• MONDAY- FRIDAY AFTER YANXI PALACE
  • MONDAY- FRIDAY AFTER YANXI PALACE
Celebrities recall fond memories of their late dads on TWBA

In the past four years of Tonight With Boy Abunda, it has never failed to delight us with the King of Talk Boy Abunda’s inspiring, hearty, and fun interviews with our favorite celebrities in and out of the Kapamilya network.

And as we join the world in paying homage to the lives and sacrifices of fathers everywhere in the world in this year’s celebration of Father’s Day, here are some of the genuine conversations of the esteemed host with his celebrity guests about their late dads on the show in the previous years.

Regine Velasquez-Alcasid on Daddy Gerry

Following her transfer to ABS-CBN in 2018, one of the Asia’s Songbird’s highly anticipated stops was TWBA, in which she was able to talk with Tito Boy, whom she used to work with in her early years in show business, about her life, career, and love life through the years.

Her father Mang Gerry was the one who mainly encouraged and honed her to become a singer and continued to be her guide until his peaceful death in 2014. Tito Boy capped off the interview by asking Regine what could’ve have been his reaction about the bold move that she did, to which she answered, “He would tell me ‘It’s about time to come back.’”

When asked what she would tell him if given the chance to talk to him, she said, “I miss him very much. There’s not a day that I don’t miss him. That’s all I can tell him – that I miss him and I wish that he was here.

She then went on to add that upon hearing the stories of people during his wake about how Mang Gerry were able to touch their lives when he was still alive, those definitely warmed her heart and made her extra kinder as she also wants to be remembered that way. 

The 50-year-old veteran singer-actress also heeded to Tito Boy’s request of belting out “Papa Can You Hear Me?” and her father’s all-time favorite song “Leader Of The Band”, associating afterwards the song to her relationship with her dad as she  considers him as the “leader” and herself being his “legacy”.

 

Sharon Cuneta on Daddy Pablo

The Megastar wasn’t able to hold back her emotions as the King of Talk told her to face the golden mirror in her guesting on the late night talk program in 2017. He went on to ask her to talk to her reflection about the things wanted to tell herself and to the person she misses the most during that time.

She suddenly burst into tears and bawled on how much she misses her Daddy Pablo, who passed away in 2000 due to cardiac arrest, and how her life used to be while he was still alive. He was a politician who known for being the longest-serving mayor in the history of the Philippines after serving as the mayor of Pasay City for three terms between 1951 and 1998.

“I miss you, daddy. Daddy, I miss you so much. I miss my life with you, I miss Dasma, I miss being your child, I miss Little Sharon,” she tearfully related.

Then she went on to say how much she also missed her mom and her twenty-something self, and kept on reiterating in between tears: “I miss me”.

 

Enrique Gil on Daddy Ricky

During the guesting of the Make It With You star in 2015, the King Of Talk reminisced how indeed an admirable person his Daddy Ricky was when he was still alive. Prior to succumbing to leukemia in 2008, the older Gil used to be so hands-on in taking good care of care of and guiding Quen, who was then an up-and-coming teen actor then as he accompanied him in his workshops. 

Tito Boy divulged that Daddy Ricky approached him to ask for his help regarding the blossoming career of his son then, after he was introduced as one of the Star Magic Batch 16 talents on the now-defunct showbiz talk program The Buzz. The host went on to impart that Ricky was also sorely adored by the security guards of the ABS-CBN as he often handed them coffee packs every time he comes, which the 28-year-old actor just learned weeks after his dad’s death.

Asked what his father would say to him with all the successes he’d been ripping, Enrique recalled the first time that his Daddy Ricky told him how proud he was of him.

“When he was sick, the first [time] na nakita niya na ni-launch ako sa TV, sa ASAP napanood niya, the first time I heard him say that he was proud of me. So I think, lalong-lalo pa ngayon. Siguro, thank you for taking care of the family [even] no’ng wala na siya,” he said.

 

Roxanne Barcelo on her Tatay Antonio

Just when she thought that her flair in singing and songwriting had gone unnoticed, there was one person who showed his all-out and unwavering support to her – her beloved Tatay Antonio who passed away on June 30, 2019 after figuring in an accident at their home in the US.

In her appearance in TWBA last year, a month after her acclaimed performance of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” in the preliminary round of Tawag Ng Tanghalan Celebrity Edition, Roxanne wasn’t able to help herself from getting emotional as she reminisced some of her most memorable and fondest memories with her tatay.  She emphasized that her Tatay Antonio was the one who encouraged her to pursue her musical career, and said his death made her decide to stop singing.

But Tito Boy advised Roxanne to keep going on for it’s a great way to honor and thank her father for loving, supporting, and believing in her.

 

Piolo Pascual on his Daddy Harold

Before becoming a good dad to his unico hijo Inigo, Piolo first was an obedient son to his German dad Harold Herzig, who died when he was only 16 years old. In his guesting on the program in 2017, he related how he and his siblings felt somehow regretful that none of them were able to inherit their dad’s distinct physical features – green eyes, blond hair, and fair skin – how Harold was as a strict father to them, and why he considers him as a hero.

“He’s my hero because siguro kasi sa kanya ko nakuha ‘yong ‘pagkahilig’ sa pag-arte,” he started off and continued, “Kasi po no’ng nabubuhay pa siya, he was a casting director, he was a talent caster of foreign films. So ‘yon, hilig talaga niya umarte maski pa-extra-extra lang.”

The 42-year-old actor-singer also went to express how he wishes that his father is still alive for he wants to share everything he has at the present with him.

 

Vandolph on his Daddy Dolphy

Almost six years after losing their father to pneumonia, Vandolph admitted to Tito Boy during his appearance on TWBA in 2018 that he always talks to his later father, Comedy King Dolphy, and asks for his guidance whenever he has to do a tough decision or work on a new project. There were also instances that he rang his phone and laughed at the thought that he might answer his call.

On that same interview, he also revealed the parenting style he learned from his parents, particularly from his dad, that he applies to his own children Vito and Kira.

“My dad kasi, hindi vocal ‘yan e. ‘Pag may ginawa ako, may look ‘yon na parang galit. Tapos hindi marunong sumigaw ‘yan. Kakausapin ka niya [nang] malumanay,” he imparted on how his dad was as a disciplinarian.

Some of them may be already gone, but we may continue to show the foundations of our homes our love and respect not just by remembering them this coming Father’s Day, but by keeping them and their memories and teachings in our hearts and minds everyday of our lives as well. Happy Father’s Day!