Beleaguered action star John Regala is now an orphan.
After his mom Ruby Regala’s death in the US two years ago, “dad” Mel Francisco passed on early last week due to cardiac arrest in an unidentified hospital in the CALABARZON region.
And even if Mel had time and again renounced John was his son, the ever loving chip of the old block has considered and felt strongly enough he was his father.
Many in show business could attest that John indeed was Mel and Ruby’s son.
“Si Mel talaga ang tatay ni John. Alam ko ‘yon dahil ikino-cover ko na sila noon pa sa mga balita ko (Mel was really John’s dad. I should know because I had covered them in past showbiz stories),” affirmed veteran entertainment columnist Alice Vergara.
“Anong sasabihin ni Mel Francisco na hindi niya anak si John Regala? Hoy, Mel, magkaibigan kaming matalik ni Ruby at nadoon ako sa ospital nang ianak niya si John. Huwag magsinungaling si Mel (What was Mel Francisco saying that John Regala wasn’t his son? Hey, Mel, Ruby and I were bosom friends and I was in the hospital when she gave birth to John. Mel shouldn’t tell a lie),” Divina Valencia has been passionately commenting whenever the issue of disownment on John as Mel’s son was raised especially when the action star got terribly sick and needed help from kin.
Despite the renouncement, John still considers Mel his father. “Itinatakwil niya ako pero alam ko ang totoo. Anak daw ako ni Apeng Daldal pero hindi ang Mommy ko na ang nagsasabi sa akin na si Mel Francisco ang tatay ko (He had been disowning me but I know the truth. He said I was a son of Apeng Daldal but it was mom who said that Mel Francisco was my dad),” intimated John in most of my interviews with him.
Regalas’ birth certificate bears Scherrer (real name of Mel) as his identity. Besides, John is very close to the other kids of Francisco with other women especially with Mel and Margie, Sara’s children, one of them Bong Francisco who used to be active in the biz.
John, according to entertainment journalist Renz Spangler, cried when he learned that his pa passed away.
Meanwhile, actress Cataleya Surio was devastated when her leading man in the movie “Paano Bihisan ang Isang Ina” Orestes Ojeda died a few hours before Mel. “Napakabait po ni Tito Louie (Tito—a term of endearment to an uncle or an older man by affinity),” said Cataleya.
Louie was Orestes’ pet name from his real name Luis Pagalilauan.
According to Surio, it didn’t take long for Ojeda to accept the offer as her leading man.
Orestes started his acting career in 1973 when he was discovered by the late megman Joey Gosiengfiao in a basketball game at the University of the East where Louie was a varsity player.
He was introduced in the film “Zoom Zoom Superman” with Ariel Ureta.