Comedienne Rufa Mae Quinto amused some Filipinos with her tribute post to Regal Entertainment founder Lily Monteverde, also known as “Mother Lily,” who passed away on Sunday.
The Regal matriarch died at the age of 85, a few days after her husband, former basketball player Remy Monteverde, passed away on July 29 due to pneumonia.
Her family did not disclose the cause of her death, although they said that she “was surrounded by her children and grandchildren in her final hours.”
Mother Lily was the face of Regal Films which was known for movies like “Scorpio Nights,” “Shake, Rattle, and Roll,” “Relasyon,” “Mano Po” and “Sister Stella L,” among others.
The veteran film producer also helped launch and nurture the careers of her “Regal Babies” like Alma Moreno, Gabby Concepcion, William and Albert Martinez, Snooky Serna, Dina Bonnevie, Ruffa Gutierrez, and “Diamond Star” Maricel Soriano.
Several showbiz personalities, including Rufa Mae, paid tribute to Mother Lily following her demise.
The comedienne was under Regal’s agency from 2002 to 2009. This was the same period she rose to popularity by appearing in the films “Booba,” “Mano Po 4: Ako Legal Wife” and “Desperadas.”
Rufa Mae also became an MTV Pilipinas Music Awards host and landed on FHM Philippines’ Top 25 sexiest women of the decade in those years under Regal.
In her tribute post to the Regal matriarch, the comedienne shared posters of some of her films and credited Mother Lily for giving her “nice movie projects.”
“Mother Lily, Regal films, her family. I love them so much. Thanks for all the nice movie projects you gave me. I’m so happy to be a Regal baby. My deepest sympathy and condolences to [the Monteverde] family. Mahal ko kayo. Mother Lily and husband, rest in peace,” she wrote on Instagram on August 7.
“I love you #motherlily and @roselle_monteverde (when I saw you in the hotel lobby of GMA Gala Night last month, I am so happy and [I] know there’s always a reason why things happened, happenings, the beginning of a new life!” Rufa Mae added.
She then concluded her post with her trademark “go, go, go!” catchphrase.
“Mother, no, no, no! I wanna say don’t leave us, but gotta go, go, go! Go, go, gone!” the comedienne exclaimed.
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Her last words amused some Pinoys who described the tribute as “unserious.”
“‘Yung tribute ni Rufa Mae kay Mother Lily is sooo unserious. hahshshshahaahs (loudly-crying emojis) Go, go, gone!” a user on the X (formerly Twitter) platform commented.
The online user’s post has garnered 3,400 likes, 730 reposts and almost 50 replies.
“Only Ruffa Mae can do this and [you] still won’t be offended,” another online user wrote.
“So unserious but sincere at the same time, pwede pala ‘yun (laughing-with-tears emoji). Tsaka powtek, naririnig ko boses [niya] ‘pag binabasa ko post [niya],” commented a different Pinoy.
Rufa Mae, who is known for her highly energetic iconic lines, previously explained that her phrase “Go, go, go!” was born out of her attitude of resilience.
“Go, go, go! Kasi parang in life nga, kailangan mo na lang itawid, ituloy mo lang kung ano ‘yan,” she said in an interview in 2023.
“Basta alam mong naniniwala kang maganda ito, tama ito, feel mo ‘to — go, go go! Fight, fight, fight! ‘Wag tayong tumigil, parang ganoon,” Rufa Mae added.
Other phrases famously associated with her are “Todo na ‘to!” and “To the highest level!”
