Faith Da Silva recounts long-awaited reunion with dad Dennis before Christmas
MANILA, Philippines — Christmas gifts come in different sizes and packaging. Some of them are delivered and received ahead of Christmas Day. However, the feelings of excitement and joy they bring to the recipient remain the same. They don’t even diminish a bit.
Faith Da Silva, a GMA Sparkle Artist Center young actress and host, can attest to it, as she and her brother Silas were recently reunited with their dad – former matinee idol Dennis Da Silva. This particular Christmas gift to the siblings is a manna from heaven to be cherished for the rest of their lives.
“We were supposed to meet this first quarter of 2023 on my birthday. It was either for my birthday or his birthday,” said Faith of the visit to her father, a person deprived of liberty, in a recent virtual interview with The STAR. She is April born, while Dennis is February born. “It didn’t push through because of our schedules.”
As shown on social media and online, the meet-up took place five days before Christmas. Her fellow TicktoClock host Kuya Kim Atienza played a part in it.
“Kuya Kim and my father have been friends. They had a conversation a few years ago. I didn’t know how (that happened), or he (maybe) visited him. Ever since I’ve worked with Kuya Kim, matagal na po naming pinag-uusapan yun (we’ve been talking about it for a long time),” recalled Faith.
“I’m just blessed that I’ve worked with Kuya Kim. It’s a blessing that he is friends with (Police) Gen. (Gregorio) Catapang. I believe si God talaga yung gumagawa ng mga pamamaraan, siya talaga ang nag-ayos para matuloy ito (God found a way to make everything possible).”
She acknowledged with a grateful heart the goodness and kindness of these people and Him.
Asked what she was thinking on her way to Muntinlupa City Jail where her dad is, Faith said, “Siguro bilang artista kapag may mga eksena, pini-play mo siya sa utak mo (As an actress, most of the time, you have this thing of playing different scenes in your head like if you have work a day). It’s my way to cope with the situation. I was trying to get myself ready for what might happen. But I knew I would be happy nonetheless.”
The night before, Faith felt nervous and couldn’t sleep.
“I tried, pero di ko kinaya, but my excitement (to meet him) was really there for me and Silas. Kabado, but at the same time, kalmado (I was nervous but calm). It was mixed emotions. I couldn’t pinpoint (what those feelings were).”
However, excitement was the dominant feeling, said she.
So, Faith and Silas were off to meet Dennis. The father and his children were given two hours to patch things up, start anew, as well as put the past behind them.
“I think I also needed to be with my brother. It was not easy, ang bigat siyempre sa loob, because imagine meeting someone for the first time, the first impression, (and the questions like) how will I introduce or open up myself to him? But everything became smooth. I became really emotional when I was able to hug him, iba pala talaga yung pagmamahal ng tatay (I’ve come to realize that a father’s love is different),” said she.
The hug served as the introduction between Faith, Silas, and Dennis.
“He was happy and smiling,” she said about her dad. “At first, we thought it (was going to be) awkward… dun ko nakita kung gaano kami magkatulad kasi madaldal din ako (The visit allowed me to see that we’re similar in some way. I love to talk like him). I saw his effort to get to know the both of us, me and Silas.”
“It was also hard for us to start the conversation, but he made an effort to start the conversation and to ask. Kapag merong silence for a while, tsika siya agad (If there was silence in between, he would quickly break it and talk),” added she.
The pictures they had from the visit were their first after many years.
“We didn’t have pictures together,” said Faith of having childhood photos with her dad. “He was actually able to take care of me between me and Silas. After Silas (was born), that’s the time when they (my parents) separated. I had one year to be with him. My mom went to Japan for a few months after giving birth to me, nakasama ko siyang lumaki pero wala akong memory.”
Faith was around two years old at that time. Her mom was supportive of the idea of Faith meeting her dad.
“She would encourage and tell us to visit him, and get to know him. Walang paninira na sinabi sa amin growing up (She didn’t say anything negative about our father while we were growing up),” said she.
Back on what transpired during the conversations between the siblings and dad Dennis, Faith described it as “mahaba-habang pangungumusta (it’s like a long saying hello and hi even if we only had limited time),” and added that he supports Faith to finish her senior high school studies and is aware of her career in showbiz.
Faith could have even asked for details regarding the past, but she decided not to dwell on them.
“It was more of like acceptance (on my part that) you know you are my father. You are my parent, of course,” said she, who also had the chance to know about her father’s case and status. This allowed her to understand the plight of people deprived of liberty and their families.
“One of the biggest blessings I’ve received this year,” shared she, “ay yung mga bagay na pinaghirapan ko, yung mga bagay na hindi ko mabibili ng pera (these are the things that I worked hard for and those that money can’t buy).”
So, what’s next after the pre-Christmas Day visit?
Faith answered that she wants to establish a parent-and-child relationship with Dennis and a good relationship with the latter’s wife and kids.
In a separate question sent to Faith through Sparkle, she shared her thoughts by saying, “We needed that moment to make peace with ourselves. Of course, because of it, we’ve learned so much about him and how interconnected we really are because it showed me how similar we are in some ways and how grateful we are to have been given an opportunity to get to know who he really is.”
“To me, the greatest blessing I’ve gotten from this situation would be to really open ourselves up to every possibility. I prayed for so long and so hard for this moment to come, but it is upon ourselves to take the course of action to make our dreams come true, and everything will fall through the divine timing,” she concluded.
With that, it also takes faith and fate for something beautiful and meaningful to happen.
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