Showbiz enthusiasts know that Regine Velasquez wouldn’t be the superstar she is today without her father, who everyone fondly calls Mang Gerry. He was the first one to train when she would join amateur singing contests during childhood. He was a constant face during her shows. He was the wind beneath her wings.
When Mang Gerry died in 2014, Regine would be heard in interviews talking about her father’s legacy – none other than herself. She is the living legacy of Mang Gerry, the leader of the Velasquez band.
In a past episode of TWBA, Boy Abunda asked the OPM icon what she thinks her father would tell her at that moment. It was one of her earliest guestings after moving into the Kapamilya Network. She said her dad would probably say it was time to come back.
On her part, she wished she could tell Mang Gerry how much she misses him. She went on to share how Mang Gerry, even in his death, inspired her to be a better person. “Noong namatay siya, I think lalo akong nagpakabait. Daming dumalaw sa wake niya and they would tell me, ‘He was so nice to me. He would talk to me.’ Parang ‘talaga?’ And I want to be like that,’” said the Asia’s Songbird.
Singing through held-back tears, Regine belted out the chorus part of “Leader of the Band,” the song that imitates her relationship with her father. “I really am. I am the living legacy to the leader of the band. I am the legacy of my father,” she said, relating to the song’s lyrics.
Now with a son, 9 year old Nate, Regine also wishes to leave a legacy through her child. “He is my legacy because he will continue whatever I’ve started and he will remember me. Kahit wala nang makaalala sa akin, as long as my son can remember me, that’s my legacy.”