“I sometimes feel like I’m an OFW (overseas Filipino worker) myself,” declared young star Maymay Entrata, whose family currently stays in Cagayan de Oro while she works here in Manila.
The 22-year-old actress said she did not have a hard time relating to her character—a domestic helper in Hong Kong—in Cathy Garcia-Molina’s “Hello, Love, Goodbye,” because she somehow has a similar situation.
Maymay’s mom has also been working in Japan for 28 years. “We never really shared a home,” the actress pointed out. “Being an OFW is not easy. You’re far from your family. You’re sacrificing your own happiness so you can provide for your loved ones here in the Philippines. There’s also the feeling of loneliness because you have no one there with you.”
Maymay also said she was happy that she was able to sort of “repay” her mom now that she is earning herself. “Nasusuklian ko ang sakripisyo na ’yon,” she said. “I’m so proud of her and all the other OFWs out there.”
However, while Maymay hopes to ask her mom to finally come home and just live with her, she said, “I have a half-brother in Japan, so planning is complicated.”—MARINEL R. CRUZ