Ogie a proud dad on and off-cam

MANILA, Philippines - Ogie Alcasid doesn’t have to look far and wide for inspiration to effectively portray his character Doc Mateo on GMA 7’s primetime series Daldalita. He exactly knows what being a father means — from taking care of a newborn to keeping his cool when a kid becomes uncontrollable.

Ogie even seems not acting at all when a scene calls for his alter ego to display love and care to his daughter Daldalita (played by Jillian Ward). According to Ogie, the only difference is the way he deals with his daughters Leila and Sarah who live with his former wife Michelle van Eimeren in Australia and of course, his and wife Regine Velasquez’s weeks-old son Nathaniel James.

“The role is very close to my heart,” said Ogie when The STAR met him recently on the set of Daldalita at the compound of the Department of Social Welfare and Development office in Quezon City. “Like my character, I’m a dad in real life. The story revolves around my relationship with Daldalita na ‘di ko alam s’ya yung nawawala kong anak. The father-daughter relationship reminds me of my two girls, that’s why it’s easy for me to relate to the character.”

In one scene where Mateo and Daldalita bid each other goodbye as the latter will be adopted by a couple, Ogie felt the pain of how a daughter will be separated from his father.

“It’s a scene, I think, where a lot of parents can get affected. The thought of losing your child is a tragic thing.”

He is thankful that the Kapuso network has entrusted the role to him. “I think being a dad is the hardest role because you always check yourself if you’re doing the right thing. In reality, I try to be the best dad that I can be.”

So far, Ogie said, he’s doing great as a dad on cam to Jillian and off-cam to his children, especially to Baby Nate. Jillian, he shared, is a real sweetheart. He allows her to hang around in his dressing room. “She loves to put makeup on me or minamasa-masahe ang mukha ko. ‘Di ko s’ya sinasaway. That’s our bonding (during breaks). But when the camera rolls, expect her to give her 100 percent, iyak talaga s’ya.”

He cannot compare Jillian’s personality to his daughters because “they are almost teenagers now. The second is nine years old. Medyo iba na ang isyu ’pag teenager.”

But if he has time to play with Jillian during breaks, Ogie definitely has the energy to take care of Baby Nate even if he lacks sleep when he goes home from taping.

“It’s a wonderful feeling. I feel so blessed when the baby came out. We are now three in the house. Kahit medyo puyat, I still try to get up and take care of him.”

Just recently, Ogie performed live in Party Pilipinas his composition Aking Anak which is dedicated to Baby Nate, his daughters and to all parents in the world. It was in 1997 when Ogie wrote a song titled I Will Be Here for his daughters.

“Our priority now is the baby’s health. Regine is breastfeeding Baby Nate. So he’s growing steadily as you know the baby weighed 4.4 lbs. so we have a lot of catching up to do,” he said.

Thus, Ogie truly finds time to take care of him no matter how tight his schedule is. Aside from Daldalita, Ogie is a regular in Party Pilipinas, Bubble Gang and Protégé. He also has a hotdog business to attend to. He, too, is the Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mangaawit (OPM) president. Soon, he will start shooting for his movie Boy Pick Up. Come Valentine’s Day, he and Regine will headline a concert tentatively titled Mr. & Mrs. A.

Below, discover how Ogie gets through his day-to-day activities.

On workdays:

6 or 6:30 a.m. — I wake up and then have my breakfast usually consisting of cereals and coffee. After, I’ll check if the baby is awake. I play with him for a while but if he and Regine are asleep hinahayaan ko lang silang matulog.

7:30 a.m. — I get ready for work. I take a bath and dress up.

8 or 8:30 a.m. — I leave the house and head straight to the set.

9 a.m. — I arrive on the set and the first thing I do is read The Bible to prepare myself for the day, learn something again from The Bible and get my psyche right.

With GMA 7 Daldalita co-star Jillian Ward

9:30 a.m. – It’s time to put on my makeup and then I’ll have another cup of coffee.

10:30 a.m. – I read the script and start working until lunch break.

12 noon – Usually it is during this time where I meet with other people regarding business while taking lunch.

1:30 p.m. — Taping resumes. In-between takes, I eat peanuts because I don’t eat snacks or if I wanna go wild, I eat Banoffee Pie. Then work again until 7 p.m.

7 or 8:30 p.m. — Dinnertime. I eat rice, chicken breast and vegetables.

Then work again until taping ends at 2 or 3 a.m.

3:30 a.m. — I’m home. I remove my makeup and take a shower. Then go to sleep but if the baby is awake I play with him for a while at syempre may konting lambingan kami ni Regine ha,ha,ha.

On free days, Ogie wakes up at 9:30 a.m. He runs or swims in the morning as exercise. In the afternoon, he and Regine, together with a pastor and a cell group from Victory Christian Fellowship, will have a Bible study in their house. He sleeps before midnight. On Fridays, he wakes up at 6:30 a.m. to play golf until 1 p.m. and stays in the house the whole day with Regine. “Bonding time namin ang Friday,” Ogie said.