John Arcilla believes taking care of old parents is ‘normal, child’s duty’

John Arcilla. Image: Instagram/@johnarcilla

John Arcilla underscored that giving back and taking care of one’s parents when they are older is a “duty” that a child must perform, and not an act done out of “utang na loob” (debt of gratitude).

The veteran actor gave his take on the arguable debt of gratitude to parents through his Facebook page last Saturday, April 6.

While this came after Dani Barretto’s sentiment on the matter was talked about on social media, Arcilla clarified that his post is not meant as a “rebuttal” to anyone.

“‘Utang na loob’ and ‘obligasyon’ are wrong words pag ang usapan ay mga magulang na ating pinanggalingan,” he argued.

“Hindi naman talaga utang na loob o obligasyon ang pagkupkop o pagtulong sa mga tumatandang magulang—dahil ito ay normal at natural na duty ng mga anak. Kasing natural at normal nung inaalagaan nila tayo nung maliit pa. Pinakain, dinamitan, iginapang, at pinag-aral,” he continued.

Arcilla noted that just like how parents are responsible to provide for their newborn child, children have such responsibility as well to their parents when they are no longer able to support themselves physically and financially.

“That is the normal cycle of life. Tayo bilang tao ay tagapag-alaga at tagapag-taguyod ng mas mahina kaysa sa atin, maging hayop man ito o kapwa tao—e di lalo na pag magulang na natin ang mahina na at nangangailangan na ng tulong,” he stated.

“Hindi na dapat nagiging issue yon. Ngayon, kung naging masama silang magulang o pinamigay nila tayo sa ibang tao, ibang level ng kwento ‘yun. Do’n lang siguro magkakaroon ng iba’t ibang pamantayan kung responsibilidad pa din ba sila ng mga anak,” he added.

Arcilla said he understands that a child’s financial capacity might be one of the main factors why such becomes an issue, but he nonetheless stressed: “Ang mahalaga ay may kasama [silang] tumatawid sa natitira [nilang] buhay.”

“Kaya nga dapat habang lumalaki ang tao at nangangarap, kasama sa plano natin at ng ating mga kapatid kung paano aalagaan ang mga magulang natin pagtanda nila,” he said, adding that doing so sets a good example to one’s own children.

“Kung pinapangarap din nating makasama at alagaan tayo ng ating mga anak. Ipakita natin sa kanila na normal at natural ang pag-aalaga at pag-aruga ng ating mga magulang,” he concluded.