‘Suits‘ star Gabriel Macht: Strong Pinoy culture key to rebuilding after Yolanda

American actor Gabriel Macht of the hit television series “Suits” spent much of last Saturday in Ormoc, Leyte where he saw during his close encounters with families recovering from the cyclone how resilient Filipinos are.

 

Macht said at a press roundtable Sunday that Yolanda-hit areas are overcoming challenges through an "incredible support system", where people work together "to make it right".

Grateful to have had this moment #projectwonderful #ormoc #kids #maganda pic.twitter.com/9C8as5cZQr

— Gabriel Macht (@GabrielMacht) March 9, 2014

 

 

Macht is the latest international celebrity to go out of their way to do what they can to help the Yolanda victims. In earlier weeks, among those who came to visit were Justin Bieber and David Beckham.

 

He was quick to express unity with the Yolanda survivors the day after the typhoon slammed into the country on November 8.

Sending my prayers to the Philippines. #Staystrong

— Gabriel Macht (@GabrielMacht) November 9, 2013

 

 

The 42-year-old alumnus of the Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts in Pittsburgh said he had been waiting for the opportunity to come to the Philippines since the typhoon struck.

 

"When I saw the images online and in the newscasts of Typhoon Yolanda, I was immediately driven to help in some way and when I was asked to partner with Globe, I was like, 'Okay, this is it! This is how I can help!'," said Macht.

 

"I know there's (a) discrepancy between the levels of earnings here, but I see people really, really standing up for the culture and helping out...I see your culture as a really, really strong culture that will be able to build back up, and they are doing so now," he also said.

 

Macht toured Ormoc, Leyte with Representative Lucy Torres-Gomez. During his visit, Macht helped put up a sign on a sari-sari store, met with some women entrepreneurs, and conversed with children and teens. During a meal break, the ate some rice cakes (kakanin) and drank freshly-made sugarcane juice.

 

"The kids- I keep on going back to the kids- beautiful smiles. And that generosity of spirit is just- the innocence, sort of ripples through the community, and your culture is very endearing, and very warm and welcoming," said Macht.


 

 

Empowering survivors

 

Macht came to the Philippines on Saturday to lend his star power to Project Wonderful, Globe Telecom's humanitarian initiative for Yolanda victims.

 

"(Project Wonderful has) three tracks: one is livelihood, which Gabriel is doing with us; the other one is with (football player) Chieffy Caligdong, he's doing education with us; and the other one is home-building, which we did with Gawad Kalinga," said Yoli Crisanto, Globe senior vice president for corporate ommunications. 

 

When asked why Macht was chosen for the project, Crisanto said the actor's wide international following tied into the project's scope, which aims to go beyond Ormoc.

 

“We really need somebody of substance. Hindi naman yung ganun lang. Even the way he did (the project) is very different with how the others did it. For a person of his stature, or his celebrity, to go over to Ormoc, to walk on the tubohan, that's really something different,” said Crisanto.

 

Macht himself is optimistic about the project, saying it gave small businesses ways to grow and sustain themselves.

 

"I'm encouraged by the work that they're doing, as far as nation building, and I think it's an amazing opportunity for small businesses to take responsibilities on their own for entrepreneurship," said Macht.

 

He hopes his visit can raise awareness for the changing needs of those affected by the typhoon.

 

"It was very great to see the town gather around and experience this potential. There's hope now, and I was just really humbled to be a part of it... I think we're still in the beginning stages. There's a lot to be done still in the rebuilding. Some of it looks like, from my tour in Ormoc, it looks like there's some rebuilding being done, but I think there's a-ways to go," Macht said.

 

He has been playing the Harvey Specter character in “Suits” for three seasons now.  His co-star Patrick Adams visited the Philippines a year ago. — JDS/ELR, GMA News