Xian Lim denies disrespectful behavior, apologizes to his mom and Albayanos

Xian Lim admits being disappointed upon reading Albay Governor Joey Salceda’s posts pertaining to him for the first time last Friday.

“Siyempre nasaktan po ako. Sabi ko sa sarili ko ‘Saan naman nanggaling ito?’” said Xian in a taped interview aired on The Buzz on Sunday.

He added, “Noong pagkalapag ko sa airport I was very happy that I’ll be in Albay. I was very happy sa outcome ng show. Pumunta po ako sa Albay para magpasaya ng tao. Hindi po ako pumunta sa Albay para mambastos. Nalulungkot ako kasi wala naman akong magagawa para ikagalit ng governor. Alam kong wala akong ginawa para ikagalit ng tao ng Albay”

Gov. Joey’s ire stems over the fact that Xian supposedly threw a fit towards his chief of staff Atty. Carole Cruz when the latter offered a bunch of souvenirs for Xian as the province’s guest.

While he has already briefly aired his side on the matter and offered his apology through his Twitter account which, later on went unaccepted by Gov. Joey’s camp, Xian nevertheless shared his recollection of the incident.

“Well it started noong February 19 noong nag-land kami sa Albay, Nasa hotel na kami noon and it’s around lunch time. And while ordering food si Atty. (Carol Cruz) came to me sabi niya ‘Meron akong t-shirt para sayo.’ Bigla ko naman pong sinabi na ‘Nako Atty. Carol pasensya na po hindi ko po pwedeng isuot ‘yan’ habang siyempre hi-nug ko narin siya at ni-ra-rub ko narin ang likod niya parang paumanhin ko narin kasi hindi ko pwedeng isuot. Then sinabi po ng RM (road manager) ko na meron akong ine-endorse na clothing brand,” Xian explained. (continued on next page)

The actor-host further claimed that, contrary to reports, he never said the lines “I’m not here to promote Albay.”

“… Hinding-hindi ko po masasabi ‘yun. Una sa lahat, alam ko naman na it’s very offensive. Ang tatay ko taga Bicol, ang lola ko taga Bicol. Maraming beses napo akong bumabalik-balik sa Albay, Bicol region. Lagi po akong nagsho-show diyan, wala naman po akong nagiging problema,” he stressed.

Part of Gov, Joey’s post presumed that Xian acted as such due to the fact that he wasn’t raised well by his parents, a point which the Kapamilya star vehemently denied.

“Well mahal na mahal ko ang aking nanay. Hindi naman po nila alam kung papaano ako pinalaki ng nanay ko. It’s very hard para magpalaki ng isang anak na mag-isa. I’m very proud of my mom dahil siya lang po ‘yun eh. She raised me to become a very respectful man,” he said.

Despite the controversy, Xian revealed that his mother remains supportive of him saying that “Sabi niya ‘Alam mo naman kung ano ang totoo. I raised you up to be a very respectful person.’ So, sinabi ko agad kay Mommy ‘Mom ‘wag lang masasaktan sa sinabi nila ha. This doesn’t define who you are mom.’ Hindi ako pinalaking bastos parati po akong nagre-reach out.”

As a message to his mother who was dragged into the issue, Xian said, “Mom don’t worry I got you and ‘wag kang magaalala we will get through this and I’m sorry na nangyari ito.”

Meanwhile, just moments after Xian’s interview aired, Gov. Joey, who via a taped interview also aired on the same episode, finally accepted the former’s apology posted something on his Facebook page.

“It’s the season of Lent - the season of unconditional forgiveness. And Albayanos are possibly the kindest people there is on earth. And in the name of the kindest people on earth, I would accept his apologies even if he remains within his twisted recollections. It’s his loss, not ours,’ he began.

He continued, “Our conversation as a people cannot be ambushed by the behavior of one man no matter how celebrated and no matter how atrocious. It’s time to move on. If we are truly the land of constant kindness, then we must forgive without conditions and expect nothing in return for forgetting. In so doing, we gain the ascendancy in the seat of judgment.”

“We also gain emotional space freed up of bad vibrations to make new commitments. We have demonstrated our social cohesion and employed so much energy in defense of the honor of our homeland. 3 days are enough and we gain so much more by laser-beaming such social cohesion and focusing on our positives in the pursuit of shared prosperity. In our collective calculation, in the current trajectory of events, while we are sure of winning, we may actually end losing more opportunities in other aspects of life. Let’s use our flexed muscles for better things - like loving your neighbour. Move on tayo, Linggo hindi matraffic ang EDSA. Warm Albay, Warm People,” Gov. Joey ended.