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Metro Exclusive: Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan on Donny Pangilinan's Donato Cup

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<p><strong>Donny Pangilinan</strong> turned 28 last February 10, and today, the actor, host, and athlete celebrated his birthday with his first-ever invitational golf tournament, the <strong>Donato Cup</strong>.&nbsp;</p><p>Held at<strong>&nbsp;</strong>the prestigious <strong>Canlubang Golf and Country Club</strong>, Donny&#39;s first-ever invitational golf cup for a cause gathers golf enthusiasts, celebrities, and supporters for a fun-filled day that blends sport and philanthropy. Donato Cup was organized in support of <strong>MovEd Philippines</strong>, a non-profit dedicated to providing early childhood education and community development programs.</p><p>The event was attended by his parents, <strong>Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan</strong> and <strong>Anthony Pangilinan</strong>, as well as ABS-CBN President and CEO <strong>Carlo L. Katigbak</strong>. In an exclusive interview with <strong>Metro.Style</strong>, Maricel said, &quot;Well, it&#39;s been a dream of his <em>na magkaroon ng</em> Donato Cup. <em>Pero</em>, he&#39;s always so busy, so <em>parang</em> feeling <em>niya palagi na</em> he&#39;s not good enough. He has to practice more, but this time, finally, he said yes, and for a cause.&quot;&nbsp;</p><div><br></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770868581406metro donato cup donny pangilinan 7.jpg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></div><div><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770868610335metro donato cup donny pangilinan 1.jpg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770869394946metro donato cup donny pangilinan 8.jpg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></div><div><br></div><p>The Donato Cup is one with MovEd Philippines in its mission to empower underserved communities through education. Maricel shared, &quot;MoveEd foundation is going to be our beneficiary for today, and they&#39;re going to be very happy because we have really super maxed out all the slots for this golf tournament, and it&#39;s amazing with all the sponsors.&quot; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>If there&#39;s anything that can be said about Donny and the way he approaches his passions is that he&#39;s very intentional, according to his mom, Maricel: &quot;One thing with Donny is <em>&#39;yung mga</em> projects <em>niya</em> are always with the intention <em>na mapalago &#39;yung sarili niya</em>, and <em>mapasaya &#39;yung mga tao</em>, <em>&#39;yung&nbsp;</em>audience that he serves. Donny is just so happy that all the supporters are there for him, whether it&#39;s a solo project or it&#39;s a project with<strong>&nbsp;Belle [Mariano]</strong>.&quot;&nbsp;</p><p>Donny and Belle have so far starred in four series (<em><strong>He&#39;s Into Her</strong>&nbsp;</em>seasons 1 and 2, <em><strong>Can&#39;t Buy Me Love</strong></em>, and <em><strong>How to Spot a Red Flag</strong></em>) and <em></em><em></em><em></em>two films (<em><strong>Love Is Color Blind</strong>&nbsp;</em>and<strong>&nbsp;</strong><em><strong>An Inconvenient Love</strong></em>). Much to the delight of DonBelle fans, the duo is reuniting in a movie this year.<em></em><em></em><em></em><em></em><em></em><em></em><em></em><em></em></p><div><br></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770868659999metro donato cup donny pangilinan 13.jpg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770869424724metro donato cup donny pangilinan 11.jpg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><p>As Donny turns a year older, with his place in showbiz even more solidified by his current and upcoming projects, Maricel shared how proud she is of the man her son has become. Although they discouraged him from joining showbiz, a cutthroat industry that she described as one that&#39;s &quot;not for the meek,&quot; Donny showed that it was the direction he wanted to take and paved his own path.&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;From day one, when Donny said, &#39;Mom, I want to be in showbiz,&#39; <em>kahit na sinabi ko sa kanya</em>, &#39;I&#39;m not for it, you have to do this on your own. I will not give introductions for you. I will just allow you to find your path.&#39; He did. He did it on his own, and when he found his path, <em>sabi niya sa&#39;kin</em>, &#39;Mom, can you manage me?,&quot; Maricel recalled, laughing.</p><div><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770869996123metro donato cup donny pangilinan 2.jpg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770870122260metro donato cup donny pangilinan 3.jpg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770870252962metro donato cup donny pangilinan 4.jpg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></div><div><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770870313021metro donato cup donny pangilinan 5.jpg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><p style="text-align: left;">With parents Anthony and Maricel, who raised Donny with a good head on his shoulders, the young multihyphenate sure knows where his heart lies, and whatever he does, he makes sure it&#39;s always aligned with his values and aimed at growth.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: left;">&quot;<em>Lagi kong ina</em>-advise <em>kay</em> Donny to just keep pursuing his passions and allowing these things to give glory to God,&quot; Maricel concluded. &nbsp;</p><div><br></div><p>Interview and photos by <strong>Lance Joseph Martinez</strong></p>

<p>Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan shared that it's always been Donny Pangilinan's dream to hold a golf cup, but what's even better now that he achieved it is that he's also doing it for a cause. </p>

Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan shared that it's always been Donny Pangilinan's dream to hold a golf cup, but what's even better now that he achieved it is that he's also doing it for a cause.

Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan on Son Donny's First-Ever Invitational Golf Cup for a Cause

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Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan on Son Donny's First-Ever Invitational Golf Cup for a Cause

Metro.Style

Published February 12, 2026 12:40 PM PHT

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Updated February 12, 2026 12:43 PM PHT

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