Ivana Alawi said she was very excited to shoot for the iWant TFC twin-bill horror film Sitsit earlier this year. Their episode Aswang had her playing an ambitious prostitute who plies her trade in the dark streets of Poblacion in Makati. But off camera, the 23-year-old actress said she may have felt a different kind of presence on their set.

“We started na parang mabigat kasi yung character. Nagtatrabaho siya bilang binabayaran na babae tapos parang babawi ka sa huli so parang itotodo mo siya sa dulo na yung pagbawi mo talagang mababaliw ka. Wala namang paranormal pero yung place na pinagshooting-an namin, mabigat. Takot akong umakyat. Takot akong bumaba kasi. Never naman akong nakakita pero basta yung feeling mo na mabigat na may something dito so hindi ko na siya in-explore (laughs),” she recalled.

Off camera, Ivana said she is content to be single and enjoying bonding time with her family during home quarantine because she knows why men are most of the time still hesitant to court her.

“Yung mukha ko daw nakaka-intimidate so lagi silang na-i-intimidate mukha ako. Minsan may mga taong natatakot manligaw and hanggang ngayon ganun pa rin yung feeling. Takot pa rin sila manligaw (laughs),” she explained.

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Even before celebrating her first anniversary as a YouTube vlogger, Ivana also made sure to pay tribute to one of her inspirations online, Lloyd Cafe Cadena, who unexpectedly passed away last September due to COVD-19. Ivana shared the reason she decided to dedicate a vlog in memory of him and give the proceeds from the video to his family.

“Ang inisip ko kagad was his family and yun yung tumatak sa akin kasi alam kong mahal ni Lloyd yung family niya. Sabi ko parang kailangan kong gumawa ng paraan na in a small way matulungan ko din yung family niya. Kasi siyempre I’ve been watching ever since wala pa ako sa YouTube so sabi ko he’s been part of my life. And sabi ko, ‘How can I help?’ Nung nalaman ko, nag-isip ako, nakaupo ako dun, natulala ako, and I’m so happy kasi naging proud yung mommy niya. Aside from making a tribute siyempre sa anak niya na si Lloyd, lahat kasi ng kita nun binigay ko talaga sa family niya,” she explained.

READ: Ivana Alawi marks 1st year as a vlogger

Catch Sitsit on the iWant TFC app (iOS and Android) or on iwanttfc.com.

Scorpio stars Jake Cuenca and is directed by Ato Bautista, while Aswang is directed by Erin Pascual and co-produced by Paulo Avelino.