RIP Ate Gay: Heart Evangelista, Tuesday Vargas, other stars mourn passing of comedian

Ate Gay, or Gil Aducal Morales in real life, passed away on November 1. He was 55.

Ate Gay suffered a stroke on October 29, which caused damage to the right side of his brain. He was first diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in September 2025.

Following his death, several Filipino celebrities mourned his passing, including Heart Evangelista and Tuesday Vargas.

On Instagram Stories, Heart shared a brief but heartfelt message for the late comedian.

“Rest na angel,” she wrote.

Meanwhile, Tuesday paid an emotional tribute to Ate Gay on Facebook, recalling their early days in the comedy bar scene and the impact the late performer had on her career.

“For more than a year you fought a hard battle and yet you stayed soft and kind,” Tuesday said.

“It’s hard to find the right words to capture the size of the void left by her passing,” she added. “I woke up feeling this emptiness today.”

Tuesday described Ate Gay as a pioneer and an “absolute titan of comedy,” remembering how she would stay after her own performances just to watch the comedian onstage.

Lotlot de Leon, Ogie Diaz, EA Guzman, Rodjun Cruz, Dawn Zulueta, and others also expressed their condolences in the comments of the Instagram post announcing Ate Gay's death.

“We will miss all the funny moments, you never failed to make us laugh in all your gigs,” Joshua Zamora commented. “Condolences to the bereaved family.”

Ate Gay fought a hard battle against cancer. Shortly after his illness was announced, an anonymous donor helped cover the cost of his radiation therapy at Asian Hospital, while a fan lent him a nearby condo unit for convenience.

In November 2025, Ate Gay said he'd already "graduated" from radiation and chemotherapy.

Earlier in October, he held a "living funeral" with his family and close friends.

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A post shared by Gil (@ategay08)

— Hermes Joy Tunac/LA, GMA News