Piolo Pascual almost quit showbiz

MANILA, Philippines - Piolo Pascual has disclosed that he considered quitting show business and settle for good in America with his son Iñigo, but the success of his film with Toni Gonzaga and Iza Calzado, “Starting Over Again," prevented him from doing it.

“Siguro pagod na rin, kasi half of my life, ito na ang ginagawa ko,” Piolo replied when asked what made him consider leaving showbiz, Philippine Entertainment Portal reported.

"One of the reasons why is because I wanted to devote more time sa anak ko. Para bago man lang maging adult ang bata, I can give him more time physically," he added. “That's one of the factors and parang gusto ko rin naman magpahinga, so iyon... Sometimes kailangan natin pagtuunan ng pansin ang ibang bagay para hindi tayo tumanda na may na-miss out tayo."

He said that aside from the success of the movie, his son also told him not to leave the industry.

"When I told him that, 'You can't quit yet because I still wanna see you on TV,'” he recalled. “Sabi ko, 'Ano ka ba naman, I wanna do this for you yet ayaw mo.' I think it was a sign for me not to leave yet. There are some things na out of our control. I was planning something else, but I guess ABS-CBN had a different plan. God had a different plan kaya sabay na lang tayo sa agos," he said.

Meanwhile, Piolo thanked the people who didn't give up on him even as he thought that his career is almost over.

The first person he thanked is the director of his recent film, Olivia Lamasan, who he had "tampuhan" with before doing the film.

“If not for Inang, I think hindi ako makakabalik,” Piolo said emotionally. "Kasi pag may nagsasabi sa akin na I'm back, [iniisip ko], hindi naman ako nawala, hindi naman ako umalis. Pero maraming salamat po for the belief and the trust for making me a part of your life again."

He also thanked the ABS-CBN executives who he “caused so much pain,” yet remained by his side and kept on believing on him.

"To Tita Charo [Santos Concio], through ups and downs, she never wavered. Naiiyak na ako...” he admits before continuing. "When she said that you guys never lost hope, para po akong nabuhayan. Thank you for not giving up on me.

"Of course, Tito Gabby [Lopez], sabihin ko lang po ang part ng card na sinabi niya, 'Magkasama tayo sa hirap, ngayon magkasama tayo sa ginhawa. We never lost hope.' It was so personal. When I read it, naiyak po ako. Thank you for not giving up on me.

"Tita Malou [Santos], sa dami ng pinagdaanan namin, daig pa namin ang mag-syota. Tita, sorry for all the pains I caused you."

When asked if this means that he won't leave showbiz anytime soon Piolo replied, “I think I'm not in a position to say na hanggang dito na lang ako. I thought kaya kong tuldukan, hindi pa pala. Bahala na ang Diyos, bahala na ang ABS-CBN. Happy ako, sobra."