TONI Ep110 | Why Pilita Corrales Stayed In An Abusive Relationship & How It Has Affected Jackie Lou
00:37.0
Thank you. Thank you for having us.
00:40.0
Is this your new show?
00:43.0
How long have you been doing this?
00:45.0
Almost two years.
00:46.0
How long was the Pelita show?
00:52.0
When you were growing up,
00:53.0
did you have an idea that your mother is the Asia's Queen of Songs?
00:56.0
Well, I had an idea that she was really popular.
00:59.0
She was beautiful.
01:00.0
Of course, mom. Always beautiful.
01:01.0
Always beautiful.
01:02.0
But because we would always go with my mom to her shows,
01:05.0
and I would remember being squished there.
01:08.0
Because there were a lot of people asking me to sign with my mom.
01:11.0
And yeah, at a young age,
01:14.0
I knew that my mom was not a regular mom and not a regular person.
01:19.0
This is how legendary Ms. Pelita is.
01:21.0
She's the first Filipino to ever perform at Caesars Palace.
01:25.0
Not because I had a chance to perform with them here.
01:29.0
She was the front half, I think.
01:30.0
And then they said,
01:31.0
Oh, I'll take you to Las Vegas.
01:34.0
And you believe it.
01:39.0
When you would sing abroad,
01:40.0
do they get surprised when you say you're a Filipina?
01:43.0
Because you don't look like a Filipina, right?
01:47.0
would they think that you were a Filipina?
01:49.0
All rollers of Las Vegas were all Spanish-speaking.
01:54.0
So that's your advantage?
01:57.0
Because I'll do the show,
01:59.0
I'll sing three in Spanish, one in English.
02:02.0
And you didn't live a normal life?
02:06.0
I can't say I didn't live a normal life
02:09.0
because my mom was the type that when she would be home
02:13.0
and not singing or not,
02:17.0
it was just as normal as anything could be.
02:20.0
So parang, yeah, alam ko when I would go with her,
02:24.0
parang it was out of the ordinary.
02:26.0
But I never felt my life was not normal
02:30.0
because we had so much extended family,
02:33.0
my grandmother, my cousins,
02:35.0
na parang feeling ko it kept me grounded
02:39.0
and parang may balance yung buhay ko.
02:42.0
Let's just put it that way.
02:43.0
May showbiz life, may normal life.
02:46.0
Growing up as a kid.
02:47.0
I think it was harder for me to leave the children
02:52.0
because I had to be traveling all the time
02:55.0
and they were growing up, you know.
02:57.0
And it's very hard to leave
02:59.0
when they were 2 years old, 3 years old,
03:02.0
but I had to work.
03:04.0
You were a career woman.
03:06.0
Yeah, so when they were already, you know,
03:08.0
if I could bring them with me, I would.
03:11.0
Yan yung sacrifice ng mga career women and working mothers.
03:15.0
There are milestones na minsan namimiss mo.
03:18.0
Namimiss mo, ganun talaga.
03:20.0
Because you have to work.
03:22.0
Even if my dad naman was around,
03:24.0
my mom was the one who was,
03:26.0
parang sya yung talagang tumayong more nanay and tatay
03:29.0
because I was with her, diba?
03:31.0
But you know, really, everything was there, no?
03:35.0
Malapit lang ako where I used to work and everything.
03:38.0
But I needed to work because I was alone, no?
03:41.0
Working kasi nag-separate na kami.
03:44.0
Bakit po pala hindi naglast yung relationship
03:47.0
with the father of Miss Jackie?
03:49.0
In the beginning kasi, yung family niya, you know,
03:53.0
because he was well-off.
03:55.0
He had his business and everything.
03:58.0
It was not the family.
04:01.0
He found out that he could not live with anybody
04:08.0
Pero he loved you, ma'am.
04:11.0
But we were friends.
04:13.0
Even though what happened with Jackie.
04:15.0
Before he passed away.
04:16.0
But Jackie was the life of her dad.
