(NI RONNIE CARRASCO III)

INCOGNITO. Ito ang paglalarawan ng aming source when he chanced upon John Lloyd Cruz at the wake of veteran production designer Cesar Hernando sa Paz Funeraria (on Araneta Ave.) sa huling gabi nito noong Biyernes (May 10).

Ayon sa aming source, tila sinadya ni JLC na hindi siya mamukhaan ng mga nakiramay most of whom were Cesar’s students at UP.

“Sa dami ng tao, hindi mo rin talaga mapapansin si John Lloyd,” dagdag nito, “he looked like a recluse (mala-ermitanyo) that one wouldn’t notice even if he stood in front of him.”

Wala kaming naaalalang movie ni JLC which was production-designed by Cesar. The presence daw of Sid Lucero at the wake, sporting a beard (baka kailangan sa ginagawa nitong pelikula) and was almost unrecognizable ay maiintindihan pa namin.

Sid’s late father Mark Gil starred in Mike de Leon’s Batch ’81 kung saan si Cesar ang PD.

Dagdag-paglalarawan pa ng aming informant, “John Lloyd seemed like a real artist who didn’t care about the financial side to it, alam mo ‘yon? Passion lang talaga niya ang pag-aartista.”

To bolster his assertion ay nabanggit niya sa aming may dahilan naman para gustuhing maghayahay na lang ng actor, kasama ang kanyang nobyang si Ellen Adarna at ang bunga ng kanilang pag-iibigan.

Ibig sabihin, malaki ang ipon ni JLC that he doesn’t have to work his butt?

This is the catch.

Taong 1995 noong may loteng ibinibenta raw located at La Vista (near Ateneo) in Quezon City priced at P5 million. Our source wanted to acquire the property himself, kaso, his funds were short.

Ni-rationalize na lang nito ang ‘di niya pagkakabili ng lupa dahil malapit daw ‘yon sa bangin, but truth be told, none of his siblings wanted to shell out money.

Anyway, fifteen years later, nabalitaan na lang ng aming source na ang nakabili ng property na ‘yon was JLC sa halagang P40 million. Currently, may value na ito na twice as much, at lote pa lang ‘yon.

Our source isn’t sure though kung napatayuan ‘yun ng bahay ni John Lloyd. Ang alam niya, nakapundar pa ang aktor ng bahay at lupa sa Valle Verde in Pasig City.

Notwithstanding, hindi lingid sa kaalaman ng marami na napakayaman din ng angkang pinagmulan ni Ellen.

At kung pagsasamahin ang net worth nilang dalawa, John Lloyd can totally say goodbye to showbiz and its perks for all he cares.

Pero sa aminin man o hindi ng pinagkunan namin ng balitang ito, there’s still so much public interest in John Lloyd.