Netizens heap praise on Tommy Alejandrino for his riveting performance in MMK “The Viral Story of Eugene dela Cruz”

It’s the time of the year when we get to see graduation pictures and videos on our social media since it’s commencement exercises season again. But among the slew of graduation-related content that flooded our newsfeed, there were several posts that really stood out and even went viral online. One notable story is about Eugene Dela Cruz, a 25-year-old alumnus of Ateneo de Manila University, who managed to graduate with an honorable mention despite the hardships he faced in life. 

While various media organizations have already covered his inspiring story, we’re able to get a more vivid picture of his journey from being young and homeless to becoming a promising youngblood with a propitious future in the 12th and latest episode of “Maalaala Mo Kaya” entitled “Pinto”. 

Portrayed by up-and-coming actors Argus Aspiras and Tommy Alejandrino, Eugene actually grew up with a blissful and comfortable life with his business owner-parents and brother Dennis. But their almost perfect life suddenly changed for the worse when his parents broke up after his mother (Andrea del Rosario) left them for her first family. Their father (Jeffrey Santos) brought him and his brother to the house of their paternal grandmother, Vangie (Ces Quesada), where they lived since 2005. 

It may have been really obvious to him that his father didn’t love him as much as his brother, yet instead of being discouraged, that further motivated him to consistently do good in school in spite of all his efforts being ignored. He may have felt invisible at home, but Eugene was able to find the attention, affection, and happiness that he’d been craving from his family to his gay friends, who had helped him know himself more and embrace his true sexuality.  

Since they had given him the courage to come out of the closet, Eugene finally confessed to his family on the day of his elementary graduation that he’s indeed gay. Unfortunately, his Lola Vangie, who’s a conservative Chinese, got fuming mad as she firmly believed that gays like him bring bad feng shui and bad luck, and kicked him out of her house right there and then. With his parents nowhere to be found, Eugene had no choice but to knock on the doors of his friends to seek shelter until the time came that he had to live in the bustling and dangerous streets of Manila. 

He had to resort to begging and eating other people’s leftovers in carinderias just to satisfy his hunger, while also having to defend himself from fellow street-dwellers who took advantage of him. As he already found it difficult to survive and keep going, he already came to the point when he asked for God to not wake him up the following day.  

However, God apparently still had plans for him, as he made it out alive. As his wounds and scabies worsened, Eugene mustered the courage to finally go back to and seek the help of his Lola Vangie. She was initially hesitant to take him in even after he passed out in front of her and her younger sister Sarah, but she still did out of the little conscience she had in her. Instead of taking care of Eugene, Lola Vangie refused to have him undergo medication and treated him terribly.  

Vangie then passed him on to his other grandma (Carla Martinez), who also asked him to leave after staying at her house for quite some time since she couldn’t help but get anxious that he might harm her as well. This was after Vangie told her that he almost stabbed her during one of their heated confrontations, which Eugene denied since it was himself whom he was about to hurt. His mom also declined to take him in since it was already difficult for her and her husband to provide the needs of their children. 

With nowhere to go again, Eugene decided to return to the streets, where he was spotted by his Lola Sarah, who immediately contacted his father. This compelled his father to take him and let him live with him and his new wife, Ara, in Leyte. Fortunately, his Tita Ara and her family were kind to him, while his father had remained hostile toward him. 

Since his father was adamant about supporting him in his plan of pursuing his studies, Eugene once again had to be self-sufficient for him to be able to support both his needs and studies, which he did by working as a part-time tutor. However, his clients dwindled, which made it impossible for him to pay the rent and afford his basic needs. Thus, he sought the help of his Tito Roel (Smokey Manaloto) and Tita Elsa (Adriana Agcaoili), who willingly took him in despite being advised by his father to not accept him.  

Eugene indeed found renewed hope while living with the couple, who made sure that all his needs were taken care of even though their incomes as a driver and as manicurist were not enough to make both ends meet. Upon learning that Roel and Elsa were already having a hard time budgeting their daily earnings, Eugene decided to leave again, for he didn’t want to be a burden to them anymore. But they stopped him and assured him that they would never give up on him. 

