Maricel Laxa shares about her mom-manager dynamics with Donny Pangilinan

Maricel Laxa appeared once again on “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda.”

On Tuesday’s episode, Maricel talked about some life updates, including her mom-manager dynamics with son Donny Pangilinan.

“Sa umpisa pa lang, meron kaming kontrata bilang manager niya,” she said.

The award-winning actress and her husband, Anthony Pangilinan, formed a company dedicated to managing their children’s activities. As an “official corporation,” they follow contracts, guidelines, and rules of conduct.

According to Maricel, they are always flexible when it comes to their children’s requests.

“‘Yung mga bata, they are very clear about those parameters na sila na mismo nagsasabi… Hindi na nila kinu-kwenta ‘yon na parang part pa ng earning nila kasi from the very start, nakahiwalay na ‘yon eh,” she said, adding that the children themselves even initiate to help the company with nothing in return.

Meanwhile, when it comes to accepting projects for Donny, Maricel said that it’s never all about money, and that she’s Donny’s number one supporter if he wants to do something that won’t pay a lot but is good for his career.

“I can relate ‘pag sinabi ‘yon ni Donny,” she said.

When asked if they had ever questioned a proposed love team partner for Donny, Maricel said, “Parang hindi pa naman kami pumunta sa ganong klaseng usapan.”

“It’s really been DonBelle [Donny and Belle Mariano] for the longest time. I’m a DonBelle fan,” Maricel said, agreeing that Belle is a sweet girl.

Maricel also said that she doesn’t meddle in Donny’s private life even if she's both his mom and manager.

“We manage, but we don’t own him, that’s very clear,” she said. “We’re just taking care of him. We’re helping take care of what he has so that he can be better at what he’s doing to help other people.”

Whenever there’s a conflict of opinions, she said that the manager is the one who gets to decide when it comes to work-related issues.

“May say ang artist, pero manager ang masusunod. It’s about authority, ‘di ba?” she said. “Pagdating sa pagiging magulang, ‘pag bata ‘yung anak mo, minor, ang magulang ‘yung masusunod. ‘Pag adult na ‘yung anak mo, siya na masusunod, pero siya din ang haharap ng responsibilidad sa consequences ng action niya.”

Maricel is very happy with Donny's career now, also sharing that her only problem about him is that he’s too kind.

“Napakabait niya. It’s good and bad. You always have to be moderate in everything, you know? Moderation is very good in everything,” she said.

Maricel also previously appeared on "Fast Talk" in August 2023 with husband Anthony.

They have five children: Ella, Donny, Hannah, Benj, and Solana.

Maricel starred as Atty. Meredith Simmons in GMA Afternoon Prime's “Lilet Matias: Attorney-at-Law” with Jo Berry. She marked her exit from the show following the death of her character.

Previously, she starred in "Mano Po Legacy: The Family Fortune" as Valerie Lim and "Apoy Sa Langit" as Gemma.

— Carby Basina/CDC, GMA Integrated News