“Sigurado na ba siya na ang gusto rin niya lalaki?” Tonyo (Jojit Lorenzo) asked his wife. “Sorry, nahuli tayo ni papa. Alam na niya,” Choi (Ali Abinal) said to his partner Ryan over the phone. After finding out about his son’s sexuality, what will a father do next?
Choi wants to be honest. For him, this means being allowed to cry and lean on his parents’ shoulder when he is struggling. Choi wants to be happy. He only hopes for his father to acknowledge him and his relationship with Ryan. “Mahirap ba ‘yung hinihingi ko?”
Tonyo wants Choi to be honest. He raised his son the same way he was raised. This means they will both follow conservative rules like men should not cry and men should be macho. Tonyo wants Choi to be happy. He can imagine his son falling in love with a woman, then being a husband and father. “Mali ba na ituro ko sa kanya na maging matatag?”
Choi opened up about being bullied. During these times, he wishes that his father was there to defend him. Simultaneously, Tonyo just found out from his wife that Choi was bullied. Now, he only feels guilty for not being able to protect his son.
Eventually, Tonyo decides to extend an olive branch. He knocks on Choi’s bedroom door and says, “Gusto ko lang malaman mo na mahal na mahal ka ni papa. Lumabas ka na dyan.” The episode ends with Choi opening the door.
Coming out is one of the hardest steps that a member of the LGBTQ+ community has to face. In “Lumabas Ka Na D’yan”, Ali Abinal and Jojit Lorenzo showed how a father and son can have different opinions but still want the same thing. Directed, written, and edited by Joshue Isaac Diazon, this is the third episode of Sagutan. Check out the previous episodes on OKS.abs-cbn.com!