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“If not for her, I would not be here. I would not be who I am today.”

Iyan ang simula ng mahabang post ng batikang direktor na si Jose “Joey” Javier Reyes tungkol sa pagpanaw ng producer at founder ng Regal Entertainment na si Mother Lily Monteverde.

Sa kaniyang Facebook post, inalala ni Direk Joey kung papaano siya nagsimula bilang isang screenwriter, at kalaunan, direktor, nang dahil kay Mother Lily. Kuwento ng batikang direktor, taong 1979 nang una siyang kinuha ng namayapang producer para maging isang screenwriter.

“Years later, we were having a casual conversation in her kitchen at her Greenhills residence when, out of the blue, she asked, 'Joey, gusto mong magdirek ng pelikula? Sige, direct ka na…' And that brought me to a new level in what turned out to be the road map of my career as a filmmaker.”

Kinuwento rin ng batikang direktor kung paano niya naging kasakasama si Mother Lily sa ilang mga importanteng sandali ng kaniyang buhay; ang pagpapalabas ng kaniyang pelikula na “Live Show,” ang pagmartsa nila sa Mendiola matapos siyang hatulan ng dating gobyerno at ng simbahan dahil sa parehong pelikula, at noong sukuan na umano siya ng ibang produsyer.

“She held onto me and said, 'Let's do more work.' She was the only one who still believed in me to prove to others that despite the stretch of my career, that there was still something left for me to do,” sabi ni Direk Joey.

Sabi pa niya ay nasa likod lang niya noon si Mother Lily, nakasuporta, at itinuring siya bilang isa sa kaniyang mga kapamilya, at tiniyak na magiging maayos din ang lahat.

“So how can my heart not be in pieces now that she has left?” sulat ni Direk Joey sa kaniyang post.

Pagpapatuloy niya, “How can I not feel the weight of the turn of events --- just like so many others who she has helped, given chances, opened doors and pushed into the arena of possibilities? How can I not feel the pain of losing my second "Mother" ... the mother who made me who I am today?”

BALIKAN ANG PAGLULUKSA NG IBANG CELEBRITIES SA PAGPANAW NI MOTHER LILY SA GALLERY NA ITO:

Nasasaktan man, inamin ni Direk Joey na panatag na ang kaiyang loob na malaman na kasama na ng batikang direktor ang namayapang asawa na si “Father Remy.”

“I find peace with the thought that hers is a legacy that can never be ignored or forgotten because if it were not for Lily Monteverde... if it were not for this Mother... the shape of Philippine cinema would not have been what it is today,” sabi ni Direk Joey.

Brokenhearted man si Direk Joey, na alam niya ay nararamdaman din ng nakararami, para sa kaniya ay patunay ito kung gaano kaimportante si Mother Lily sa entertainment industry.

Sa huli ay inalala ni Direk Joey ang mga sinabi niya sa namayapang producer, “Thank you so much for all you have done for me and so many others. Ikaw ang ikalawang nanay ko. Mahal na mahal na mahal kita. Sige na, rest ka na."

Bsahin ang buong post ni Direk Joey dito: