Dawn Zulueta, Coco Martin, stars remember Kuya Germs

MANILA, Philippines – German “Kuya Germs” Moreno’s wake began on Friday, January 8, and many personalities in the showbiz industry visited Mt Carmel Shrine to pay their respects. (READ: German ‘Kuya Germs’ Moreno dies)

Among the visitors were celebrities, former That’s Entertainment cast members, producers, and many others whose lives were touched by the Master Showman. (READ: Stars mourn death of German ‘Kuya Germs’ Moreno)

Here’s a look at some of the personalities we were able to talk to:

Dawn Zulueta co-hosted GMA Supershow, one of Kuya Germs’ variety shows, in 1988. At the wake on Saturday, January 9, tears rolled down the actress’ face as she remembered the late Kuya Germs.

She said: “I guess ang mensahe ko lang talaga is iba na ang show business [ngayon] na wala na si Kuya Germs. Ang dami niyang tinulungan, kasama na ako doon. Wala ako dito kung wala si Kuya Germs, napakalaki ng utang na loob ko sa kanya. At maraming nalulungkot ngayon na wala na siya. So I, I guess Kuya Germs, I’ll see you someday. We’ll be together someday.”

(I guess my message is, show business will be different now that Kuya Germs is gone. He helped so many people, myself included. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Kuya Germs, I owe him so much. And many people are sad now that he’s gone.)

“And ipagpapatuloy na lang siguro namin, kaming mga iniwan niyang mga anak-anakan niya, ipagpapatuloy namin ang lahat ng kabutihan na itinuro niya, pinakita niya sa amin. Yun ang plano kong gawin in dedication to him.”

(And we’ll continue – we, the children he adopted as his own – we’ll continue to do the good that he taught us, that he showed us. That’s what I plan to do in dedication to him.)

Dawn also spoke about the last time she saw Kuya Germs – at the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards in September 2015. There, she reproached him for not resting, as he suffered a mild stroke in January.

Hear what she had to say below:

Actress Carmi Martin said that she saw him last when she accepted her star on the Eastwood Walk of Fame, which was established by Kuya Germs. Carmi was in That’s Entertainment. 

On her message to Kuya Germs, she said: “Sana may sumunod sa ginawa mong example sa showbiz, kung paano mong inembrace at minahal ang ating industriya. You will definitely be missed, Kuya Germs, and we love you so much.”

 

Rita Avila is one of the many actresses who started her career on That’s Entertainment. Rita had a positive view on Kuya Germs’ death, saying: “It’s the full circle of Kuya Germs, na he was the father of everybody, I’m sure that he will always be remembered in this industry. I’m sure wherever Kuya Germs is now, siguro million times happier pa, at alam niya na marami din siyang pinaligaya dito sa mundo (and he knows that he made many people in this world happy).

Her message for her late mentor was simply, “Thank you, Kuya Germs.”

Coco Martin, who made his way from independent films to box office hits, said that Kuya Germs was always very supportive of him.

“Ang Master Showman po ay isa sa mga naging daan para mabigyan ako ng pagkataon para mag-promote sa telebisyon. At every time may pelikula ako, laging nandoon si Kuya Germs para ako buksan ng pinto,” he said.

(The Master Showman was one of those who gave me the opportunity to promote on television. Every time I had a movie, Kuya Germs was always there to open doors.)

“At sobra po siyang proud na nakikita niya na kahit papaano, meron na pong nangyayari sa buhay ko, sa career ko, sobra po siyang proud,” continued Coco.

“And then nalungkot ako, kasi yung taong talagang concerned sa industriya, yung taong talagang pinaglalaban yung karapatan ng mga artista tapos ito nga po ang nangyari sa kanya, parang malaking kawalan po para sa industriya, lalung-lalo na po yung nagmamahal sa ating lahat.”

(And he was so proud when he saw that, in a way, something happened to my life, to my career, he was so proud. And then I was sad, because this person who was really concerned about the industry, this person who really fought for the rights of the artists – this happened to him, it’s such a big loss for the industry, especially for all of us who love it.)

Kuya Germs wasn’t happy when Billy Crawford left the GMA network in 2008 for its rival, ABS-CBN. Nonetheless, Billy said that Kuya Germs couldn’t resist his love for the young actors he treated like his own:

“Si Kuya Germs isa sa pinaka-professional and loyal na nakilala ko sa buong buhay ko, at nung nagkahiwalay kami ng landas sa ibang network and what-not, siyempre nagkatampuhan, si Pa ay di niya matanggap talaga. Pero hindi niya rin natiis siguro ang pagmamahal niya sa anak niya so ayun, pinatawad niya ako at nag-guest ako sa Walang Tulugan at that time and ayun, ‘yun ‘yung isa sa pinaka-special moment namin.”

(Well, that’s one of my fondest memories, because Kuya Germs is the most professional and loyal person I’ve met in my life, and when we went on separate paths, when it came to other networks and what-not, of course he wasn’t pleased, Pa couldn’t accept it. But I guess he couldn’t resist his love for his adopted kids, so he forgave me, and I even guested on Walang Tulugan at that time and that was one of our most special moments.)

Kuya Germs’ nephew and Walang Tulugan With the Master Showman co-host John Nite, said that he’ll miss Kuya Germs’ presence. The two also lived together before Kuya Germs died. (READ: John Nite on what he’ll miss most about Kuya Germs)

“Sa akin, personally, kasi personally magkasama kami, kumakain kami, may mga problema, may mga things na hindi nakikita ng tao, on a personal level, tsaka yung family things namin, na kami lang nakakaalam,” he added. “‘Yun ‘yung mami-miss ko talaga sa kanya na physically wala siya diyan, at saka ako meron akong mga decisions na dapat kailangan siya ang mag-decide. Ano, mahirap.“

(For me, personally, because personally we’re together, we eat together, there are problems, things other people don’t see, on a personal level, and family things too, that only we know. That’s what I’ll really miss about him, that he’s not there physically, and there are decisions that only he can make for me. It’s hard.)

Evangeline Pascual, one of the board members of the Actors Guild of the Philippines, said that Kuya Germs took care of her after she placed first runner-up in Miss World 1973.

As one of the board members of the Katipunan ng mga Artistang Pilipino sa Pelikula at Telebisyon (KAPPT), Evangeline praised the work that Kuya Germs did when he was president of the guild:

“Talagang yung mga ginawa niya noon bilang presidente ng KAPPT ay mahirap gampanan at tugunan. Pero gayunpaman, naging halimbawa siya para maging mas inspired kami na maiangat namin ang estado ng Actors Guild of the Philippines dahil sa kanyang mga examples na pinakita.

(Really, what he did as the president of the KAPPT was difficult to achieve and repeat. Still, he became an example so that we became more inspired to improve the standards of the Actors Guild of the Philippines because of the example he showed.)

“At ‘yan ang magiging ating gabay at inspirasyon para po makatulong tayo sa Actors Guild of the Philippines, dahil po sa kagandahang loob ni Kuya Germs na pinakita ng kanyang buhay.

(And that becomes our guide and inspiration to help at the Actors Guild of the Philippines, because of the kindness that Kuya Germs showed in his life.)

Lily Monteverde, also known as Mother Lily, gave a message to the Master Showman, saying, “Kuya Germs, I’m going to miss you. I know that we call up each other every night… Nauna ka pa sa ‘kin (You went ahead of me), you know, I really love you from the bottom of my heart.”

Mother Lily is a film producer and owns the production company Regal Films. – Rappler.com