Aga on 16 years of 'giving and sharing'

MANILA, Philippines –  At 41, Aga Muhlach’s “killer dimples” still elicit excited shrieks from women and a happy chorus of “Tito Aga!” from the kids. Still as bagets-looking as ever, the seasoned actor is busy with two upcoming movies and numerous other projects and endorsements. Despite his busy schedule, he also remains committed to two of his favorite roles — that of devoted family man to his twins and Charlene, and a bearer of early Christmas cheer to hundreds of less fortunate children through Jollibee Maaga ang Pasko, now the country’s longest-running toy and book drive.

Truly, the happiness that glows from the popular matinee idol is not just a result of his charmed life, but the radiance of his heart as well. As he celebrated the 16th year of his favorite project with fast-food giant Jollibee, Aga once again shared the spirit of Christmas through the campaign.

“I remember during our Oki Doki Doc days when the cast would hold a mini-gift giving during Christmas season and how special it was for all of us,” Aga shared. “I thought, why don’t we bring this to more children in need? So I approached Jollibee because I knew they have the network to reach out to more children, and that’s when our partnership for Maaga ang Pasko started. And it’s just amazing how grand the scale of this campaign became. Kinikilabutan ako.” Very professional and composed onscreen, Aga suddenly found himself at a loss for words to describe the campaign’s success. Throughout the years, it has evolved to inspire volunteerism through the Jolly Toy Scouts from partner schools and companies across the country. Last year, Maaga ang Pasko even embarked on a Christmas caravan to spread cheer to children from public schools that were heavily damaged by Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. Last Christmas, Maaga went beyond the traditional gift giving with the addition of its Build-a Classroom project, an initiative with the Jollibee Foundation and Department of Education. The project, funded partly from the proceeds of the sales of the Jollibee and Friends dolls novelty offering, was Jollibee’s contribution to help address the lack of big classrooms in the country.

Asked about his fondest memories of the campaign, Aga summarized the 16 colorful years of Maaga ang Pasko by saying, “Every year is special as we continue to make more children happy. It’s really the small things that do great wonders for them.”