Character actor in dire need of financial help for heart surgery

Joey Paras

“His heart is functioning at only 10 percent. He needs to be operated on as soon as possible,” said Arnold Reyes of his friend and fellow actor Joey Paras, who is currently confined at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City, awaiting his third heart surgery.

Joey’s colleagues are racing against time to raise P750,000, the amount needed to finance his angioplasty.

An announcement about a GoGetFunding initiative for Joey was posted in his Facebook account on Monday. On Instagram, he uploaded the same poster and captioned it with “knocking on your door. Please help me. God bless all. #ParaSaAngioplasty.”

“Joey lives alone. He drove himself to the hospital because he was already having difficulty breathing. I’m thankful to friends who already reached out to help,” said Arnold, who first worked with Joey professionally in “ZsaZsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal” in 2006.

Comedian and director John “Sweet” Lapus said he already knew of Joey’s heart problem since 2016, while they were filming “Working Beks.” Sweet said that despite Joey’s condition, the latter still finished the project. “He was apologetic that he was not able to promote because, he said, he had just undergone surgery,” recalled Sweet, adding that Joey was likewise supposed to be a cast member of the Virgin Labfest staged reading of his play “Bagyolanda” in 2018, “but Joey had to beg off because his heart problem recurred, and he needed to rest.”Sweet said he also created a GoFundMe account for Joey.

“I respect Joey so much as an artist. Not only is he a good actor, he’s also a generous teacher,” Arnold told Inquirer Entertainment. “He has been helping a lot of aspiring actors through his Teatro Expedition de Filipinas by giving them free acting workshops. I would often ask him why he was doing this, and his reply would always be that this makes him happy.”

Arnold said he has known Joey since they were still in high school, where they were members of the same theater group.

Sweet and Joey both dabbled in theater while they were in college at the University of Santo Tomas. Sweet recalled: “Joey is very professional. He’s passionate about performing. His mind and body are willing, but his heart is too weak for it. I’m worried about him. I hope more people will help him because he’s a good person. We need prayers for Joey.”

Joey’s rise to fame was via the independent film “Last Supper No. 3,” directed by Roni Velasco. The said comedy flick was heralded best picture at the 2009 edition of Cinemalaya. INQ