Filipino television viewers witnessed a heavy drama as Jake Zyrus, formerly known as Charice Pempengco, tells tales of her struggles as a celebrity who wanted to come out as a “transman”.
However, Jake’s mother, Raquel Pempengco, claimed that the whole Maalaala Mo Kaya episode about Jake’s story was a lie.
“Taas-noo pa rin akong maglalakad dahil alam ko sa sarili ko na wala akong ginawang masama sa inyo at God knows ang buong katotohanan ay mangingibabaw pa rin sa susunod na panahon,” Raquel said in an interview with ABS-CBN.
Pempengco was particularly angered by the episode’s part that showed Charice used to send P500,000 a month to her family when she was touring the US for concert and guesting gigs.
“Ang katotohanan ay 2010 pa pinabayaan na kami niyan ni Charice. Bakit ako ang sinisisi niya sa tax niya hindi naman ako ang manager at accountant niya?” Pempengco said in an interview with ABS-CBN.
Watch the episode’s trailer here:
Video credit: ABS-CBN Entertainment
The episode also showed scenes of Raquel, portrayed by Dina Bonnevie, hurting the singer physically and pressuring her to remain a woman.
Despite having bad image in the episode, Raquel said she has continued to love Jake.
“Gusto kong magalit at sumumpa pero di ko magawa dahil nangingibabaw pa rin ang pagmamahal ko sa inyong magkakapatid,” Raquel said. “Kasama ka pa rin sa pananalangin at pagdarasal ko.”
On June 15, Charice relaunched herself by changing all her social media names to Jake Zyrus.
He will hold his first concert at Jake Zyrus on October 6 at Music Museum.
