3 weeks Ago By N/A (Giselle Sanchez)
Gladys and PJ will be joining “Beauty Knows no Boundaries” together with other stars like Tunying Taberna and his daughter Cathy, Pen Medina, Maria Ressa, James Deakin, Hasna Cabral with his daughter, Yazmin Aziz, Snooky Serna, Coach Mau, Janay Zaplan, Louie Ysmael, Fabio Ide and yours truly. This coming May 17, celebrated teleserye and movie villain Gladys Reyes will join “Beauty Knows No Boundaries,” Asia’s first pageant for individuals with diverse needs. I asked the award-winning actress why she volunteered to walk the catwalk for free, and she answered, “I joined this project of the Miss Possibilities Foundation because I want to share the stage again with my 43-year-old brother, who has special needs.
His name is Paolo Jose Reyes, but we fondly call him PJ. PJ enjoys these events; he waves onstage and is very functional. We both want to raise awareness among all parents that there are children with different needs, and they are manageable.
PJ is batang ‘90s. Back then, awareness of children with different needs was very low. Although our family showered him with so much love and attention, he was never able to go to school because, in ordinary schools, children cannot understand children with special needs, so he ended up getting bullied.
PJ talks in the third person, ‘PJ is hungry. Pj needs to go to the bathroom.” He has echolalia (a speech phenomenon where a person repeats words, phrases, or sounds they have heard either immediately or after some time has passed).
Once, he left the house unattended, and we found him in the market being bullied by other children. Back then, we did not know that PJ had an autism spectrum disorder. "That is why I want to walk the catwalk with PJ, so children with such needs can be detected early and receive the proper care and education they deserve.
PJ could never go to school, but because our family focused on him, he could cook rice, bathe, and dress up by himself. He also has a photographic memory, and maybe because I am always the villain in every movie or television program, PJ has developed a fascination for villains. Once, he met Cherie Gil and immediately listed Cherie's movies like IMDB would list it.
.. all on the top of his head.
His memory is amazing, and he is very loving to the people who take care of him. Every time I need a trigger to cry, I will start getting worried about PJ. I would think—what if we all go ahead of PJ, who will take care of him?" Gladys tells me.
I think this is the true meaning of unconditional love, love that does not need to be reciprocated. Gladys and PJ will be joining “Beauty Knows no Boundaries” together with other stars like Tunying Taberna and his daughter Cathy, Pen Medina, Maria Ressa, James Deakin, Hasna Cabral with his daughter, Yazmin Aziz, Snooky Serna, Coach Mau, Janay Zaplan, Louie Ysmael, Fabio Ide and yours truly. I may not have a child with special needs, but I do empathize with these children who deserve the care and education they need.
The event will be held at the Henry Lee Irwin Theater of the Ateneo de Manila University at 2:30 p.m..