04:21.0
Actually, he kidnapped her.
04:24.0
When you were one year old?
04:26.0
You didn't know that?
04:29.0
Because every week, sinusundo sya
04:31.0
so that she'd spend the day with her daddy.
04:36.0
And then he probably just decided
04:38.0
I'll take her to the States.
04:39.0
When I came to pick her up,
04:41.0
she wasn't there anymore.
04:43.0
They had already left.
04:45.0
They were at the airport.
04:47.0
I ran to the airport.
04:50.0
I didn't make it.
04:51.0
The plane had already left.
04:58.0
Without Jackie, one month.
05:00.0
But since here, I went to the NBI.
05:05.0
And they brought her back.
05:07.0
They were tracking.
05:08.0
Parang they were tracking.
05:09.0
Ang tawag nga sa akin dati, Toni,
05:10.0
ako daw yung NBI baby.
05:13.0
She became the NBI at that time
05:16.0
because I was there.
05:20.0
Trying to track kung nasa.
05:21.0
Because we were tracking where he was.
05:24.0
Wala pang internet.
05:25.0
Yan nga. Exactly.
05:26.0
Walang social media.
05:30.0
Landline lang lahat.
05:32.0
So the NBI told me
05:34.0
the minute he walks out of that airplane
05:37.0
with her dad, you know,
05:39.0
the first thing you have to do is get her.
05:43.0
And she didn't want to come to me.
05:45.0
She didn't know me anymore, Toni.
05:47.0
Alam mo nang mahirap nun.
05:49.0
Children, they forget.
05:51.0
Those were the mga chapters in your love life.
05:55.0
One chapter in your life.
05:56.0
One chapter lang yun.
05:57.0
One chapter pa lang yan.
05:58.0
Because there was also another chapter in your life
06:01.0
that you experienced an abusive relationship.
06:04.0
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:05.0
Imagine you're Pilita Corrales
06:07.0
and then sa bahay, you're suffering.
06:10.0
Oo, you're suffering inside.
06:11.0
Ma, matatawa ka pa inyo talaga.
06:13.0
You're suffering in silence pala.
06:16.0
Hindi niyo yung sinabi kahit kanino.
06:18.0
It only happened when he had a drink.
06:21.0
When he took one sip of alcohol,
06:25.0
he became a different person.
06:27.0
E paano pagalimba, may mga bruises po kayo.
06:29.0
How do you hide it?
06:31.0
Tas magsashow kayo.
06:32.0
Paano matinatagawin?
06:34.0
Because you see, Jack,
06:35.0
what I used to do was cover my face.
06:39.0
Because I didn't want my face to be ano,
06:42.0
paano, yun nalang,
06:43.0
paano pa ako kakasama kung bug-bug.
06:46.0
Yung relationship mo dun sa mga previous partners
06:50.0
ng Ms. Pilita, how was it?
06:52.0
The longest kasi relationship that my mom had
06:57.0
was with my tito Amado.
06:59.0
That was over 10 years.
07:02.0
Pero since I was a bit young pa,
07:05.0
parang feeling ko,
07:07.0
well baka ako lang yung nag-impose nun sa sarili ko
07:10.0
na parang feeling kong naging hadlang siya
07:13.0
dun sa pagiging close ko sa mom ko.
07:18.0
he was okay naman with us.
07:20.0
Wala naman akong problem with him.
07:22.0
The only time I had a problem with him
07:24.0
was when he physically hurt my mom.
07:26.0
Na-witness mo yun?
07:28.0
Hindi ko na-witness pero narinig ko,
07:30.0
which I think is even worse
07:32.0
because this was the room of my mom
07:35.0
and this is my room
07:37.0
and I could just,
07:38.0
my mom, my mom's ano eh,
07:40.0
yung she's always a very positive person.
07:42.0
Hindi siya masyadong hihingi ng tulong.
07:45.0
Parang kaya ko itong lahat, diba?
