Before she became primetime television's 'Legal Wife,' award-winning actress Angel Locsin prepared for her role as Monica by talking to women with cheating husbands, as well as to men who left their wives for another woman.

“I spoke to women who have the same story as my character, to married men who have had extramarital affairs, and to mistresses,” Angel shares with Anthony Taberna in “Tapatan Ni Tunying” airing this Thursday (March 6).

As an advocate of “Gabriela,” an organization that advocates women and children’s issues, Angel has mingled with and talked to wives who suffered from domestic disputes and violence even before she began working on the said drama series.

“Every time I join counseling, I know that I am not in the right place to judge and give advice. I’m there to support and empower them as women, and also to learn from their stories,” she explains.

For Angel, her counseling experiences have helped her not only in effectively portraying her television roles, but also in expanding her understanding of women’s issues.

While Angel advocates women empowerment, political activist Mae Paner, also known as Juana Change, calls for radical change in Philippine politics.

“I think every Filipino should learn how to volunteer. They should also know what’s happening,” Mae says. “People have to learn to receive criticism,” she adds, insinuating President Noynoy Aquino’s perceived hypersensitivity to negative remarks on his administration.

Mae also fires back at her detractors, who claim she hasn’t done anything worthwhile for her fellow Filipinos aside from appearing and speaking at rallies.

“We have this project called Yakap, wherein I adopted 21 Yolanda survivors and let them stay in my house. I treated them like they were family,” she shares.

She adds, “To those who have criticized me and asked what I’ve done for the victims of Yolanda, my answer is, ‘Excuse me!’”

Don’t miss “Tapatan ni Tunying” (TNT) in the first Thursday (March 6) of International Women’s Month, 4:45 PM on ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold. For updates, follow @TNTunying on Twitter or like its Facebook page www.facebook.com/TNTunying.