Naked head, thick brows, and eyes donned by a pair of black-rimmed glasses have always been the overall look that the King of Talk, Eugenio “Boy” R. Abunda is known for. Aside from his personal style that is often seen on Showbiz News Ngayon (SNN), The Bottomline with Boy Abunda, and The Buzz, many know “Tito Boy” as an achiever of sorts.
From being the most respected talk show host in the entertainment industry, to being a talent manager and a publicist to many famous Pinoy celebrities, a writer, a teacher, and an endorser, “Tito Boy” is now taking his influence to another level as the new senior adviser to Ladlad partylist.
With its name meaning to basically come out of the closet in Filipino, Ladlad is an organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Filipinos that aim to fight for the equal human rights of the aforementioned. Ladlad is set to run for party-list elections for Congress in the May 2013 elections.
As one of the most influential people in the entertainment industry, Boy is confident that he can help the Ladlad party list and the gay community’s message across the country. In a press conference held last month, Boy mentioned that he aims to get enough support for Ladlad for it to win three seats in the in 2013 elections.
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roud with his sexual orientation, Boy has also been very open of his 25-year relationship with his partner Bong Quintana. An advocate of equal rights, especially the the rights that involve the Filipino LGBT community, Boy said that he wanted his involvement in Ladlad to be his “legacy.” He further elaborated in the press conference that he has “always been supportive of Ladlad” in his own way and sees that now is the perfect moment to “step up” in his participation with the group.
It was in March of 2011 that Boy first declared his decision to join Ladlad. Boy shared that he set a part of what he earned from endorsing a whitening product to support Ladlad. He then expressed his “deepest gratitude” to the owners of the product for agreeing to help the political party.
With Boy’s new appointment as Ladlad’s political adviser, speculations have gone about that the talk show host is using Ladlad for his future intentions on running for an elective position.
Abunda shed light on the issue once and for all and said that he “is not interested in legislative.” He, however, said that “if ever” he decides to run for an elective position, it would be as a governor of Eastern Samar, (where his home town, Borongan City, is a part of) and will not be on 2013 but 2016 instead.
Kris Aquino, Boy’s former co-host and one of his closest friends, expressed support to the latter as early as 2008 during one of their conversations in The Buzz. Kris stated that she is willing to sell her house in support of Boy’s campaign should he decide to run for elections.
Aside from Kris, many Filipino artists draw inspirations from Boy for his genuine interest for people he meets in the business. Among his closest friends in showbiz include Box Office Comedy Queen Ai-Ai de las Alas, Gretchen Barretto, and the two Aquino sisters, Ballsy Aquino-Cruz and Pinky Nelson.
Although it seems far-fetched to him, Abunda said in an interview with a local newspaper last January 26, 2006 that he dreams of having an international talk show and to someday interview Oprah Winfrey, Barbara Walters, and Hilary Clinton.
Meanwhile, Boy feels happy and blessed enough to have interviewed prominent people like Lea Salonga, Sharon Cuneta, Neale Donald Walsch (the author of Conversations with God), and Victor Hansen (author of Chicken Soup for the Soul), among others. Boy knew that it was out of kindness that these people have chosen to share their thoughts and opinions with him.
Grateful “to be occupying a little space in the industry,” Boy said he had dedicated a lot of his “work, passion, sweat, (and) love” to his career. But no matter how successful he might get, he constantly reminds himself that everything is fleeting and that there are other important things in life like his mother and Bong that he would not trade for anything else.
Known for using the catchphrase: “Kaibigan, tara, usap tayo, (Come on friend, let’s talk)” which he used in his defunct noon-time talk show called Home Boy, the latter has made a name for himself by being one of the best interviewers in the business for more than 20 years. Boy, however, refused to be tagged as the best, saying that being the best somehow puts a limit on a person’s growth.
“But if you are the best, where do you go? I certainly look forward to the next 3,000 interviews,” he said.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(OCIE July 1-7, 2011 RedCarpet pg.1)
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