07:47.0
Narinig ko dun sa kwarto ko,
07:51.0
Wala, sabi ko, ano nangyayari?
07:58.0
Open the door, sabi ko.
08:00.0
Pagbukas ko ng pintu,
08:02.0
nandun yung mom ko.
08:04.0
Naka-undo siya sa heat.
08:07.0
Sobrang black and blue.
08:13.0
Grabe, to this day,
08:14.0
that was such a traumatic experience for you.
08:17.0
Yeah, for the children.
08:18.0
Children will never forget.
08:19.0
For the children.
08:20.0
Children will never forget.
08:22.0
They will not forget.
08:24.0
I was in my 20s, pero...
08:26.0
For you to witness your mother.
08:29.0
I mean, and, you know, he left
08:30.0
kasi I said, get out, you know?
08:32.0
But first time kasi I see my mom
08:34.0
na hindi malakas.
08:35.0
Talagang naka-ano siya,
08:37.0
ano siya dun sa floor.
08:40.0
I think it was here, mom, no?
08:42.0
Kasi he was kicking,
08:44.0
he was kicking her,
08:45.0
so medyo, ano siya, black and blue.
08:47.0
And I think I remember the next day
08:49.0
or two days after,
08:50.0
she still had to do a show.
08:51.0
So they had to cover,
08:53.0
they had to cover her bruises.
08:58.0
Pero after a while,
09:00.0
she still took him back.
09:03.0
Hindi ko na-intindihan yun
09:04.0
sulit dumayas ako.
09:07.0
Sinasaktan ka na namin.
09:10.0
But you know, in fairness to him,
09:13.0
he really tried to make up for it.
09:16.0
But I guess din sa kanilang dalawa,
09:18.0
it wasn't the same.
09:19.0
Siyempre, it was harder for us,
09:21.0
the children, kasi parang...
09:23.0
Hindi alam nung public yun,
09:25.0
when that was happening?
09:26.0
Or nalaman nung public yun?
09:28.0
Nalaman ba nung public yun, mom?
09:30.0
Hindi lumabas yun.
09:31.0
Parang hindi, mom, no?
09:33.0
you didn't tell anybody.
09:35.0
meron pang nag-slice sa akin.
09:37.0
I still have the scar.
09:39.0
Kasino naman yun?
09:40.0
The same guy, the Spanish guy.
09:42.0
Grabe yung pinagdaanan yun rin.
09:47.0
Pinagtibay na ng panahon.
09:48.0
Grabe yung mga pinagdaanan together.
09:54.0
Family life, true.
09:55.0
When you look back at those things,
09:57.0
and those memories na
09:59.0
some are traumatic.
10:00.0
Yes, it leaves a scar.
10:02.0
But you survived.
10:04.0
You moved on with your life.
10:05.0
One of the qualities of my mom
10:07.0
that's admirable is
10:09.0
yung yes, of course,
10:11.0
she's gone through so much in her life.
10:13.0
Pero she has such a forgiving
10:15.0
and an open heart na
10:17.0
okay, I'll try again.
10:18.0
Maybe it's gonna work this time.
10:20.0
Parang she loves life so much na
10:24.0
okay lang, bakit ba? Diba?
10:26.0
But how did motherhood change you?
10:28.0
That's the best thing that ever happened to me.
10:31.0
To have you, to have Moncheng.
10:38.0
Yun ang kanyang premium
10:41.0
pagkatapos ng lahat ng pinagdaanan niya.
10:43.0
The reward in life.
10:44.0
After all the pain,
10:45.0
ngayon naman, happiness.
10:47.0
But how would you describe
10:48.0
your relationship with Jackie?
10:50.0
When I had my own children,
10:52.0
parang mas na-appreciate ko siya
10:54.0
and what she went through.
10:56.0
Syempre, as a kid kasi,
10:58.0
like my mom said,
11:00.0
But an important occasion sa school,
11:06.0
hindi siya pwede kasi wala siya doon, diba?
