Burnaby, B.C.
Michael Buble gives his Lolo’s house to caregiver
to fulfill dying wish
Teodoro ‘Ted’ Alcuitas
‘Grandpa thank you so much,’ Minette said. ‘Wherever he is, he’s still thinking.’
The caregiver known only as ‘Minette’ thanks his former ward as the well-known singer Michael Buble surprised her with the house which he has given to her.
“It is to fulfill his dying wish,” the 44-year old star said of his donation of the house his grandfather Don Demetrio Santaga, popularly known as Grandpa Mitch built in the 1970s .
Michael explained to a stunned Minette: “My grandfather, his greatest wish was not just that this house was kept in the family but that this would be your home because he loved you so much.”
As Minette began to cry, Michael added: “And so there is no documentary. This is all for you.”
While Milette was back in the Philippines, Buble had the house renovated by TV personalities The Property Brothers to be completed in time for her return. She rents a part of the house which was empty after grandpa died in December 2018.
Milette does not want herself to be in the limelight and so Buble told her that a documentary was being filmed about his grandpa and she has to be in it, revealing the surprise at the last minute.
Years ago, instead of putting his aging grandfather in a home, Michael hired Minette, a nurse and former community health worker in the Philippines.
Minette was family
‘My grandfather didn’t really want anyone here, but Minette was a perfect match,’ he remembered. ‘My grandfather went from a little bit resentful to absolutely becoming one of her best friends, and she became family almost instantly.’
Minette took care of ‘Lolo’ (Filipno for grandpa) for eight years until his death in December 2018.
Growing up, Michael had fond memories of his grandpa, visiting him almost daily, and they’d listen to songs by Ella Fitzgerald and Dean Martin, singing them together, he recalls.
“Here was this really compassionate, kind empathetic human being with a great sense of humor, a great zest for life, who sort of never did anything for herself,’ he reflects about Minette. Buble says Minette sent all her earnings to help relatives back in the Philippines.
‘I think my grandpa would be thrilled knowing that we could maybe lessen the burden a little bit in allowing Minette to continue helping her family without it being so hard on her.’