Last Thursday, July 12, despite her leg injury Jolina Magdangal showed up at the studio of the GMA News TV public affairs show Personalan to tape two episodes for the following week. Jolina hosted the said episodes with a splint on her left leg which was injured three days earlier when she slipped off a stage riser during a technical rehearsal for Party Pilipinas’ July 8 episode.
Towards the end of the second episode, Jolina was asked by the staff of the show to read a short spiel in honor of the late Comedy King Dolphy. Although Jolina successfully delivered her spiels without becoming too emotional, when the cameras stopped rolling, her emotions broke loose. The singer-actress broke into tears while the show’s staff surrounded her to give comfort. Jolina explained, in an interview a few minutes later, that even if she had worked with Dolphy only once (in the movie “Home Along da Riber”), she has always been a fan of the late comedian.
She recalled that before she became a TV star, she frequently watched Dolphy’s shows in her family’s black-and-white TV set. Years later her dream of starring alongside the Comedy King in a movie came true when she was cast into “Home Along Da Riber.”
Jolina tearfully recalled how after her “emotional” father-daughter scene with Dolphy in the said film, she went to the bathroom and cried not only because she was moved by the scene but also because she was overwhelmed with joy. Jolina said that she first learned about Dolphy’s passing through Twitter but didn’t believe the tweets until she got a confirmation from one of Dolphy’s sons, Director Eric Quizon.
“Kung nasaan siya ngayon, mas makakasayaw na siya, wala na siyang tubo o anything, wa na siyang mararamdamang sakit, at magpapatawa siya doon,” said Jolina.
“Hanggang sa huli idol ko siya,” she added.
Asked how she would describe Dolphy, Jolina said, “Tatay siya sa lahat ng bagay, mapa-showbiz man o hindi, tatay siya.”
