Entertainment

Former teleserye actor is now reporting for duty

“Kahit pa anong mangyari, ang pagibig ko sa’yo ay di na magbabago. Kahit umulan pa at bumagyo, palaging ikaw ang iibigin ng puso ko.”

Time was when our Saturdays were strictly dedicated to watching our favorite barkadahan on televison. Ano pa nga, kung hindi “Gimik”?

How time flies so fast, isn’t it? In fact, one of our favorite characters from that series has found his way living an entirely different life, far from what his other colleagues in the show business have chosen or become.

Do you still remember Don Laurel, one of the original casts of Gimik, alongside Judy Ann Santos, Jolina Magdangal, and Rico Yan? From silver screen, he’s now an action man at crime scenes. He’s now a police officer for the 32 Division in Toronto, Canada.

In the 1990s, he won a talent competition, giving him the chance to be an actor back in the Philippines. But unknown to many, Laurel decided to go back to Canada and raise his young family in Toronto and this is when he fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a police officer. This happened after a decade in the Philippine entertainment industry.

Despite serving as a police officer for the Toronto Police Service 32 Division for nine years now, he still gets noticed by fans, especially by Filipinos living in Toronto’s Little Manila area.

“When he went out on the road and did some calls I noticed that he had a little bit of a fanfare following him around and recognizing him,” Sergeant Lawrence Sager of the Toronto Police Service 32 Division said in an interview.

Laurel’s background as an actor and as a Filipino has helped him adapt to his role as a police officer in Toronto, where a large Filipino community resides.
“It breaks that wall down for a lot of people when they approach him because of the show. It bridges that gap of communication in the community. It’s great to have him on the team,” CBC News quoted Staff Sgt. Andy Sawyer as saying.

Laurel recalled calming a man in distress after the man recognized him from his days in the limelight. Fellow officers also noted how people will call their division and ask specifically for Laurel.

“They’ll want to tell me something because I can speak the language and they’re comfortable with me. It’s good because it means they trust me,” Laurel said.
Aside from being a police officer, he also works in the Philippine consulate and works to inform immigrants of the laws and their rights in Canada.

Photo credit: Screen grab from CBC Toronto/ Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan

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