MANILA, Philippines - For Elvira Ramos Villasanta, mom to Ariel of the “Maverick and Ariel” comic duo, motherhood means sleepless nights worrying about Ariel’s whereabouts—even though her son is in his 40s.

“I wish he’d stop taking me for granted. Ang gusto ko lang naman tumawag s’ya pag gagabihin s’ya ng uwi. He always keeps me waiting,” Mommy Elvie told Inquirer Entertainment on Friday.

Elvie added that her son had another bad habit: “Makakalimutin ’yan. Sana alam rin n’ya kung kailan talaga ang Mother’s Day.”

Mom’s favorite

Ariel swears he is prepared for Mom’s Day this year. He plans to bring home a bagful of duhat, his mom’s favorite. “Gusto ko man s’yang ipasyal, ang bagal naman n’ya maglakad,” said the comedian. “That’s why, next year, ibibili ko s’ya ng wheelchair na de-gasolina.”

Ariel remembered that, two years ago, he surprised his mom with a very peculiar gift. “I hired a macho dancer for her. Enjoy naman s’ya,” he quipped. “Last year, nag-dinner kami sa bubong ng bahay.”

Like her son, Mommy Elvie has been making viewers laugh over her zany antics on ABC 5’s “Mommy Elvie’s Problematic Show,” with her son as co-star and producer. She will also play her cynical self on “Hollywood or Else,” a film to be produced for Ariel and partner Maverick Relova by GMA Films.

Mommy Elvie believes Ariel is a “miracle baby.” Not long after she, then a government employee, married civil engineer Bienvenido M. Villasanta, doctors found a tumor in one of her ovaries and operated on it. “I couldn’t get pregnant because of the medications I took,” she explained. “Ariel came 10 years later. He was God’s gift to us.”

A good name

Meanwhile, actor-TV host Edu Manzano will be celebrating a different kind of Mother’s Day this year.

“We tried not to mourn. We wanted to celebrate. Mom would finally be reunited with dad,” said Edu, whose mother Rosario passed away two weeks ago. She was 85.

“I’ll let you in on a family secret,” said the host of the ABS-CBN game show “Game Ka Na Ba?” “For many years, my mom was sad, sometimes angry. She said our dad, who passed away in 1983, lied to her. She said he promised they would be together forever, but he left her on her own. We’re all happy that dad would finally get to fulfill his promise to mom.”

Edu said his mother was best remembered through the people she had helped. “My mom didn’t earn anything when she worked for the Metropolitan Theater. When its resources started to flounder, she collected P800 a month from each of her kids. She gave the money to the janitors and gardeners. At times, she also made them sleep in our house,” Edu recounted. “Two weeks prior to her passing, eight of these employees visited her. This made her really happy.”

Edu added that Rosario had been an active member of the church, especially in Parañaque City, where the actor grew up. “She was very strict with how people dressed up to hear Mass,” said Edu.

“Up to now, people still come up to me and say, ‘Anak ka ni Nenita (Rosario’s nickname) ’di ba?’ People loved her. My mom, just like dad, left a good name.”

Email mcruz@inquirer.com.ph