Joseph Bitangcol: 'This is my second life'
Three months after a car collision in Antipolo sent him straight to the hospital, Joseph Bitangcol looks brand-new, the scars he sustained after a facial operation hardly showing on his smooth skin.
“Second life ko na,” he admitted at the presscon of “Crossroads”, his first film after the car accident. “Wake up call ang nangyari sa akin. I learned my lessons. Hindi natin alam kung kalian kukunin ang buhay na ipinahiram sa atin. So dapat alam mo ang priority mo.”
Joseph adds that he has matured and is more careful in everything he does.
No more drinking
“And I don’t drink anymore,” he goes on.
The real-life Joseph is a far cry from his reel character Alex, a happy-go-lucky guy who gets a girl pregnant when they were both in high school.
“I am more focused on my goal now,” Joseph states.
And he has proofs to show for it. Joseph admits he had to make adjustments while delivering his lines for “Crossroads” because of the titanium plates inserted his jaw and cheekbone.
“At first, nabubulol ako kasi mahina pa ang lower lip ko at under therapy pa rin ako,” he explains. “Medyo manhid pa rn ang lower lip ko kasi linagyan ng titanium. Nasa therapy pa ako.”
Joseph feels awkward sometimes, but he enjoys working again. He is looking forward to taping for the gag show “Locomoco.”
Fast recovery
All these would not have happened had Joseph continued to stay in the hospital the way his doctors first predicted.
“Sabi nila sa ospital na ako magpa-Pasko at tatawid New Year,” recalls Joseph.
But his friends won’t let that happen. They mounted a fund-raising concert that would take care of Joseph’s hospital bills. The deluge of support amazes Joseph to this day.
“Malaking tulong ang nagawa ng friends ko sa paggaling ko,” he explains. “Dahil doon, napadali ang operasyon ko. Nakatulong din sa kin emotionallykasi wala na akong masyadong iniisip na gastos. Tumulong ang iba’t ibang networks, pati mga kapatid ko sa Star Circle. Pati mga friends na hindi ko ine-expect, tumulong din.”
Thus, he recovered faster than expected. Because he feels as lot better, Joseph is having second thoughts about undergoing another operation to remove the titanium plates in his body.
“May choice ako to have the operation or not after three months,” reveals Joseph. “Kaso, matagal-tagal din ang operasyon.”
Meantime, Joseph would rather focus on “Crossroads,” which depicts the consequences of sexually-risky behavior and where he stars with Felix Roco, Mercedes Cabral, Zoe Sandejas, Sue Prado and Aleera Montana.
“The characters (students in a rural school) in the film are at the crossroads,” says its director, PMPC Star Awards for Movies Best Editor Charliebebs Gohetia.
Its producer, the Commission on Population (in cooperation with Integral Media Inc.) plans to give select high schools and colleges digital copies of the film for students to watch and learn lessons from.
