BY NESTOR CUARTERO
*
JUST A THOUGHT: “More things grow in the garden than the gardener sows.” – Spanish proverb
*
The lure of farming is like magnet to many celebrities in the entertainment industry.
Actors, directors, writers, TV personalities have bought farm lots in nearby provinces, many of them in Batangas, Laguna, Quezon.
These provinces corner the celebrity farming market because of their proximity to Metro Manila.
TV host Boy Abunda says, “People go into farming to destress themselves from a hectic life in the city. You then choose a property that’s accessible, a place that you can visit every weekend, or at any time of night and day that you wish.”
Abunda finds joy and comfort in his farm in the outskirts of Lipa, approaching the city’s Ibaan boundary. He adores Lipa’s cool climate and the lush greenery that surrounds his farm house in the middle of a sizeable lot.
*
SUSAN’S FARM: Movie queen Susan Roces is another famous celebrity farmer. Susan’s farm cum poultry, which she visits regularly, is in Banay-Banay, San Jose, Batangas.
Rosanna Roces and Marvin Agustin have their farms in Antipolo and Baguio, respectively. Osang had a bahay-kubo built on the property, where she used to spend weekends planting vegetables.
By the way, whatever happened to Marvin’s plan to transform his farm into a strawberry field? Not forever?
*
MORE FARMERS: Other celebrity farmers include TV director Louie Ignacio, who spends days-off at his estate in Pagsanjan, Laguna; Eagle Riggs, who tends his own farm in the neighboring Laguna town of Magdalena.
Isabel Rivas runs an efficient farm estate planted to mangoes in Zambales; entertainment writer Aster Amoyo in Tanauan; and comedian Pokwang in her hometown, Antipolo.