They indeed supported him until he finished high school with flying colors and skyrocketing grades. He may have been scammed when he bought a laptop online, which he was supposed to use for college, but that didn’t stop him. As his foster parents encouraged him to not let that stop him, he immediately launched a crowdfunding on social media that he tagged as “Piso Para sa Laptop” and shared his inspiring story that touched the hearts of many. In the end, he was able to earn more than the amount of money he needed to purchase a laptop, so he decided to extend help to 19 less privileged students like him by also giving away one unit of laptop to each of them.    

Due to his impressive academic credentials, various collegiate institutions offered him scholarships after he passed their entrance examinations, but he ultimately chose Ateneo de Manila University, where he took a degree in Economics. The scholarship may have provided him with a dorm accommodation and a monthly allowance to cover his basic needs, but that was still not enough to cover all his expenses. So, he worked as a part-time math tutor and dance instructor in order for him to earn extra money.  

And all Eugene’s efforts, hardships, and sacrifices indeed paid off in the end, for he didn’t simply finish his studies, but he also graduated with an honorable mention and with a Top 3 “Best in Thesis” citation from their college. Even though his mother had abandoned them, he apparently still thanked her via text message for the gift of life, to which her Mama told him that there’s no need for him to credit her because the successes he’s been relishing were all his doing. 

Now, he hopes to inspire other young people like him who go through the same plight that he used to undertake to not give up on their dreams because the time will come that doors of opportunity are going to open for them.  

Maalaala Mo Kaya’s depiction and airing of Eugene Dela Cruz is so well-timed and relevant as it touched some of the issues that are ever-prevailing and being highly talked about in our country at present. It tackled homophobia, or the extreme prejudice and discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people, child abandonment and abuse, homelessness, and lack of opportunities and assistance for less privileged people. Thus, we hope that this serves as an eye-opener both for ordinary citizens and government officials alike, and that the time will come that these problems are going to be properly addressed and resolved. 

Furthermore, Eugene’s journey has reminded us of the quote, “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul,” which came from “Invictus”, the famous poem written by William Ernest Henley. His family, who were supposed to support, guide, and take care of him, may be the first ones to turn their backs and close their doors on him, yet Eugene didn’t let his problems with them and the setbacks that those entailed stop him from going forward, carving his own path, and leading himself towards a better life. 

He may have encountered challenges and endured a lot of pain, especially during the four years that he dwelled on the street; he didn’t perceive those as discouragements. Rather, he considered those as experiences that have shaped and strengthened him into becoming the strong, resilient, and ambitious young man that he has become. 

Written by Benson Logronio and directed by Onat Diaz, Eugene’s story is also a reminder that the real meaning of family is not about the people with whom we are related by blood but those who love us genuinely. His biological family may have neglected him, yet he’s able to find a true family in Roel and Elsa, who, despite not being really his relatives, still opened their doors for him and provided him the home, affection, comfort, warmth, and support that he had always yearned for. 

Tommy Alejandrino really did a great job with his portrayal of Eugene, piercing our hearts with his impressive dramatic chops and delivery of lines, as he did it with utmost rawness and honesty. His younger counterpart, fast-rising child actor and It’s Showtime kid Argus Aspiras, also delighted us with his promising performance as the child representation of Eugene. 

Aside from their own acting flair, both of them wouldn’t be able to pull off their amazing performances without the support provided by their co-stars, who gave life to the secondary characters. Those were mostly depicted by seasoned and veteran thespians, namely Smokey Manaloto, Jeffrey Santos, Andrea Del Rosario, Franco Laurel, Carla Martinez, Adriana Agcaoili, and Ces Quesada, who once again astounded us with their top-notch acting skills. Meanwhile, despite their very limited exposure, the participations of Binsoy Namoca and Bong Gonzales were also noteworthy.  

Below are some of the tweets posted by Kapamilya netizens on X (formerly Twitter), who got to watch the latest episode of the long-running drama anthology, using the hashtag #MMKTheViralStoryOfEugeneDelaCruz:

Whose inspiring story are we going to see next in “MMK” Let’s all find out by not missing the upcoming episodes on iWant, where fresh episodes are streamed beginning every Wednesday, and on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), A2Z, and ALL TV every Saturday at 8:30 PM.