Keempee de Leon finally free from shackles of pride

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IF it weren't for the mediacon of GMA's primetime series "Prinsesa ng City Jail" in which he's cast, the entertainment press would not have known that Keempee de Leon has smoked the peace-pipe with dad, TV host-comedian Joey de Leon.

PCJ marks Keempee's long overdue return on TV, this after he got booted out of "Eat Bulaga" (EB) in 2016 for reasons he didn't know — and wasn't made aware of. EB had been Keempee's home for 14 years.

Never been told the reason behind his removal, Keempee's life admittedly got upended — locking himself up inside his room, letting himself look scruffy with all his unsightly stubble, thus losing his "artista" (celebrity) appeal all together.

Keempee also would cut off his communication lines with his sister Cheenee even if they just live a puddle jump away from each other.

What's more, Keempee had deliberately made himself scarce from his dad with whom he lost contact for about five years.

It was all about Keempee's not being able to embrace the "Eat Bulaga fate" that turned his life upside down.

But thanks to his renewed faith as a born-again Christian, Keempee — once consumed by pride — has allowed humility to take over, the very virtue that led him to reconcile with Joey.

Keempee de Leon allows humility to take over — the same virtue that leads him to patch things up with his father, Joey. PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK/KEEMPEE DE LEON

The junior comedian looks back on June 15, 2024, a Saturday. It coincided with the Father's Day celebration in advance on Eat Bulaga.

Already in the vicinity of TV5, Keempee thought it was the best time to see his dad.

Getting off his car and heading straight to the EB studio, he said, wasn't a walk in the park as it seemed.

Armed with determination, Keempee assured himself: "If daddy wasn't in the mood, I'd just keep quiet. But I'm sure he wasn't gonna do that in front of other people."

Finally coming face to face with his dad, Keempee casually struck a light chat: "I just stopped by to greet you 'Happy Father's Day, 'Dy!' Daddy had no reaction, but when it finally sank in that I was there, he said: 'Are you here to promote?' 'No, I just came to greet you!' Next thing was, daddy toured me around TV5."

As Joey's car was about to leave the network compound, he told his son, "Let's see each other again!" Keempee simply replied, "Sure, Dad!" Not once during the visit did Keempee offer an apology.

It was because Keempee had to purposely wait until his Tita Eileen Macapagal (Joey's partner) celebrated her birthday in September.

Came that day, again Keempee was admittedly on pins and needles — it was his chance again to set foot on his dad's Green Meadows residence in ages.

Keempee even had to ask a kin to pick him up at the gate. It was his half-sibling Jocas who let him in, immediately clung to him and started to tear up.

"Why are you crying?" Keempee asked Jocas who replied, "Because it's been a long time..."

Keempee then shyly approached Eileen to greet her. Everyone else was welcoming of him.

Joey then showed Keempee a room upstairs — that was the latter's cue to finally mouth the words "I'm sorry, 'Dy..."

"'Dy, please forgive me... I'm sorry for everything I've done," were Keempee's repeated lines as his sniffles turned to wails.

Before he knew it, Joey was also in tears: "I've been asking where you are now, where you live, what you've been eating..."

In his heart of hearts, Keempee felt his dad had missed him just as much.

FYI, Joey's kids know him to be very generous — even without them asking for anything.

Keempee went on to say: "Daddy was handing me an envelope. Of course, I knew it contained money but I refused to accept it — saying I'm okay, he need not worry about me."

Heading back home hours later made Keempee suffused with joy beyond words.

And which child with issues with his parents wouldn't be?

At long last, Keempee has freed himself from the shackles of foolish pride.