Piolo Pascual tributes parody to Overseas Filipinos amidst Pandemic

Piolo Pascual recreates his iconic scenes into funny videos to help Overseas Filipinos bear the mental burden due to COVID19

Without a doubt, COVID-19 Pandemic also brought a wave of mental illness such as people are anxious, afraid, and many have lost jobs and face an uncertain future. Add to that our collective isolation, loneliness, and dread. Overseas Filipinos (OFs) are particularly vulnerable.

Actor Piolo Pascual is among those calling for more support for OFs during the pandemic. He said that overseas Filipinos are already under a great amount of pressure as they face tough emotional, physical, and financial challenges. It’s not surprising then that some of them would have mental health issues.

“For decades, our economy benefited from billions of dollars in remittances. At this time, it’s our turn to give back and support OFs now that they are going through both a pandemic and an economic downturn,” said Piolo.

OF roles in movies, TVCs

Piolo has played several OF characters in various dramatic films–it’s a role that he also knows in real life because he used to be a security guard in Los Angeles, California before he achieved Philippine movie stardom. Recently, it was revealed that he again played versions of these characters in three new videos that will be shown in BDO branches, on BDO’s YouTube channel and on BDO Kabayan Facebook page.

The commercials are light-hearted spin-offs or even slight spoofs of classic scenes in his movies “Milan” (with Claudine Barretto) and “Starting Over Again” (with Toni Gonzaga). As the videos’ release coincides with OFs’ present situation, they take on more significance and meaning in Piolo’s view.

Piolo added that the new videos show precisely how to help. “In all the videos, mapapansin mo na kahit light and funny ang approach, malinaw ang mensahe: kapag ang kapwa Pinoy ay nasa alanganin, kapwa Pinoy ang tutulong. Hindi naman kailangan na solohin natin ang problema. Ang lakas ng Pilipino, nasa pagtutulungan, bayanihan. Especially during this pandemic, which is a huge, global problem, we need to call on the best in ourselves and help each other,” he said.

All the new videos aren’t just fun and enjoyable to watch but also showcase how Filipinos, deep down, are ready to help someone in need. During this public health and economic crisis, all essential services–including banking and remittances–have become crucial to our survival, sanity, and happiness. The pandemic and economic crunch may last longer than expected. But as Piolo’s commercials show, in their own witty and hilarious way, we still have each other. And that’s worth the effort to keep on fighting and hoping.