Regine Velasquez and Ogie Alcasid during their interview with Karmina Constantino for her YouTube show 'KC After Hours.' Screenshot from KC After Hours on YouTube
Ogie Alcasid opened up about a near-death experience last December during his 15th wedding anniversary celebration with Regine Velasquez-Alcasid.
The so-called "OPM Chief" revealed he lost consciousness after choking during an interview on broadcast journalist Karmina Constatino's YouTube show "KC After Hours."
"My eldest daughter got married last year. I wanted that to be the highlight of the year. That was the event of the year for our family. But of course, I did not want 2025 to go without celebrating our 15th [anniversary]," began Ogie, who appeared on the web show with Regine.
"Let us go to our favorite island and bring family, 50 of us. Of course, I could not afford that so I can just sing one night. I had a concert and she guested," he recalled.
"After the concert I was chatting with the band and I have this bad habit of not chewing my food. So nakipag-kwentuhan ako and I choked on the chicken I was eating. It was quite dry and I had a bad cough too. I choked and lost consciousness," he added.
Ogie's daughter Sarah, who is a nurse in Australia, was able to come to his aid immediately.
“She pounded his back. It was a few seconds but we could have lost him. I was so scared and I was so shocked, I could not believe it. In my head I kept thinking I could have actually lost him,” Regine explained.
“I regained consciousness and she was holding my face. She said, ‘Dad, can you hear me? Can you breathe?’” Ogie shared.
Ogie said the experience gave him perspective and shifted his focus to “family and more important things.”
“I had so many realizations that night. Then we had a convo (conversation) with my son and family. What I realized from that experience is that yes, life is really short and it comes so unexpectedly.
“And going away while eating chicken is not ideal. It is not a good way to go, not a good look,” he said in jest.