MANILA, Philippines — Award-winning actor Christopher de Leon reflected on experiencing both novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and cancer in the family.
During today’s online teleconference for his ABS-CBN drama series “Love Thy Woman,” the COVID-19 survivor shared to Philstar.com how he is coping from the passing of his mom, post-war actress Lilia Dizon, who died of lung cancer complications Monday at 92 years old.
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“We were ready for this,” he said.
“She had this lingering cancer several years already. But she’s already 90 years old so bonus, bonus na ‘yan para sa amin. And now she is in heaven with our Lord God.”
Lilia’s only son also explained to the press what he learned from the lockdown.
“I'll start with my mom. Cancer is deadlier than what we're hearing right now. What we're hearing is more fear than anything else. Of course, this too will pass. I'm more on relying on ‘Ano ba tayo, what we will be, what this taught us in this trying times. Will we be better after this?’”
According to him, the lockdown and his COVID-19 experience made him a better person.
“I've been more patient, more loving than anything else. Nicer to situations. There's nothing to fear but fear itself. Malalagpasan natin lahat ito. I should be better after this.”
Most importantly, his experiences during the quarantine taught him to love God and his family more as he now uses his time at home in joining online Bible studies and listening to inspirational talks from priests and pastors on YouTube.
“You try to fix the problems of your loved ones but of course, ‘di mo naman talaga magagawa ‘yung ganu’n. In times of crises like this, you have to balance yourself and your loved ones.”
Related: COVID-19 survivor Christopher de Leon donates plasma
Christopher will be resuming taping for “Love Thy Woman,” directed by Jerry Lopez Sineneng, Andoy Ranay, and Jojo Saguin and produced by Dreamscape Entertainment. The drama series is one of the three ABS-CBN scripted dramas that have resumed production under strict safety and quarantine protocols, along with "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano" and "A Soldier's Heart."
The series also spawned the digital talk show “Love Thy Chika” on OKS or oks.abs-cbn.com, where Ruffa Gutierrez chats with Christopher and their other co-stars in quarantine. “Love Thy Chika” streams every Sunday at noon.
Witness the lives entangled by love and blood in “Love Thy Woman,” Monday to Friday, at 2:30 p.m. on the Kapamilya Channel (SkyCable ch 8 SD and 167 HD, Cablelink ch 8, and G Sat ch 2). Livestreaming of the Kapamilya Channel and on-demand viewing of its programs are available on the iWant app and on iwant.ph.