PEP: Friends remember good times with Marky Cielo

News of StarStruck winner Marky Cielo's sudden death has stunned the local showbiz community. Showbiz friends—especially those from StarStruck—were all shocked by the death of the Mountain Province native. Unfortunately, they were reunited for the first time in a dire situation. On December 8 in GMA 7's morning show SiS, Marky's friends reminisced about the good times they had with him and how he had touched their lives in bittersweet ways. REMEMBERING MARKY. For Glaiza de Castro, Marky's kakulitan and dance moves would be the best thing she would remember about him. It was Marky's way of proving judgmental people wrong about his true self. "One time," Glaiza began, "In-invite ko siya sa launch ng album ko. 'Tapos parang maraming nagsasabi na, ‘Ay, naku, good luck kung pumunta 'yan.' Kasi hindi naman ‘yan talaga umaalis ng bahay. At saka hindi mo madalas 'yan makikita kung saan-saan, e. 'Tapos nagulat ako nung night, dumating siya, so, parang hindi ko yun ine-expect." Marky's La Lola partner Lovi Poe also shared a funny anecdote about Marky. She related, "Kunyari gigisingin siya, puyat na kami, ‘Marky, gising ka na.' Pagtayo niya, parang sasayaw siya bigla para magising siya, 'tapos kami ni Glaiza, gaganunin [makes a tickling gesture] niya yung kilikili namin, hahawakan niya, 'tapos itataas namin. ‘Sige nga, hawakan mo!'" Stef Prescott recounts how supportive Marky can be when she was paired with him as her first love team partner. For her, Marky's down-to-earth attitude was unexpected especially from a StarStruck winner. "Siya yung first ka-love team ko," Steph told the SiS hosts. "Out of [StarStruck] siya, so, yun, parang super hindi ko alam yung gagawin ko. Hindi ko alam kung paano ba umarte ng yung talagang...yung talagang professional na hindi na siya yung StarStruck. Sabi niya, ‘Pinagdaanan ko din ‘yan. Ganyan din yung feeling ko noong una.'" Stef paused and, fighting back tears, she continued her story. "Sabi niya, 'Kailangan lang maniwala ka sa sarili mo, at alam ko naman na kaya mo.' 'Tapos noong unang crying scene ko, sabi niya, ‘Gripo ka naman pala, e.' So, super supportive siya. For Mart Escudero, Marky was a brother and he expressed how true Marky was to his friends. "Kapatid talaga, kapatid," said Mart. "Tapos nasanay kasi ako pag SOP. Siya lagi yung hinahanap ko kaagad. Text ako kaagad paggising ko, paggising niya magte-text sa akin, ‘Pare, nandiyan ka na ba?' 'Tapos nag-aantayan kami lagi. Pag almusal, sabay kami. Rehearsal minsan...kami lang dalawa palagi. Kumbaga, parang nasanay ako na kaming dalawa lagi yung buddy, e. Magkasama kami." After saying his piece, he sighed and added, "'Tapos yun nga... Yun yung nangyari. Talagang mabigat." Ryza Cenon commented, "Mami-miss namin siya lalo na sa sayawan, lagi kaming nagbibiruan. So, nakaka-miss din..." Then she added, "Iniisip ko lagi na, sabi ko, 'Hindi ito totoo, panaginip ito, panaginip ito.' Kasi magkasama kami, nag-taping kami, magkasama kami, so hindi ako makapaniwala, hindi ko matanggap na wala na siya. Noong nalaman ko na wala na siya, hindi ako naniwala. Tinatawagan ko siya, ilang beses ko siya tinatawagan... Sabi ko, 'Sagutin mo, sagutin mo, sagutin mo.' Pero wala, e, wala rin akong magawa." - Philippine Entertainment Portal