11:08.0
And as a young child,
11:10.0
in my young mind, yes,
11:11.0
I knew my mom was working.
11:13.0
But all my heart knew was,
11:15.0
she wasn't there.
11:17.0
Diba yung may presence?
11:19.0
So siguro that was part of my,
11:20.0
ano rin, maybe hinanakit
11:21.0
na hindi makasalana ng nanay ko
11:23.0
kasi nagtatrabaho siya.
11:24.0
Ngayon mo lang siya pang iintindihan
11:25.0
pag malaki ka na.
11:27.0
When you became a mother
11:28.0
and now that you're all grown up,
11:29.0
you now understand life.
11:32.0
that what your mother did for you
11:34.0
was the best she could at that time.
11:38.0
That was the best.
11:39.0
And the fact na hindi niya
11:40.0
pinakulong yung dad ko,
11:42.0
sobrang ano yun for me,
11:44.0
sobrang big thing.
11:47.0
at the end of the day,
11:48.0
even if he was just,
11:51.0
And my mom could have
11:52.0
sent him to jail.
11:54.0
Kidnapping yun eh.
11:55.0
But I thank her for having
11:58.0
because I grew up knowing my dad
12:00.0
until he passed away
12:03.0
And even if my parents were separated,
12:05.0
I had best of both.
12:07.0
Because I knew my dad
12:09.0
and I got to know him
12:14.0
May love advice ba siyang
12:20.0
Before you got married?
12:22.0
I was really crying
12:25.0
parang wala nang bukas.
12:27.0
and then my mom said,
12:28.0
you know, Jackie,
12:30.0
it's really like that.
12:31.0
But tomorrow is another day,
12:33.0
You get up tomorrow,
12:34.0
if it's not such a good day,
12:36.0
there's the next day.
12:37.0
But how will you know
12:38.0
if it's a good day
12:39.0
if you're not there tomorrow
12:41.0
to see how it will be?
12:44.0
and that's something
12:45.0
that I've applied
12:46.0
to all the areas of my life,
12:48.0
not only in love.
12:50.0
Kahit sa trabaho,
12:51.0
if you have frustrations,
12:53.0
maybe this is not for you.
12:55.0
But maybe open another door
12:56.0
and that's the one
12:59.0
na-apply ko siya sa lahat
13:01.0
yung sinabi niya sa akin.
13:03.0
Take everything parang,
13:08.0
Parang this too shall pass.
13:10.0
The happy moments will pass,
13:11.0
the sad moments will pass.
13:13.0
And if this is not for you,
13:14.0
there's something else for you
13:18.0
Everybody has their own path,
13:19.0
let's just put it that way.
13:21.0
Was she strict with you
13:22.0
when you were growing up?
13:26.0
No, you were not.
13:30.0
I don't remember her ever,
13:31.0
like my mom never spanked us
13:36.0
my curfew was 12,
13:39.0
oh, you have to be here by 12.
13:42.0
pag nasa disco pa noon,
13:44.0
medyo quarter to 12,
13:46.0
kailangan mo umanap ng phone,
13:48.0
Ma'am, I'm here na,
13:49.0
I'm gonna be on my way.
13:52.0
Mag-aantay lang siya
13:55.0
may staircase kami,
13:56.0
nandoon na siya nagaantay
13:58.0
Pwede niya ako pag-agalitan,
13:59.0
basta lang alam niya
14:04.0
when you were growing up
14:05.0
kasi diba you also
14:06.0
entered show business?
14:07.0
Tapos your mother is
14:08.0
the Asia's Queen of Soul.
14:10.0
Paano hinahandle yung
14:13.0
And expectations?
14:15.0
Actually, mahirap
14:19.0
you will have to prove yourself more
14:22.0
that's one of the reasons
14:24.0
I did start singing
14:25.0
and I still love to sing
14:27.0
pero parang mas nag-concentrate ako
14:30.0
I don't think I could ever be
14:31.0
as good as my mom.
