MANILA, Philippines?Kuh Ledesma likes to joke that she?s turning 30 next year, and why not?

The Filipino pop diva carries her fiercely guarded age with aplomb, and her patrician bone structure and fine features show that she?ll probably still be gorgeous for years to come.

And yet here she is, sitting down with the press over paella and talking about her plans to celebrate her coming 30th anniversary as a performer. It?s an incredible achievement; to rest and admire her accomplishments from retirement isn?t anywhere near her plans.

US tour

She?s starting with a United States tour this November? first at the Atlantis Grand Ballroom in Reno with Stephen Bishop and Dan Hill, and then at Horseshoe and Hammond in Indiana with Stephen Bishop, David Pomeranz and John Ford Coley. These, after concluding her first regular teleserye role as Dennis Trillo?s imperious mother in GMA 7?s ?Endless Love.?

And if things go well, Ledesma will embark on her first project as film writer-director in the coming months.

?I?m writing and directing it, which is probably a lot of work, but I don?t want to direct someone else?s story,? she says. ?I?m working on the synopsis, and I?ve approached Cherie Gil, Gina Alajar, Tessie Tomas and some of my friends.?

So what will it be about? ?It?s the story of seven women whose lives intersect, and hopefully it will have a lot of funny parts. But real-life funny, ha, not comedy because nagpapatawa ka.?

There are also plans to mark her 30th year in show biz on our own shores. Her publicist suggests an audio-visual exhibit as a retrospective, to which she quips, ?Ikaw ang maghahalungkat. (You?re going to have to sift through the items yourself.)?

Also being considered is a 25-track album from the best recordings of her past concerts (?Kung ano man ang nag-survive?), tentatively titled ?Untouched.?

Likewise on the drawing board is a live, stripped-down album? ?Guitar and voice lang. Finally. After 30 years,? Kuh says.

And of course, the inevitable 30th anniversary concert, scheduled for the first part of 2011. ?We haven?t decided on the guests, or whether we?ll go on tour, or at least to Cebu and Davao. At this point, all we know is that Leo Rialp is directing,? she says.

The source for her enviable energy and confidence, she attests, is spiritual. ?I wanna stay forever. Because I refuse to disappear,? Ledesma says with conviction. ?Retirement?wala kasi iyan sa Bible. When we are with Christ we will forever be like a green tree, always flourishing, always fresh.?

Ledesma is a Born-Again Christian, which she says she discovered 11 years ago, after a dark period following the breakup of her marriage. It?s from her faith that she finds meaning in her work, she points out. ?I wake up because I want to be more successful, so I can influence more people to come to Christ,? she says.

Which also means she refuses to judge the current woes of Mel Gibson, her former costar (in 1982?s ?The Year of Living Dangerously?). ?He was a really nice guy and, oh my gosh, so good-looking,? she says. ?I think natauhan lang siya. He?s an Aussie, they drink a lot, it?s like a national pastime. So maybe it?s something he never overcame. And you know, after he made ?Passion of the Christ? such a success? and the world looks at you as someone who gives glory to God, dadating din yung demonyo to disqualify him and his work and reputation... But God allows painful situations because it tests your faith...?