There are award nights you watch for the fashion, and then there are award nights that find a way to reach through the screen and catch you off guard. The 9th Entertainment Desk Digital (EDDY) Awards was the latter — not because of the glamour, but because of two acceptance speeches that felt completely unscripted and entirely human.

Jericho Rosales took home Best Actor for his work in Quezon, and from the moment he stepped up to receive the honor, something was clearly different. His voice was unsteady, his eyes wet. This wasn’t the polished, composed Echo the industry has known for three decades. This was a son.

A Tribute to a Mother Who May Forget

In his acceptance speech, Jericho — affectionately called Echo by fans — addressed his family directly. He acknowledged that things have been tough at home, though he deliberately chose not to go into detail. The one thing he did say with clarity was that his mother, who is living with Alzheimer’s disease, was at the center of his dedication.

What made the moment even more poignant was what he said afterward backstage. He expressed hope that when his mother sees a video of the speech, she’ll beam with pride — and then be able to play it again and again. Because that is the cruel reality of Alzheimer’s: each viewing could feel like the first. He reframed that heartbreak as a gift — “for me, it’s great, you know.”

It’s worth noting that this comes just days after Jericho broke his silence about his brother Jeremiah’s disappearance, a separate family ordeal that rocked the Rosales household in late June. The actor clearly has been carrying a lot, and the EDDYs win became an emotional release valve for everything he’s been holding in.

Janine Gutierrez: The Quiet Pillar

Jericho also gave a warm acknowledgment to girlfriend Janine Gutierrez, who has been a constant presence through one of the most difficult stretches of his life. He said she was always beside him — not just professionally, since the two have worked together — but in all the in-between moments, the quiet ones, the hard ones. He called himself lucky to have her, and the way he said it didn’t sound like award-night script. It sounded like exhaust and gratitude in equal measure.

EchoNine fans — the name combining Jericho’s nickname Echo and Janine — have long followed both stars with fierce loyalty, and moments like this speech are exactly why. The couple first sparked as co-stars in Lavender Fields before confirming their relationship publicly, and their supporters have been invested ever since. You can catch up on how Janine has handled the pressure of public life on her own terms, and browse more loveteam stories on our loveteams page.

Maris Racal: “I Know the Feeling of Almost Losing Everything”

The other half of the evening’s emotional double-punch was Maris Racal, who took home Best Actress for her performance in Sunshine. Maris is one of those performers who tends to be underestimated until she absolutely isn’t — and her speech landed like a full-circle moment for anyone who’s followed her career.

She drew a direct parallel between herself and the character she played: a young woman with enormous potential who stumbled, fell, and had to choose whether to keep going. “I know the feeling of almost losing everything,” she said plainly — no drama, no performance of pain. Just the fact of it.

Her closing line — “drown the noise and remember who you are” — was pointed without being preachy. It’s the kind of line that gets screenshotted and pinned to vision boards, and rightly so. The fact that she delivered it to close a Best Actress speech, rather than a motivational seminar, made it hit differently.

What the Ishmael Bernal Biopic Means for Echo

As if one major revelation wasn’t enough, Jericho also confirmed — somewhat reluctantly — that he has been offered the lead in a biopic of National Artist for Film Ishmael Bernal, a passion project spearheaded by screenwriting legend Ricky Lee. He admitted he was caught off guard by the announcement, that the details are still being finalized, and that the prospect honestly terrifies him.

That kind of productive fear — the kind that makes an actor study harder, prepare longer, and take nothing for granted — is exactly what a project of that magnitude calls for. Bernal’s legacy is immense: a director who shaped Philippine cinema’s identity during its most fertile era. The fact that Echo has already started researching and reached out to people in Bernal’s orbit suggests he is treating this as a calling, not just a career move.

He is surrounded by people who love the subject too — a screenwriter friend, a former apprentice of Bernal’s, early materials already coming in. The ecosystem for a great biopic is quietly assembling around him. Whether it comes together is still an open question, but his nervousness reads as exactly the right emotional response to the assignment.

Why This Night Matters Beyond the Trophies

Award nights in Philippine entertainment often get reduced to outfit recaps and social media moments. The 9th EDDYs gave us something rarer: two actors who used a public stage to say something true. Jericho told the industry — and his mother — that she is the reason any of this happened. Maris told every woman who has ever nearly quit that the story isn’t over.

These speeches will outlast the ceremony. They are the kind of moments fans recall years later not because of what the actors were wearing, but because of what they were willing to say.

And for the record, Jericho’s family is okay. He said so backstage: “We’re okay. And my family is strong, and we love each other.” Sometimes the most important thing a celebrity can say is simply that — we’re okay, and we love each other. In the context of everything he has been carrying, those seven words land like a relief.