LITTLE LIVES: MEGA YAYA by Cathy Babao-Guballa, Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 2, 2002 EVERYBODY loves Yaya Luring. Barely five feet tall, this snowy-haired 73 year-old lady is greeted with much love and affection as she unobtrusively walks around the studio as her ward of 31 years takes center stage interviewing guests on her weekly talk show. Loreta Benitez or Yaya Luring and Sharon Cuneta have shared more years together than the average married couple. Happy in the background, she normally stays in the dressing room while waiting for Sharon to finish her taping. She has tended to Sharon's needs for as far back as the Megastar can remember. "Five years old pa lang siya ako na ang nag-aalaga sa kanya," Yaya Luring begins as she looks back on their early days. The lady with a warm smile had been working for the Cunetas as a laundrywoman when the late Mayor Pablo Cuneta plucked her from washing clothes to care for his youngest daughter. "One day, the mayor told me, 'Luring, from now on, you'll take care of all of Sharon's needs, so take good care of her," she relates in Pilipino. A little over three decades, two marriages and two children later, she continues to faithfully fulfill the duties bestowed on her by the late mayor. Yaya Luring has also taken care not only of KC but of Frankie, as well. "When her yaya has a day off, I take care of her," she says. In fact, it was only over the last several years that she has been able to take short vacations when Sharon and Kiko go off on their own. Previously, she had been constantly at Sharon's side even during the Gabby days. Travelling the world with her ward, she has good memories of their quiet days in Boston. "It's nice there. It's very peaceful," she says, and like a little girl, she adds with a giggle, "It's nice to walk on ice." Yaya Luring has been a widow since 1937 and is mother to two children, Delia and Eddie, both in their 40s, and grandmother to four. She shares that her daughter is now also a widow like her. Yaya Luring traces her roots to Mangatarem, Pangasinan in a place called Barrio Bugtong. The showcase which Sharon recently won for her in "Game Ka Na Ba" will go to her humble home in Pangasinan. At the time of the interview she had not yet seen the entire showcase but had been told that there was a living room set, a television and an electric fan-"at marami pang iba," she chuckles. In private, Sharon had been calling Yaya Luring "lola" for many years. Yaya Luring says Sharon had only begun calling her yaya fairly recently-probably when she was already dating Kiko. Privy to all of the Megastar's deepest secrets, she is the first to cry when Sharon feels bad. "I really know it when she feels bad about something. She'll cry, I'll cry and then we'll hug. We're like a pair of idiots," she says. "I told her that if she has a problem, she shouldn't worry because she'll just lose more weight. Then she'll retort, 'That's good,'" Yaya Luring laughs. Yaya Luring says that Sharon is very kind and thoughtful but that they have their brief misunderstandings too. "Naku, madalas din ako makatanggap ng 'award' diyan," she narrates. "Award" is how she jokingly calls Sharon's sermons when things are not quite right. But Sharon quickly apologizes and hugs her. For birthdays and Christmas, the Megastar often gifts her yaya with clothes or cash. One particular birthday that remains extra special to her is when, unknown to her, Sharon and a few close friends planned a surprise party for her 72nd birthday last year. She had fallen asleep in her room, tired after cooking merienda for her other housemates, when Sharon woke her up and brought her to the dining room. To her great surprise the whole room had been decked with balloons and buntings, there was merienda on the table and Sharon's closest friends were present to fete her on that day. "Nagulat talaga ako, at talagang hindi ko na iyon makakalimutan" (I was surprised, and I'll never forget it), she says wistfully. She proudly says that her big gift for that day was a 21-inch color television set from Fanny Serrano. Sharon's friends and family clearly love their Yaya Luring and one can easily see why, especially after she appeared with Sharon in a TV commercial for Fuji Film. It's so easy to fall in love with her-with the kind disposition, wit, gentle smile and the warm bear hug, truly, the Megastar has been blessed to have her around all these years. Her loyalty, trust and love are unquestionable, but she says it best when asked to describe her relationship with Sharon - "Sa hirap at ginhawa" (In bad times and good), she says, eyes twinkling.