalawa, na 10-20 years, they’re still talking about the project,” paliwanag pa ni Jake na ang laki ng ipinayat sa pagiging clean living.
Samantala, wala nang kabisyo-bisyo si Jake.
As in itinigil na niya ang pag-inom ng alak at paninigarilyo.
Na-realize niya ang mga nasabing bisyo ang dahilan kaya siya nasangkot sa ilang kontrobersiya. Bukod pa sa malaki ang natipid niya.
“So nakakatuwa kasi parang, aside from sobriety, I also got over those vices. Those are vices too. ‘Yung accumulating things and buying and shopping. Having self-worth through material things. Don’t get me wrong, I love watches, and I love cars, but for me, I also realized you don’t have to have all the watches. You don’t have to have all the watches.”
Pero meron bang replacement ‘yung alak at sigarilyo?
“I think, like for me parang the big replacement of like my alcohol drinking it’s… if it’s just a replacement, siguro riding a motorcycle or siguro it’s like, because I stopped drinking so I even doubled down more like let’s say my preparation for work.
“So parang, you know back then when I was drinking and you know if I say na parang, which I did na mag i-immerse ako for seven months in a jail cell, that’s almost close to impossible kasi you’re like, I have a friend that I need to balance, I need to go on. You’re balancing your life ‘di ba? But since I eliminated alcohol or vices into my life, there’s so much time to double down on your drinks.
“Parang all of a sudden you have all the time in the world so rather than do nothing with that time I’d rather funnel that in and make an investment towards myself. So rather than just finding another vice to replace another vice, it was more like all this time opened up and I think if you follow the past projects that I did or plays that I’ve done, you can see talaga there was a big change in the portrayal, big change in the performance,” na aniya ay nagpapatunay na wala na siyang alcohol sa katawan.
Pero, Jake, feeling mo naka-save ka rin ng money nung isuko mo ang mga bisyo mo? “I wasn’t really thinking that way. I wasn’t really thinking that. I was the guy, kasi, who used to pay for everyone. Yeah, so if you put it that way, since you reminded me, definitely I must have saved a lot because I was the type of guy who was the actor in the group. ‘Oh, ako na bahala sa bill dito. Keep your wallet, guys.
“Ang dami kong pera, I pay for it.’ But of course when you’re now my age, 37, don’t do that; you’re an adult na. You did that when you were a kid, but now as an adult, every peso counts kahit sabihin mo pang malaki kinikita, kahit malaki pa man kinikita mo, and I am proud of what me and my management have accomplished in terms of, like, magkano na ang binabayad sa amin ngayon per day. I’m really proud na naabot ko ‘yung point na, I won’t say of course the number, but it’s something that I’m proud of with my management na nagawa namin, but I can only say that’s only a testament to the hard work and sacrifices and all that stuff. And also, they won’t pay you high if you can’t promise them your professionalism. So in terms of money, yeah, malamang I saved a lot kasi nga si Mr. Tagabayad,” mahaba pa niyang sagot.