MANILA, Philippines — "Kayong mga Chinese ang reason why people are dying! Pinakalat nyo ang virus sa buong mundo!"
Such anti-Chinese remarks are just some of the racist comments Filipino-Chinese actors like Richard Juan had to endure during the ongoing novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Related Stories
"I got a bunch of messages like this especially in March when the coronavirus got a lot more serious here in Philippines," Richard shared in an exclusive interview with Philstar.com.
He confessed that at first, he was bothered by such hateful comments. The "Love Thy Woman" actor said he first received racist remarks at the start of the pandemic since the virus reportedly originated from China.
"At first, I got really bothered kasi I'm not used to getting hate. Racism is one of the biggest things that I hate and I’ve always been very outspoken about it. S'yempre kasi I'm Chinese by blood aka where my ancestors are from, but we've also absorbed the Filipino culture and also see ourselves as Filipino na din," the former "Pinoy Big Brother" housemate said.
"Especially with the Black Lives Matter movement, many people in the Philippines do not realize that this is not just a movement for the US; it’s not just the battle between Black and White in the US. In fact, it’s a whole war against racism, globally. Racism is prevalent everywhere in the world and we need to solve this problem. It may take generations, but we will get there I know. What we need to always remember is that at the end of the day, there’s only one race… and that’s the human race."
Despite receiving racist comments, the Kapamilya actor donated personal protective equipment (PPEs) and face masks for COVID-19 medical frontliners and advocates for mass testing.
Richard started to donate PPEs at the beginning of the quarantine period in Metro Manila.
"I started quite early, perhaps on the week that they announced the Enhanced Community Quarantine for Metro Manila. It was brought to my attention via social media na kulang talaga mga personal protective equipment para sa frontliners natin," he said.
"Since I grew up in Hong Kong, I actually have a couple of connections there kaya I called my supplier there agad (who I got N95 face masks from during the Taal eruption) to see what supplies they had. I really wanted to focus on the protecting/supporting the frontliners kasi sila talaga 'yung mga nagririsk their lives para sa wellbeing of our country. And if I am not mistaken, we have one of the highest infections rate among the healthcare workers around the region," he explained.
Some of the hospitals Richard already donated to included Philippine General Hospital, East Avenue Medical Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, Rizal Medical Center, Jose Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, Ospital Ng Maynila, Quirino Medical Centre, Sta. Ana Hospital and UERM Memorial Hospital.
Apart from helping medical frontliners, Richard said he's always been an advocate for youth empowerment.
"COVID-19 won’t just end when we lift ECQ, so there will still a lot of things I will consider for my next philanthropic activities. The economy has been severely affected and sobrang dami nawalaaan ng trabaho — kaya sobrang daming uncertainties pa," he said.
"I’ve always been a strong advocate for youth development and youth empowerment and have worked with a couple of charities in the last couple years such as SOS Village Philippines, Play, Learn and Serve and Bahay Aruga — but due to the current situation, I might put my efforts first on supporting people who are affected by COVID-19 — but we’ll see."
Richard and his drama series with Kim Chiu and Xian Lim, "Love Thy Woman," will return on air on the new Kapamilya Channel starting June 15.
RELATED: 'Ang Probinsyano,' ABS-CBN shows to return on-air