Joshua Aquino and the Strength of a Gentle Heart

Each morning, Joshua Aquino would gather the household to pray.

That is how television host Boy Abunda described the role of Kris Aquino’s eldest son during her time in the United States while she was ill. Recalling his visit, Abunda spoke of two sons contributing to their mother’s care: Bimby helped coordinate with the nurses, while Josh brought everyone together at the beginning of the day.

“He would gather everybody in the house and he will lead the prayer,” Abunda recalled on Fast Talk with Boy Abunda on October 14.

It is a small detail with considerable emotional weight. Within a household living with illness, a familiar daily gathering can offer a moment of connection—a chance to face uncertainty together.

In Abunda’s account, Josh had a place in that shared effort. He was a son caring for his mother through an act of faith.

The story also predates the recent public discussion surrounding him. In February, Abunda had already spoken about Josh’s prayers, telling reporters that he had been informed Josh began the day by leading prayer and ended it with another.

That consistency matters. It gives us a glimpse of a family routine that existed beyond the attention of a news cycle.

People close to the family describe a similarly affectionate presence in everyday life. In a social media tribute reported by Abante, Jack Salvador said Josh checked on him through text messages almost daily, invited others to pray, and frequently expressed his love. Darla Sauler, another longtime presence in the family’s life, described his thoughtfulness and recalled watching him care for his mother and brother in the ways he knew.

These accounts give substance to words such as sweet and caring. They describe attention offered repeatedly: remembering someone, asking how they are, making affection known.

Such gestures can become an anchor within a family. Their importance is often clearest to the people who receive them.

Josh is on the autism spectrum, a part of his life that his mother has discussed publicly. His story deserves language that recognizes him as a whole person, with relationships, preferences, and his own ways of participating in family life.

His capacity to love should never be treated as surprising. Nor should anyone have to present evidence of exceptional kindness to establish that a person with a disability deserves respect.

Yet the accounts of Josh’s affection are worth telling because they help us see the individual behind a familiar surname. They bring attention to someone whose daily acts of care might otherwise remain outside the public’s view.

Abunda revisited the prayer story while condemning derogatory podcast remarks about Josh and comparisons with Bimby. His response emphasized the affection within the family and the hurt such commentary could cause.

Comparing the brothers as though their contributions could be ranked misses something fundamental about family care. Different people offer different forms of support. Practical assistance, companionship, and spiritual comfort can exist alongside one another. Recognizing one person’s effort does not require diminishing another’s.

There is a broader lesson here for an online culture in which someone’s vulnerability can quickly become material for entertainment. Before making a joke, posting a judgment, or passing along a cruel remark, we can ask what we actually know about the person involved—and what our words might do.

Josh’s example offers a more constructive habit to follow: check on someone. Say that you love them. Make time to gather. Give the people around you a reason to feel remembered.

For those who share his faith, the morning prayer may carry particular meaning. For readers of any belief, the act of bringing people together during a difficult time is recognizable as care.

We cannot know every private moment in the Aquino household. The accounts shared by people close to Josh offer only a partial view. But the qualities they describe—affection, attentiveness, and concern for family—are qualities any of us can practice.

In a public conversation crowded with harsh judgments, his story gives us something better to consider.

While his mother was ill, Josh helped begin the day by bringing people together. There is much to admire, and much to learn, in that simple act.