Rachel Alejandro honored her father, Hajji Alejandro, who recently passed away after battling stage 4 colon cancer.
Photo: Rachel Alejandro
In a heartwarming tribute, she described the OPM icon as their sun, with herself and her siblings as the planets orbiting around him. The singer-actress also recalled tagging along to all his activities, including shows, rehearsals, and basketball games.
“What happens when the brightest star in a galaxy dies? My Dad was our sun and we were planets, orbiting around him, basking in his warmth and light. As kids, we tagged along to all his activities, be it shows, rehearsals, basketball games — it didn’t matter what it was,” she wrote in a social media post. “There was nowhere else we would rather be than by his side because every minute in his presence was fun.”
Rachel emphasized that even as adults, they still long for their father’s presence.
“Even as adults, we craved his company even as we got married and went about our own lives. I hung on to his every word about politics, financial investments, or the latest joke he planned on including in his next concert with the Hitmakers. He loved to make people laugh as much as he loved to sing and dance,” she continued.
Despite not having a talent manager, Rachel expressed how proud she is of Hajji’s success, highlighting his talent, hard work, and charisma.
“My dad never had a talent manager (except recently when he asked his partner, Alynna, to handle his bookings) rarely posted on social media and never needed to pay for any sort of PR or marketing. He was a bonafide star and his success was purely because talent, hard work and charisma. He was always so entertaining on and off stage and made everyone around him feel special,” she noted.
The singer also shared that Hajji had asked them to keep his illness private and that he was “fully prepared” to recover and return to work.
“My dad was a happy, optimistic man who valued having a good, comfortable life, yes, but more importantly, he prioritized providing for his partner, mother, and children. And his way of doing that from the time he had me at the young age of 19, was through his golden singing voice, which is why regardless of how he was feeling, he never canceled shows,” she added.
“Even when he was already in considerable pain, he performed in 2 more events before he was admitted to the hospital for surgery. For Dad, every show is a blessing, and performing for you all is our highest calling as singers.”
Rachel opened up about Hajji’s final moments, sharing that even after spending two months with him at the hospital and his home, she still wasn’t prepared for his passing.
“2 months of hospital stays and spending time with him at his home and I was still not prepared as I helplessly watched him breathe his final breath,” she admitted.
“What happens to those a star of this magnitude leaves behind? I don’t have answers for that yet as I struggle to grasp living in a universe without our Daddwaps. But I intend to make him proud in everything I do, to live by his code of honor and goodness, to perform for you all with everything I’ve got, and leave it all on the stage every single time. I will now just be singing and dancing with dad in my dreams,” she concluded.
Hajji’s family announced his passing on April 22. He was 70 years old. Dubbed “Kilabot ng mga Kolehiyala” (college girls’ heartthrob), he is known for his timeless hits such as “Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika,” “Panakíp Butas,” “Tag-araw, Tag-Ulan,” and “Nakapagtataka.”
ALSO READ: Rachel Alejandro Is Now a U.S.-based Actor