14:32.0
In the singing career, no?
14:34.0
But along with the expectation,
14:47.0
people were just kinder,
14:49.0
the doors just opened more
14:53.0
and that's a testament to how
14:55.0
good a person my mom is
15:01.0
ay, mabait yan si Mam Pilita.
15:03.0
Siguro, mabait din tong anak.
15:05.0
Let's treat her well.
15:06.0
Mas lalo pa akong nahiyang
15:12.0
Nagset na kasi siya.
15:13.0
Mahiya na man ako
15:14.0
sa pinaghirapan ng nanay ko.
15:17.0
Nagset na siya ng bar.
15:19.0
Ng professionalism.
15:22.0
Pero pagdating sa boys,
15:23.0
meron ba siyang boy
15:26.0
Like may nanligaw ba sa'yo
15:27.0
na sinabi ng mami mo,
15:28.0
I don't like that guy for you?
15:39.0
Magpinsan kasi kami eh.
15:40.0
Oh, talaga magpinsan?
15:43.0
Conchita is my first cousin.
15:47.0
Ano yung mga teenage years?
15:55.0
But kasi with Martin and I,
15:56.0
since we didn't grow up together,
15:58.0
we knew we were related
15:59.0
but he grew up in the States
16:00.0
and we always had crushes on each other
16:02.0
when we were much younger.
16:04.0
So when he arrived here,
16:05.0
parang it just became so automatic.
16:09.0
But she was not the type
16:12.0
Pero nagsabi lang
16:13.0
na maybe things will be
16:14.0
a bit more difficult
16:16.0
it was difficult after a while
16:19.0
What with the father
16:20.0
of your children,
16:22.0
Ay, gustong gusto niya si Ricky.
16:25.0
Sobrang love nila si Ricky.
16:33.0
ngunong hindi nag-work out
16:34.0
yung relationship?
16:39.0
failure kasi of anything.
16:41.0
Whether it's a love relationship
16:42.0
or a business relationship,
16:44.0
you always think of what
16:49.0
or what you didn't do.
16:51.0
So the relationship,
16:52.0
that's why the relationship
16:55.0
especially for the children.
16:57.0
Was there a part of you
16:59.0
na when you became a mother
17:02.0
ay, parang this is my mom.
17:05.0
Ganito ang nanay ko.
17:06.0
Parang na-apply mo
17:09.0
I think if there's anything
17:15.0
naginawa nung mom ko
17:17.0
is yung patience niya with me.
17:20.0
Na binibigay ko rin yun
17:22.0
Kasi siyempre having
17:24.0
each child is different.
17:25.0
May isang mas madaling ka
17:27.0
May isang may kunting
17:31.0
Oo, iba-iba sila.
17:35.0
patience ng mom ko.
17:36.0
I would close my eyes
17:37.0
and put myself in her shoes.
17:41.0
that she was knocking
17:45.0
Jack, do you wanna,
17:46.0
do you wanna come down in it?
17:47.0
No, mom, I'll stay here na lang.
17:48.0
I'll study pa, diba?
17:52.0
when I'm with my children.
17:54.0
Oh, how are you okay?
17:58.0
I just wanna be by myself.
17:59.0
I don't wanna talk about it.
18:01.0
So, sinasabi ko na lang,
18:04.0
as your mom was with you.
18:09.0
yun ang nagagamit ko.
18:11.0
we were talking about it.
18:12.0
You said something
18:17.0
And the one thing
18:18.0
that you really appreciate
18:19.0
about your mother is?
18:25.0
She will do everything
18:27.0
but for my children,
18:28.0
for my grandchildren.
18:36.0
Do you need anything?
18:39.0
that's what she says.
18:43.0
will always be there
18:46.0
that's the one thing
18:50.0
that's the one thing
18:54.0
will always be there
18:59.0
kahit na magkamali pa ako,
19:00.0
kahit i-judge pa ako
19:02.0
my mom will always
