Liza Diño says she used to resent late dad Martin's public service

Liza Diño admitted that she used to hate his father, former Interior Undersecretary Martin Diño’s dedication to public service—only to realize later that it was the trait she ultimately inherited from him.

Liza, the former chairperson of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), could not help but tear up as she remembered her dad over three years after he died of cancer.

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“I really feel na ‘yung dedication niya sa public service yung nakuha ko talaga sa kanya,” she said in an interview with Inquirer Entertainment. “Lumaki ako na I hated that about him. I always say, ‘Yung oras na ginugugol mo sa ibang tao, oras siya na nawawala sa pamilya.”

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“Lumaki kami na wala siya. I used to resent that. [Sabi ko,] ‘Mas pinipili mo pa pagsilbihan ‘yung ibang tao kaysa sa amin,'” she recounted. “And then it happened to me.”

(I really feel that the dedication to public service is the trait I truly inherited from him. I grew up hating that about him. I would always say, “The time you spend serving other people is time taken away from the family.” We grew up without him around. I used to resent that. I would say, “You choose to serve other people more than us.” And then it happened to me.)

Liza said she ended up doing “the same thing” Martin did, even asking her husband, Ice Seguerra, for understanding as she made public service a priority over their family.

“So the things that I resented about my father—biglang mas nagkaroon ako ng appreciation sa ginawa niya (suddenly became the very things I appreciate about him),” she stated.

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She recalled hearing remarks about how she appeared to have become “addicted to serving.” Liza then cited how seeing her father dedicate himself to helping others fueled her own commitment to public service.

“‘Yung pang araw-araw na pinagdadaanan ng isang typical Filipino are the problems that my dad was facing every single day. And he gives it with so much importance, in the same way na bibigyan niya ng importansya ‘yung malalaking bagay,” she said.

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“Natutunan ko sa kanya ‘yon, na walang maliit na bagay—na kung ano ‘yung pangangailangan ng industry in a national level and in a bigger scale is the same devotion and commitment that I give towards a film worker na kailangan ng assistance and support,” she added.

(The struggles faced by an ordinary Filipino every day were the same problems my father dealt with every single day. He gave them as much importance as he did the bigger issues. I learned from him that no concern is too small—that the same devotion and commitment I give to addressing the needs of the industry on a national and larger scale is the same dedication I extend to a film worker who needs assistance and support.)

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Liza served as the FDCP chair from 2016 to 2022. She and Seguerra currently manage Fire and Ice Entertainment, the production company they founded. /edv