WATCH: Dominic Ochoa reacts to being called 'quarantine king'

MANILA, Philippines — Before ABS-CBN went off-air last May 5 due to the network's franchise expiry, Kapamilya actor Dominic Ochoa's two drama series, "May Bukas Pa" and "100 Days To Heaven," were running back-to-back on the TV station's primetime block, making some viewers jokingly call Dominic the "quarantine" king.

In a recent exclusive interview with Philstar.com organized by Tuason Racing, Dominic denied that he is among ABS-CBN's favorites. He believed that the network revived his TV series before shutting down to inspire people in the middle of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

"ABS wanted to put up something, an inspiring show that teaches people to pray, relax, slow down, think about things, parang 'May Bukas Pa' in short. 'Yung supposed one month namin became a year. Thank you Lord for that! It was an inspiration for a lot of people," he said. 

"Despite hardships in life, may Diyos tayo na pwedeng lapitan. Re-aring of 'May Bukas Pa' and ''100 Days to Heaven' give hope to the whole world and to the Filipinos na may bukas pa."

Dominic said he didn't anticipate the pandemic. But instead of complaining, he looked at the quarantine with positivity. 

"You know, things na 'di mo ginagawa before when you were busy. I just had a time for myself and for my mental health. In fact, I'm really enjoying it. It's basically when quarantine started that it was like a reset button for me parang we had a time to pause and tell ourselves na we can really start, we can think about things and basically focus on my family," he said. 

"The one thing that I really appreciate now is listening to my son, to what he says, having breakfast, lunch and dinner with loved ones, that's really the most memorable for me." 

He credited his racing school Tuason Racing for preparing and training him not only to become a good driver but to be flexible in handling any situation that lies ahead. 

Yesterday, Tuason successfully hosted a VIP watch party for the final leg of its celebrity challenge and "Race for Frontliners," a virtual race for the benefit of COVID-19 frontliners and communities affected by the pandemic.

— Photo from ABS-CBN via Daily Motion, Videos from Tuason Racing

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