For years, singer Jona hid under the rug a phase in her life which left an ugly scar.

Jona revealed a childhood secret long kept at bay in her recent interview with Toni Gonzaga on Toni Talks. 

“At 10 years old, I was a victim of molestation from my father after my mom left us,” Jona unabashedly revealed in Filipino with her voice cracking.

“That time, I don’t know how to react because I don’t know things like that,” she mused.

Then she narrated how it happened. 

“As I remember, it happened on day time. I was asked to enter a room an that’s how it hortifuc things started. That time, I was just frozen because I don’t know anything. I don’t know if I will shout or is this right?”

Life was normal “even after what happened, all those years we’re still together with my dad.”

“After what happened, it’s as if nothing happened. We’re still okay, the father-daughter (relationship).  He still supports us. He’s still working,” she said.

Jona was then trying her luck in joining singing competitions on TV.

She kept what happened to her and did not tell her story to everyone, not even her siblings and relatives because she doesn’t know how they will react to it.

Until she met her manager, Arlene, whom she shared her story. It was like reliving what happened to her.

Jona likened herself to a computer memory which deletes it bad stories.  

Growing up, Jona felt that with what happened to her, unconsciously, she felt seeking validation from other people.

“What you just want is to feel loved, to feel secure, to be adored.  That’s what’s taken away from you when you’re a kid.” 

She admits she was at a lost during her teenage years because she’s looking for validation from other people which was denied of her from her home.

Jona admits her disappointment against her mom grew as she felt the molestation could not have happened if she was there, if she did not abandon her family.

The molestation happened more than once, according to the singer. 

Jona’s healing started before her father died.  

“My love for him was still there. A few weeks before he passed awarly, he texted me and said, ‘please forgive me for all that I did.’  I felt relieved.  I even applied him for a passport together with my siblings because I wanted to go with them abroad.  But he died so every time I see his passport in my drawer, I felt deep regret,” she said.