Veteran actress Gina Pareño has admitted to being part of the LGBTQ+ community as she opened up about a special person in her life who passed away.
Pareño made the admission in her interview with Ogie Diaz on his YouTube channel posted on Monday, July 18.
When asked if she was ready to come out, the actress responded with, "Oo, bakit? May problema?"
"At saka nagmamahal ako ng tapat," she added.
The 75-year-old actress then reminisced about her relationship with late actress Nenita "Doktora Bong" Vidal, saying she is her "lucky charm." Vidal Vidal was a popular actress in the 1950s known for her roles in Puppy Love (1956), Dalagita’t Binatilyo (1955), and Pagtutuus (1950).
When Vidal died, she entrusted her home to Pareño.
"Nasa kuwarto ko pa rin ‘yung urn niya… Ang dami kong utang na loob doon, saka mabait sa akin. Tinuturuan ako, ine-educate niya ako," Pareño stated.
"Tinuruan niya ako kung paano kumilos, lahat. Ibinigay niya sa akin ‘yung naiwan niyang bahay. Saka alam kong mahal na mahal ako no’n," Pareño added
She also laughed off the times she brought Vidal’s urn to various tapings, remembering how others have called her "naloloka."
"Sinabi mo nga sa akin noon, ‘Nako, Ogie mawala nang lahat ito sa’kin mabalik lang sakin si Doktora Bong," Diaz recalled. He then asked Pareño if she was ever willing to try and find love again.
“Ay, wala na. Pack up na ako diyan,” the actress jokingly answered.
In the same interview, Pareño and Diaz also talked about how much the veteran actress misses being onscreen.
"Kunin naman niyo ako. Kasi sa kwarto, aarte-arte ako doon. Baka mauwi ako sa mental nito!” she quipped. “Gumigising ako, baka naloloka ako," she said.
Pareño rose to fame in the 1960s with films like Mama (1968) and Si Darna at ang Planetman (1969). She recently appeared in the GMA series “Lolong,” which stars Ruru Madrid.
