Dennis ‘warns’ Joshua

MANILA, Philippines — Dennis Padilla expressed his thoughts after Joshua Garcia made a revelation in a tell-all interview in Tonight With Boy Abunda (TWBA). Joshua is the onscreen partner and rumored boyfriend of Dennis’ daughter Julia Barretto.

The actor said he was able to watch the whole interview of Joshua with host Boy Abunda, wherein he addressed the viral screenshot of his private message on the photo of a non-showbiz girl on social media. It reportedly caused a fight between Joshua and Julia that led to their breakup.

Joshua admitted to his wrong-doing and said he regretted it as it caused heartache and anger to his loved one. He, too, revealed that they really had a misunderstanding but made it clear that everything is all right between them now. “Kung ano kami noon, ganun pa din kami ngayon,” was how Joshua put it.

Speaking with select members of the press on the set of Funny Ka, Pare Ko, Dennis shared that he already heard about the said issue. He had asked his daughter during their dinner last Holy Wednesday about her and Joshua but the young actress only told him that they are pre-occupied with their work. Thus, he felt that Julia didn’t want to discuss the issue and he respected her.

Dennis added he recalled the interview of Joshua and Julia in Magandang Buhay where Joshua was made to react on a video clip of Dennis’ piece of advice to Joshua: Not to hurt his daughter. He shared, “I remembered telling him, ‘Do not hurt my daughter…I am funny but I’ll be an action star (if you do hurt her).’ And I was happy with his reply, saying on TV, ‘I understand, Tito Dennis, you will not be an action star.’”

It was also fresh on Dennis’ mind the man-to-man talk he had with Joshua last Father’s Day, telling him, “You are a man, I am a man. If there would be any problem (between you and Julia), you should also talk to me.” Dennis believes it is better to talk about any issue personally than just hearing it somewhere.

Joshua and Julia first appeared together in the hit movie Vince and Kath and James with Ronnie Alonte. Since then, fans have been clamoring for more onscreen pairings of Joshua and Julia and later, their tandem became known as JoshLia. They then became closer until rumors spread that their onscreen romance developed into real-life love affair.

Asked if he was disappointed with what he heard from Joshua and what had happened between the two young stars, Dennis said, “Oo naman, s’yempre anak mo ‘yun eh.”

And although he knows that the two can resolve the matter by themselves, given the fact that they are both adults, Dennis still has something to say to his daughter. “When you know that you are not happy anymore, you should get out of it but if you feel that you are happy and can handle it, maintain mo lang. Parang nasa kusina lang yan, kung mainit sa kusina, ano ang gagawin mo? Lalabas ka dahil mainit. ”

Julia Barretto and rumored boyfriend Joshua during one of their trips abroad

As for Joshua, the veteran comedian commended Joshua for admitting his fault and learning from it. He is happy that Joshua and Julia have already patched things up. He even pointed to the mistakes he had in his younger years. “All you need is to settle the problem right away because in general, women have an amazing patience but once it (has) reached the saturation point, there is really no turning back. Wala na kahit anong mangyari, hindi mo na mapipilit ang babae.”

Dennis expressed his willingness to meet up with Joshua should the latter wish to talk to him. “Mag-sorry lang sa akin, okay na ‘yun. ‘Sorry, Tito Dennis, nagkamali ako,’” he said and added, “I’ll be an action star if ever he does it again. No one can stop me from becoming one and I am not definitely joking by that time anymore.”

Meanwhile, Dennis is the latest addition to the cast of Funny Ka, Pare Ko on CineMo. Now on its fifth season, the Kapamilya sitcom promises to bring loads of fun and laughter to televiewers and at the same time instill values in young children by tackling different life situations.

“This my first sitcom in a very long time,” said Dennis before taping starts inside the Studio 4 of the Kapamilya network. “The last sitcoms I did here in ABS(-CBN) were Home Along da Riles, Whattamen and others were mostly guestings. So this time, I am one of the regular cast members here in Funny Ka, Pare Ko.”

It excites him to start working with mainstays Karla Estrada and Bayani Agbayani who are his friends from way back. Dennis shared that Karla used to be the front act of Randy Santiago in his concerts when Randy was still active in the music scene. “I was one of Randy’s Hawi Boys before so I got to meet everyone like Karla. Eventually, Karla and I had been together in shows here in ABS, masaya, makulit.”

Bayani, on the other hand, is Dennis’ “solid kumpare” in real life. Aside from that, Bayani was one of the writers of the noontime show, Salo-Salo Together, where Dennis was one of the hosts.

Apart from Dennis, Funny One grand winner Donna Cariaga, Anthony Andres and James Canaan are also set to appear in Funny Ka, Pare Ko Season 5 starting on April 29.