Vice Ganda’s Best Actor win at the 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival Gabi ng Parangal was more than a career milestone. It unfolded as one of the night’s most intimate and emotionally charged moments. As the Unkabogable Star accepted the award for Call Me Mother, the spotlight shifted from trophies and applause to love, partnership, and a deeply personal truth he chose to share with the nation.

Standing before peers and audiences, Vice dedicated a heartfelt portion of his speech to his husband and constant anchor, Ion Perez. What began as a celebratory acknowledgment evolved into a vulnerable confession about dreams postponed and love that endures through waiting.

“To my baby, to my partner, my husband, my soulmate, my best friend, Ion—this is also for you,” Vice said, his voice steady but heavy with emotion.

He reflected on how fully he embodied his role in Call Me Mother, a performance widely praised for its emotional depth and maternal instinct. Vice explained that the intensity of the role came from a place far beyond acting. It came from lived longing. He shared that year after year, he and Ion had spoken about starting a family, plans repeatedly deferred by responsibilities, work, and the many roles he carries in life.

Those unfulfilled plans, he revealed, came with quiet grief. Each delay felt like a loss, a dream set aside once more. Yet even in that confession, Vice spoke with hope — of wishing for a longer life, for courage to finally choose what his heart has long been ready for, and for the chance to build the family he envisions with Ion.

“I really want to be a mother,” he said candidly, affirming that the love he wishes to give — to a child of his own — is real, possible, and deeply felt.

The moment resonated far beyond the awards night. It reframed Vice’s Best Actor win not just as recognition for a powerful performance, but as validation of a life lived honestly, bravely, and with emotional generosity. Call Me Mother became, in that instant, not only a film title but a reflection of Vice’s own truth.

Shortly after the ceremony, Ion Perez responded with a message that was simple, unwavering, and full of devotion — echoing the strength of the partnership Vice honored onstage.

“TO MY BEST ACTOR. I’M HERE TO STAY FOREVER.”