READ: Gary Valenciano mourns death of his mother

Mr. Pure Energy Gary Valenciano welcomed Maundy Thursday with a heavy heart because of the passing of his mother, Grimilda Santiago y Olmo.

The OPM legend confirmed this in a lengthy Instagram post.

He wrote, “Today at 12:42pm here in Orlando (12:42am in Manila) ...my mom was welcomed home in to the arms of her Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

“I know this may come as a shock for some of you, as she has always been seen as someone with a lot of life to live.

“She was always the life of any gathering, but last week was really tough on her as she had to battle it out against pneumonia, congestive heart failure, and H1n1 flu... all of which came almost at the same time on her 84yr old body.

Gary also extended his heartfelt appreciation for all the messages and support they have been getting in this difficult point in their life.

He said, “I want to thank the few that first became aware of what we were all facing these past few days and sent us encouraging messages of hope.

“But we thank you all...our friends, our neighbors, and most especially our cousins like the Valenciano, Martin and Anson families, who simply always responded to her words and actions of love, by loving her back in your most special of ways.”

Gary admitted that it will take time for them to get used to the fact that Mamita is not around anymore.

“A new season in our lives has begun. We now move on, forward to life with mom not being around us...but in us.”

“It will take some getting used to but I believe if we can practice to love each other the way she loved us, which was always as unconditional as can be, we will get by with more laughter, yes with some tears, with thankfulness, and gratitude for having had her with us for these many years.”

Several celebrities offered their condolences to Gary Valenciano's family like Heart Evangelista, Christian Bautista, Coney Reyes and John Prats.