Gerald Anderson commits to becoming a real-life hero

Mister consistent.

That is what you can expect from Gerald Anderson when it comes to his good deeds.

From Ondoy to Carina, Gerald showed up unannounced to help our kababayan, who were victims of typhoons.

Good thing, Gerald took it upon himself to undergo professional rescue training that warranted him to take on such heroic deeds even if nobody asked him to.

During Carina, he rescued residents at Barangay Santo Domingo in Quezon City. What a commendable person indeed!

Even Gerald’s girlfriend Julia Barretto is proud, but she could not deny she was worried when we personally asked her during a recent event with her sister Dani.

“I was worried about him. It’s a proud moment, of course, but I was really worried. But by nature, that’s who he is. I just hope he will be safe doing that for others. It’s a proud moment, but ang hirap grabe ‘yung worries ko,” said she.

Because of his heroic deeds, on Aug. 8, Gerald was recognized by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG). A ceremony was held at the National Headquarters of the Philippine Coast Guard in Manila, where Anderson received the “Search and Rescue Medal.” PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan commended the actor’s selfless actions.

Just this week, we got to chat with Gerald at his “Got Game Philippines” event in Mandaluyong. It’s another passion project of his to discover budding basketball superstars for 3x3 competitions.

Gerald will conduct the scouting events in Manila, Cebu, and Davao. It will be for open league, collegiate, up until the grassroots level.

During his off season in acting, Gerald has been consistent with his passion for basketball on the side.

“Love basketball. I love the sport. Ang dami kong natutunan nung bata ako. I focused on sports, na-apply ko din ‘yan sa pag-aartista ko — professionalism, teamwork, work ethic, lahat yan,” he said. “If we could build something para sa mga kabataan, open league, pros, collegiate players, why not? ‘Yun yung vision,” he said.

Gerald shared that basketball is his TOTGA or the one that got away. That is why he is paying it forward by opening doors to soon-to-be basketball superstars.

“In a way, sabi ko nga nung bata (ako), pangarap ko pumasok sa PBA, pero pumasok ako sa ‘PBB’ (‘Pinoy Big Brother). But because of that, I get to do all of these. I can play and travel the world with basketball, so sobrang thankful ako, and this is something na gusto ko ma-experience ng iba.”

Even when it comes to his love life, Gerald’s wisdom is next level. The actor said that he is a silent supporter of Julia and her ex Joshua Garcia. It was a deliberate reason for him to distance himself while Julia was promoting “Un/Happy For You,” which, as of writing, has already amassed more than P40M in the local box-office.

Gerald does not want to steal the spotlight from JoshLia because he said that working with your ex can happen in the industry, and that is part of the job that they have to deal with.

He shared that he faced a similar situation before in his career. “Awkward talaga trabaho namin, ganon talaga. I’ve been in that situation before. That’s why I try to be as supportive as possible,” said Gerald.

He added, “I don’t want to steal the spotlight. Pinaghirapan nila iyan, eh, and they know how hard it is to be doing a movie that you want many people to watch.”

When asked if he was going to watch the film, he answered, “Yes, of course, I’m going to watch the film.”