MANILA, Philippines - Piolo Pascual is everywhere — from the big and small screens to magazines to billboards. His popularity has generated more than his share of headlines. Here, Piolo dishes out his views as a Christian, on pre-marital sex, his feelings as an absentee father, his idols and his initial venture as concert producer via Pop Icons.
How do Christians like you pray?
Personal. I pray anytime, any place whenever there’s a need to thank the Lord, there’s a need to pray for grace and for anything that I do. I pray at night. I pray the moment I wake up. Since I became a Christian, it has become more personal. I get to spend more time with the Lord at any given time. Anywhere I am, I can always approach Him, so I can say I have a better relationship with Him now because I become closer to Him. Praying is not just about asking petitions or requests but it is really a constant communication with the Lord.
Are members of your fellowship prohibited from pre-marital sex?
Di lang naman sa Victory (Christian Fellowship) e. If you read the Bible, it’s written there everything you need to know, everything you’d want to know about what’s bawal or pwede mo gawin. But for me, it’s a personal conviction and we all know that it’s not allowed. So for me it’s not about the law, it’s about doing the right things in life and not just being bound by certain rules. It’s not about Victory, it’s about what’s written in the Bible. When I surrendered my life to the Lord, that’s when I realized na marami pala kong di alam. So isa yun sa mga bagay na na-realize ko. Since it’s the norm, everybody does it, you think it’s right but for you to know the difference of living the right way and living for Christ, you have to read the Bible. This wasn’t forced upon me, when I read the Bible that’s when I realized ito pala yung mga bagay na di ko dapat ginagawa and pre-marital sex is one of them.
It’s hard because I come from a broken family, that’s one of the things I don’t wanna give my son but it happened so I’m just really praying to the Lord. It’s hard to catch up for the lost time ang bata kasi di bata forever and it’s one of the things that saddens me. Every time I think of my son and about how short the time I spend with him, nakaka-guilty.
What is one thing about you that you want to change?
I’m happy with the way things are. There were some things in life that I definitely regret but now I know everything happens for a reason, everything happens for the good and if that was the way for me to get to know the Lord, then it happened for a reason.
Who is your idol (s)?
One person I look up to is Gary Valenciano. I draw strength from him because whenever I see him on the show makikita mo talaga that it’s really a matter of conviction. He’s very talented and he has lasted 25 years in the biz still on top. Another is Martin Nievera for his talent and perseverance to make it big abroad. Masarap at magaling kumanta. Acting-wise, it’s Christopher de Leon. He has never waned, from the time he started until now he’s very passionate at di nawawala ang focus sa trabaho. I also admire Robin Williams because he’s very talented. One of my frustrations is that I’m not able to do comedy. If I have the talent for it I wouldn’t just be a dramatic actor but a comedian as well. In terms of character choices, I like Gary Oldman. And recently, producing-wise I admire Adam Sandler because he’s not just a good actor but also wise in terms of producing films. In terms of producing, I’m starting it now because I was prophesied years ago in ULTRA that I’d be a producer. And it’s becoming a reality now through Pop Icons which is a group effort naman. If there’s an opportunity to grow as a producer, dun ako. I always want to go out of my comfort zone.
(Pop Icons: The Concert is a joint effort of ASAP Live and Sunday Night Productions, the production outfit of Pop Icons Piolo, Sam Milby, Erik Santos, Mark Bautista and Christian Bautista. The concert series kicks off on Feb. 13 in Dagupan; Feb. 14, Cebu; Feb. 21, Araneta Coliseum; and Feb. 28, Bacolod.)