Are there nice people in showbiz?

And so, there went another Holy Week. I spent a good part of it trying to get over the sudden death of Nora Aunor. I also reflected on life and mortality and — on Good Friday — asked for pardon for all my sins. I can’t promise not to sin anymore though. After all, I once heard somebody say: “To err is human, but sometimes divine.”

During Easter Vigil, some wise guys I was with suggested that it is best to sin on Black Saturday “because God is dead and does not see our misdeeds.” Of course, all that is hogwash. A sin is a sin, regardless of the day it is committed.

In our judgmental society, show business is often regarded as a world of sin. It is a cesspool even, to those who look down on the profession.

But are showbiz people truly sinners? Yes and no. As in any field, there are the good and the bad.

In all the years I’ve spent in entertainment, I’ve seen some genuinely nice people. I’m enumerating some names below, based purely on my personal encounters with them.

BOOTS ANSON ROA RODRIGO

Of course, she has a good heart. She is showbiz’s Virgin Mary, after all — having portrayed the Blessed Mother on stage and on screen.

Once, I asked her if she had always been a good person. She flatly said no. As a child, she remembers throwing an electric fan at a sibling during a petty quarrel. In Assumption in grade school, she even stained a classmate’s blouse — on purpose — with blue ink.

But there was a point in her young life when she decided it wouldn’t hurt to be kind and patient in this world. This attitude proved to be very useful when the staff of a now-defunct reality program on ABS-CBN went to interview her — trying to determine the extent of her patience.

It was a failed mission for the crew. They failed to annoy her and not once did Boots show any hint of irritation.

During all those years she got involved in Mowelfund, I saw Boots deal with all kinds — from entitled showbiz indigents to the late Lucita Soriano badgering her about the non-inclusion of Rodolfo “Boy” Garcia in an in memoriam tribute. Boots faced all these circumstances with extreme patience.

Another one of her admirable qualities is her sense of decency, which the world utterly lacks today. Never — as in never — did I ever hear her speak ill of anyone.

And one more thing with Boots — she really takes the public expectation of her seriously. In the 1970s, when the no smoking policies were yet to be enforced, she once took out a cigarette from her purse and began puffing away after a heavy meal in a restaurant.

All of a sudden, a kid from the next table blurted out: “The Virgin Mary is smoking!” That was the last time she ever lit up a cigarette. Boots gave up smoking for good.

ROSA ROSAL

Yes, she is still around — being cared for by daughter Toni Rose Gayda and grand-nephew William Thio, a 1990s heartthrob-turned-newscaster. Rosa Rosal is now 90-plus and stays mostly in bed.

When Rosa joined showbiz, she didn’t like the glitz of it. What she wanted was to be useful to society. She found her calling in Red Cross where she served for six decades.

The public trusted her so much that people she met in malls and restaurants willingly dipped into their pockets and handed her donations for the Red Cross. Some were huge amounts. Coney Reyes, for instance, would randomly give her P20,000. This was in the 1990s when that was a princely sum.

Rosa never touched a cent, not even — as her Red Cross staff attests -- “to buy herself a bottle of Coke.” Oh, there were several occasions when she really needed a refreshing drink during those times she collected donations for the Red Cross.

For about a decade, a businessman pledged a weekly donation that Rosa had to pick up herself. It had to be Rosa and no one else. The businessman obviously didn’t trust other people.

The trouble was, the donation had to be picked up at the businessman’s office that was on the 4th floor — in a building without an elevator! Rosa had to climb four flights of stairs every Monday of her life. As a result, she suffered from knee problems even before she turned senior. But all that was for Red Cross.

Fortunately, she was rewarded for her efforts. In 1999, she won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service

Rosa Rosal initially made waves as a female villain in the movies. However, she eventually carved a name for herself as a great humanitarian.

IZA CALZADO

Given her traumatic past (her parents’ separation and her mother’s tragic end), it’s a miracle that Iza Calzado came out of those trials in one piece — and even became a very nice person at that. (Her young life was so stressful that she already had white hair in grade school!)

The goodness in her heart is generally acknowledged in showbiz. She is loved for her kindness and admired for her professionalism and artistry.

Her uncomplaining attitude was witnessed by a whole studio when I once did a taped interview with her. In the middle of our on-cam talk, I felt I was getting electrocuted and decided to cut. When the crew came over to check, there was indeed something wrong with the wiring of our lapel microphones.

Had I not stopped the interview, Iza would not have said anything. She, too, felt the burning sensation, but wasn’t one to complain. She ended up with a burnt mark on her chest that was caused by a faulty lapel mic.

Iza could have easily gone up to management to complain about the engineering department, but did not. This is why she is adored by co-workers.

IMELDA PAPIN

Her detractors may dismiss everything she does for self-aggrandizement. I was one of them — until I discovered the real Imelda Papin. Prior to that, I thought everything she did was for publicity.

I still remember the day I saw her kind heart. It was in the early morning of 19 May 2013. A few hours before that, Bella Flores was rushed to the Quezon City General Hospital where the veteran actress eventually died.

Ms. Flores’ failing health was a story I did earlier for GMA. When I found out from her daughter, Ruby Arcilla, that she had died, I immediately drove to the Quezon City General Hospital to see what I could do to help. Well, there was the matter of releasing Bella’s body. Loyola Memorial couldn’t take the body without the hospital’s permission.

That became a problem for us because the hospital was asking for Bella’s ID. First of all, Bella was an emergency case. There was no time to look for an ID.

And did Bella Flores really have an ID? “Artistas” do not carry IDs. Bella Flores’ face was her ID. Also, this was at a time when the discount for seniors was not yet being taken seriously. Most likely, she didn’t have a senior ID.

The male hospital staff refused to budge even if we explained to him the situation. That time, I was with Ruby’s husband, Jessie Arcilla, and we actually contemplated on manhandling the staff because he wouldn’t listen to reason. Sure, there was protocol to be observed. But couldn’t there be an exception?

When Jessie and I were this close to balling our fists, Imelda Papin walked in like a blessing from heaven. She is Jessie’s cousin and is family. After a short discussion with the man in-charge, Bella’s body was released. No drama. No threat. No intimidation. All it took was the Imelda Papin charm.

The way I understood it, Imelda was supporting a charity ward in that hospital — a fact that was not known to the public. She never had this charitable deed publicized.

I started seeing Imelda Papin in a different light after that. I began admiring her not only as a performer, but also as a person with a good heart.

There are other good people in entertainment — in spite of what they say about show business. I can’t put out the whole list, but I bet a lot of them will have a place in heaven.