Gary Valenciano opens up about Gab’s brave mental health journey

OPM icon Gary Valenciano opened up about the mental health struggles of his son, Gab, in a recent interview.

“We encountered problems with Gabriel. We noticed that he had that middle child syndrome,” he initially shared.

Valenciano recalled receiving a call from Gab “at 4:00 a.m.,” with his son’s voice sounding distressed.

“Dad, I’m sorry,” Gab reportedly told him.

He then explained the reason for the call: “I took something. I need you here now, Dad. Please come.”

“We rushed to his place and, to make a long story short, we were able to enter his place. It was messy. He didn't look good, and I ended up carrying him on my back,” Valenciano recalled.

“From his room onto the elevator, we brought him down, and then we took him to Makati Med.

“At that time, he was diagnosed to be bipolar,” he added.

But the singer said that was not the only time his son faced a serious mental health crisis.

“There was a time when we were in the States and we found out that he was going through a battle with his mental issues,” he said.

Valenciano recalled how Gab’s then-girlfriend helped during the incident, holding on to him as he latched onto the railing of his 27th-floor condominium.

“He stepped out onto the ledge and was hanging on to the rail with one finger, and he was looking at her and [he said to her], ‘Look, I just have to let go of this finger and it's gonna be quick. Come on!’”

“And she was, ‘No, Gab. No. Don’t!’”

After what Valenciano described as a tense silence, the family received a call saying, “Okay, he's back into the room.”

Valenciano also shared how Gab later described the moment.

“Dad, I was looking down, and it really looked like it would have been quick. But somehow, when I was looking down, on a lower balcony, I saw somebody open their light, and then something snapped, and I realized, ‘Wait, I'm not supposed to be here.’”

Gab eventually returned to his room, which Valenciano said was left in disarray.

The OPM icon said it was his son’s courage in facing his struggles that prompted him to share Gab’s story.

“It was a challenge then. But Gab has taken on that challenge, which I like to share with people,” he said.