At his first presscon after his homecoming, former ‘80s matinee idol Gabby Concepcion mentioned former manager Lolit Solis as one of the three persons he misses most in the Philippines—next to his father and mother.
"Dahil may pinagsamahan naman kami. Kaya lang, you know... I put that behind me now," said the comebacking actor about Lolit, who was Gabby's manager in his 13 years in the business. Lolit was already Gabby's manager when he started his showbiz career at the age of 15.
After their falling-out in 1994 because of the infamous Manila Film Festival scam, Gabby and Lolit saw each other again for the first time in November 2006. The two accidentally met at Manny Pacquiao's victory party in Las Vegas after he beat Mexican Erik Morales.
Lolit approached Gabby and as if nothing happened, the two kissed and made up.
In a separate interview, Gabby narrated: "Nagulat nga ako na lumapit siya sa akin. Nag-usap kami. Na-settle namin yun on the spot, which is good. Hindi ko naman akalain na magkikita kami ni Lolit doon dahil pinanood ko lang si Pacman... Sabi niya, ‘O, sige, bati na tayo. Pahingi ng one hundred dollars.' E, di ayos na. Mabuti na lang meron akong one hundred dollars, kung hindi baka hindi pa kami nagbati."
But after that meeting, Gabby and Lolit never met again—until yesterday afternoon, April 9.
More than one week after his return, Gabby met with Lolit at Annabel's restaurant on Tomas Morato yesterday. Gabby was with his new manager, Mrs. Rose Flaminiano.
In a report published today in Abante Tonite, columnist Abu Tilmazik described the meeting of Gabby and Lolit as "napaka-casual na parang wala lang."
According to the report, Lolit and his former star-client talked for almost two hours. The StarTalk co-host updated Gabby about his former sponsors who also became his friends, and they also talked about the issues that Gabby is facing now.
Abu Tilamzik also wrote that Gabby did not want to pose for photographs as much as possible because he just wants to see and talk to Lolit. No TV cameras were also allowed.
"Parang nabunutan ng tinik" was how Gabby described his meeting with Lolit.
Lolit, on the other hand, assured Gabby and Mommy Rose, "Basta ako, wala na."
She added, "Matagal akong magtanim ng sama ng loob, pero kapag nawala na yun, ibig sabihin, wala na."
Gabby admitted that he felt down when he returned to the Philippines. He said that he was just thinking about returning because of his father, not expecting the warm reception given to him by the people. This somehow inspired him to go back to show business.
For sure, this will not be the first and last time that Gabby and Lolit will see each other, specially now that the actor has decided to resume his acting career after 13 years of absence.
"Marami pa akong sasabihin sa iyo," Gabby promised Lolit.