Pepe Herrera opens up on fatherhood’s wake-up calls
MANILA, Philippines — As Father’s Day was celebrated last Sunday, actor-comedian-singer Pepe Herrera opened up about the joys and challenges of fatherhood, and how the experience has changed him and helped him mature.
The STAR sat down with Pepe at the Villa del Rey Hotel and Resort in Pili, Camarines Sur, where he and the “Little Hope” production team — including director Benedict Mique and actress Yassi Pressman — were filming. The shoot also coincided with the week-long celebration of the Kaogma Festival 2026 in Camarines Sur.
According to Pepe, he accepted the project because he could relate to his character, Tom, a father in “Little Hope.”
“The story is beautiful. Also, I’m a father. It’s about a father and his love for his daughter and the love of the daughter for her father. How can I say no?” he said. Pepe has two children, six-year-old Payapa and Pepito, with his wife, Sarah Mallari.
“When I became a father, wala siyang katulad. You’d rather go home to your family, especially your kids, kaysa gawin yung iba mong kalokohan dati.”
Still, Pepe stressed the importance of maintaining a balance between family responsibilities and personal time.
“Sometimes, if you’re tired from work, you just want a break. Ang kagandahan lang naman ngayon, natutunan namin, to be more honest in telling our kids, ‘Daddy is getting tired now and I’m feeling overwhelmed. I’m gonna rest muna, ha. Kaya mo na ‘to.’ (The kids would reply), ‘OK, daddy.’ Or I’ll give her (my daughter) something to do and I’ll do something else that we both enjoy doing.”
For Pepe, coming home from work, seeing his wife and children and giving them a gentle kiss are what truly feels like home.
“I’m grateful because aside from the many gifts that fatherhood has given me, ang sarap sa pakiramdam na nakikita mo yung pagkatao mo na ibang-iba sa pagkatao mo 10 years ago. The level of maturity that you’ve been wanting to achieve, you achieved it smoothly. Maybe sometimes not smoothly, but you don’t have a choice but to mature when you become a parent,” he reflected.
One of the “wake-up calls” for Pepe came when he was unable to fulfill a promise to his children, which deeply broke his heart.
“Nakakadurog kasi ng puso na makita yung mga anak mo who are looking up to you and you will not be able to deliver. And I’ve experienced that several times. I guess I had to learn that way. Nasabihan ako ng mga anak ko, naalala ko isa sa mga wake-up call ko sabi sa akin ng anak ko, ‘Daddy, but you promised. You didn’t fulfill your promise that we would go on a date,” he shared.
“Things like that because it’s everything to them. It taught me to stay grounded and motivated me to be better. The way I see them (my kids), your attention is the world to them and that makes me go back to being human, always.”
Still on fatherhood, one of the most valuable insights that stuck with him from his own father was to be sensitive to others’ feelings and to always respect his senior actors. He recalled how proud his father was during his “Rak of Aegis” stint, which later opened up plenty of opportunities for him after the show.
“People started noticing what I could do. Some writers wrote good reviews about my performances. I received an award for the first time because of that. I saw how proud my father was of me. But he always reminded me to remain grounded, to always respect (others) and to be conscious of the feelings of your co-actors,” he shared.
“There were times when we received loud cheers for Tolits, our characters nila Jerald (Napoles). Maybe my father, yung concern niya minsan baka matapakan mo naman yung ibang senior artists and their stature and things like that. Makiramdam lagi.”
Reflecting on his mental health journey, Pepe said he is grateful to his family for their unwavering support throughout his healing process.
“I feel blessed. It’s not a matter of OK or not OK. It’s a matter for me right now of accepting it. There’s a recent teleserye called ‘It’s Okay to Not Be Okay.’ Sometimes you’re not (OK), eh. Sometimes you’re feeling these emotions, eh. Tatakasan ba natin? What are we gonna do about it?” he mused.
“Right now, it comes and goes. It’s just a matter of embracing the process for me at least kaya healing journey hindi lang naman siya ganun, eh (in a snap of the fingers), and we used it here for our art. So again, blessed.”
Pepe also appeared in the comedy film “Home Along Da Riles Da Reunion” as Baby Boy.
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