DINA Bonnevie will never forget Feb. 18, 1999. After two years and three months of being on the air, she was informed on that date while she was doing her show, ''Miss D!'' that the telecast on that day would be their last!

''I was shocked! I thought I was going to cry when they told me, 'We're axing the show and we'll put you in a soap.' My reaction was, ''Today?-- Why?!''

She was told that the show was not rating, but she found that hard to believe. ''I have many offers to endorse products. Why would these people get somebody whose show wasn't rating? I was slighted--parang ''Ganoon lang?''

Later, she was informed that what GMA was planning to do was put her in a soap opera, and then move her show to the ''Brunch'' timeslot. She remained adamant. ''I was thinking, paano naman sina Bing at Michelle? Kawawa naman sila. And they wanted to get just me. Feeling ko, dyahe naman. I couldn't dump my staff just like that.''

Even before ''Miss D!'' ended, Viva have already proposed a soap opera. ''But during that time, I didn't like the idea. I felt I was through with that. Feeling ko, napaka-negative ng values ng mga soap ngayon. As a person in the media, it's my duty to inculcate proper values,'' she says.

But now, Dina has had a change of heart. She has finally accepted Viva's offer to do a soap opera. ''It's different. First, kami ni Cherie (Gil), doon ako na-entice. Parang okay ang mga role, parang ''Sana'y Wala ng Wakas'' na singer kami. At first, ayoko ng singer but Cherie asked, 'Why not? You did 'Bakit ba Ganyan,' we did 'Sana'y Wala ng Wakas, what's your problem?'

''Sabi ko, sige na nga. And I requested that, in the end all the evil characters must have retribution, kailangan may lesson learned. I also realized, how will you teach people good values if you won't show the bad side of life?''

Dina has high regards for her co-star, Cherie. ''I missed Cherie. She still hasn't lost her touch, she's still very sharp. Nandoon pa rin ang style niya na hindi makilos, mata lang.'' They are very close off screen. ''We once lived in one condominium building. Sa penthouse ako, sa baba siya. Ako pa nga ang nag-aalaga kay Jaymie (Cherie's child),'' Dina recalls.

Asked what will make the new soap stand out, Dina proudly states, ''There's Cherie Gil, Albert Martinez, Angelu de Leon, Kim and Dino, lahat maiinit na artista. And the scenes are big, parang pelikula. The way they are shooting it is not simple. Fabulous rin ang costumes especially sa mga concert scenes. The story is like a compilation of past Viva movies. Maganda ang twist!''

After years of not acting in front of the camera, ''In the beginning, nangangapa ako. Para bang, marunong pa ba akong umarte?'' she grins. But, multi-awarded actress that she is, ''After two or three scenes, wala na, ginanahan na ako. When you have it pala, you won't lose it. Paiinitin mo lang ng konti!''

Dina is also doing a movie. However, it took sometime to convince her to go back to making movies. Her reason? ''Naloloka ako sa time, sa puyatan blues. Siguro, nag-mellow na 'ko. Simple needs na lang ako. What's more important to me now is to be service to others.''

Dina's first love is still hosting a talk show. ''My service as an actress is only to entertain. In the movies, you're not yourself. You're only playing a role and you hope that through your performance you'll open other people's eyes. In a talk show, you talk to them about life, about daily happenings. On ''Miss D!'' I answered my e-mail personally--we're talking from 75 to 200 e-mails a day! Matagal nga lang, but personal naman ang sagot.''

''For me, 'Miss D!' was everything. It was not just a money-earner, it was my venue for giving back to God what He had given me. Everyday, I pray that the Lord will let me see His divine purpose for me in this world, and how I shall better serve Him. I patiently awaits His master plan for me,'' Dina intones.

It seems God's master plan for Dina is slowly unfolding. ''Miss D!'' will finally go back on the air on July, even before the airing of her new soap. It will be produced by Viva, with the same old staff, but on a different channel.

''This time it will be more masa, more Tagalog. We're going to start with a band para upbeat. We are also going on junkets to interview foreign actors and actresses about their coming movies.''

''We're going to have a cooking portion. Not many people know that I love to cook, and I cook well. If I know, ginawa ng staff ang portion na ito para makakain sa bahay!'' she laughs.