John Regala couldn’t hide his sadness after sharing that most of his relatives had abandoned him because he was jobless.

Regala, who appeared in more than 100 movies, was expected to be wealthy after retirement; however, because of bad decisions, the actor faced financial difficulties and couldn’t even afford his medications without relying on others.

In an interview with Philippine Entertainment Portal, Regala shared that after what happened to him, he realized that most of the people surrounding him before were ignoring him already because of his current financial status.

“Ganun pala ang buhay, pag wala ka nang pera, kahit may mabuti kang nagawa, wala na rin silang paggalang sa tao.” Regala said.

He also shared that even his three children were ignoring him and not even supporting him financially despite having decent jobs.

“Yung mga anak ko sa puso, medyo nakalimot na dahil may kanya-kanyang buhay na. May sarili nang pinagkakakitaan, matigas na ang buto, hindi na nakakaalala sa kanilang ama. Hindi man lang nila ako maipagmaneho.” the emotional actor said.

 “Wala na rin akong kamag-anak. Magmula nung pumanaw yung nanay ko, itinakwil na rin ako ng mga kamag-anak ko. Dahil wala na silang mapapala sa akin.” he added.

Months after the said interview, one of the children of Regala contacted the former actor and shared sweet messages after not seeing each other for years.

Regala is still facing financial difficulties that have become lessons for celebrities and netizens to save for their retirement.

This article was originally posted in 2020.