IT?LL BE A WORKING CHRISTMAS FOR movie queen Susan Roces.

She told Inquirer that she will be busy taping the GMA 7 series ?Sana Ngayong Pasko? over the holidays. The series runs till Jan. 8.

It?s not the first time for Susan to work at this time of year. In 2003, she top-billed the Metro Manila Film Fest entry ?Mano Po 2: My Home.?

?I was also involved in all of my late husband?s (Fernando Poe Jr.) ?Panday? movies, which were usually shown at Christmas,? she recounted. ?But my work on those movies were as a producer (for FPJ Productions).?

Since her husband?s passing on Dec. 14, 2004, Christmas celebrations have changed for Susan.

?Like any traditional Filipino family, we still go to church, usually to hear the six o?clock Mass, and then we have dinner. Since FPJ died, our family reunions are held alternately with relatives?with my sisters-in-law, my brothers-in-law, or with my daughter Grace.?

Clarification
Career-wise, this will be Susan?s first Christmas as a Kapuso. She?d like to correct the impression that she moved from ABS-CBN.

?I?m a freelancer,? she explained, "[and I?m] very thankful for the warm welcome I got from GMA 7. Meaty roles such as mine [in Mike Tuviera?s ?Sana Ngayong Pasko?] don?t come every day to women my age.? It?s not good for veteran stars like herself to have limited opportunities because of the network war, she added.

Truth to tell, she?s still passionate about her craft. While doing ?Sana Ngayong Pasko,? she didn?t think twice about wading in floodwaters for the recreation of events during tropical storm ?Ondoy.?

Susan recalled, ?I told (co-star) Eddie Gutierrez, ?This isn?t drama; it?s action.? For as long as my limbs aren?t put at risk, I?m game.?

She isn?t keen about working late nights, however. ?My manager, Dolor Guevarra, requests that I work only until midnight. I?m an early riser. I don?t mind reporting to the set first hour of the day, and I can work the whole day. But after midnight, low-batt na ako!?

What sealed the GMA 7 deal for her, Susan said, were the role and the story.

?I wasn?t just added to the show to make the cast seem bigger. I?m happiest when working. If a role suits me, I?ll do it,? she said.