Did any of his former co-stars and showbiz friends tried to reach out to him to express their support? “Mahirap sagutin kasi hindi ko pa sila lahat name-meet ulit kasi nga di nila ako mahanap. Pero naniniwala ako na lahat sila nagalala. Lahat sila may paki and lahat sila were praying for me,” JM said.
Now that he’s officially back to work, has any of them tried to catch up with him? “Konti palang eh. Ngayon sila Ketchup [Eusebio] and Janus [del Prado] na matagal ko na ring kaibigan pero parang naging mentors ko rin. Sila rin ‘yung mga kuya-kuyahan ko,” he shared about his co-stars in his upcoming Ipaglaban Mo episode this weekend.
JM continued that a number of his friends though made time to see him when his lolo passed away last July saying that, “Si Charee [Pineda] nagkikita kami. Nagpunta siya nung wake ng lolo ko. Sila Kaye Abad, Angelito family nagkaroon po kami ng reunion. Sa Mula Sa Puso din, sila Paul Salas parang naging pamilya narin po kasi kami noon eh.”
With his comeback project airing over the weekend, JM claimed in the interview that he used to fear that he might not be received well by the public once he returns.
“Dati fear siya, pero prinoseso ko na siya sa sarili ko. In-expect ko na and ‘yun nga kung kaya mo namang um-accept ng magandang comment or opinion or compliment dapat kaya mo ring tanggapin ‘yung negative. ‘Wag nalang akong paapekto,” JM explained.
But according to JM, he would rather not be affected by them.“Siguro ayoko na ring munang mag-focus kung ano ‘yung sasabihin nila sa akin, ni-positive man o negative. Kasi hindi naman din ‘yun ‘yung gustong makuha. Gusto kong ma-prove nalang sa kanila through my actions and walk the talk.”
Prior to the announcement of his Ipaglaban Mo episode, JM’s fans went abuzz over a photo posted by director Wenn Deramas some weeks back wherein the latter expressed excitement over working anew with JM which many thought meant a new show for the young star.
JM clarified that there are no new offers yet for him but he confessed, “Pero nung sinabi ni Direk Wenn ‘yun sobrang na-excite ako. Looking forward ako pero ayoko ring asahan ng todo-todo kapag natuloy or hindi.”
How about his love life? “Wala, wala pa po. Wala pa po muna, hintayin ko na lang dumating,” he ended.