By: Mario Bautista
WE WERE ABLE to talk at length with RJ Calipus, the participant who's a favorite of a lot of viewers because of his sad personal story. RJ has a Pinay mom and a French dad. As a baby, he was adopted by a couple in Tondo. His mom went abroad and eventually married someone in England with whom she now has three kids. He grew up in poverty and looked for love early, getting a common law wife at 17 and now, at 21, he's the father of two girls.
WE WERE ABLE to talk at length with RJ Calipus, the participant who's a favorite of a lot of viewers because of his sad personal story. RJ has a Pinay mom and a French dad. As a baby, he was adopted by a couple in Tondo. His mom went abroad and eventually married someone in England with whom she now has three kids. He grew up in poverty and looked for love early, getting a common law wife at 17 and now, at 21, he's the father of two girls.
"It's for them that I want to earn more," he says. "We live in a squatters area and I work only as a cargador for container vans that transport goods to the provinces. Ako nagbubuhat ng mga paninda weighing 25 to 60 kgs. When I left for Argentina, P3,000 lang ang naiwan kong pera sa wife ko at may sakit pa ang bunso ko. So habang nandun kami, sila lagi ang naiisip ko. Kung paano mapagkakasya ng wife ko ang perang naiwan ko sa kanya."
Has he met his biological parents? "Ang mom ko, nakuha ko ang address sa lolo ko. I wrote her at noong December, pinapunta niya ko sa kanila sa England at na-meet ko ang stepfather ko at mga anak nila. My dad is named Michel Red. I haven't seen him at hindi ko alam kung nasaan siya. My mom says my real name is Jethro Red. I don't know how to look for him."
He's under contract with ABS for one year and he's now taking acting workshops with them to see if he could go into acting. "Sana, may magbukas na pinto alang-alang sa mga anak ko," he prays.