'Bayanihan Musikahan' raises P120M, gives livelihood to jobless due to pandemic

MANILA, Philippines — The lockdown imposed due to the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak afforded everyone time to work on themselves, whether that means picking up a book or catching up on the latest TV series.

Singer-actress-host Karylle, however, chose to fill her quarantine time in service of other Filipinos.

When asked about her quarantine sideline activities during the Wednesday "It's Showtime Magkaisayahan" online press gathering, Karylle told Philstar.com and other media that she enjoyed volunteering the most.

As it turns out, since "It's Showtime" and other live entertainment shows of ABS-CBN were suspended in March due to the lockdown, the 39-year-old dedicated her hours contributing to "Bayanihan Musikahan," a fundraiser helmed by National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab where Filipino musical acts hold free concerts broadcast live on Facebook.

Related: Ryan Cayabyab's COVID-19 benefit concert series raises P13.8M in just a week

“And super fulfilling kasi naka-raise kami ng mga P120 million. And it was from fundraising all the way to the distribution. Ang ganda nu'ng distribution kasi nakikita mo talaga na even in the end, nagka-livelihood projects pa para doon sa mga taong kailangan talaga ng tulong... So ayan. Masaya. Very fulfilling. 'Yun na yung pinaka-best ‘sweldo’ for the quarantine,” Karylle celebrated.

All "Bayanihan Musikahan" proceeds were used to buy "Manna Packs" (food) and “Ligtas Covid Kits” (medical) that aim to benefit urban poor communities in Metro Manila cities reached by the organizations Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Pamilyang Pangtawid, Likhaan and Caritas Manila.

Karylle was among the first performers who volunteered for Bayanihan Musikahan, alongside her husband Yael Yuzon and the rest of Sponge Cola.

Not stopping there, the “It’s Showtime” host took on a larger role in the project and was instrumental in achieving the final P122.38 million raised by the end of May (P91.34 million in cash and P31.04 in kind).

“Nung una singer lang tapos naging staff ako as emotional tech support, so minsan sumasali ako sa mga sound check ganyan hanggang sa ako na pala 'yung nag-i-invite ng mga artists. Naging staff na ko talaga.”  

She credited "It's Showtime" co-host “Tyang” Amy Perez for lessons on event organizing that she was able to apply completely to "Bayanihan Musikahan."

"So sabi ko, mahirap pala, lalo na kasi walang sweldo," Karyll quipped.

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