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Nathalie Tomada - The Philippine Star
May 13, 2025 | 12:00am
Joe D’ Mango, the beloved radio DJ and relationship guru who now serves as a missionary pastor in Australia, is set to collaborate with MavX Productions for more “Love Notes” projects, following the recently released romantic drama, “The Last Goodbye.”
Now based in Canberra, Australia, Joe flew back to the country to attend the premiere of the film, which is inspired by a 2002 fan-favorite story from his iconic radio program “Love Notes” that became a highlight of the “Love Notes” book.
During the post-screening conversation, Joe found himself addressing the movie’s exploration of grief — a deeply felt theme given the country’s recent heartbreaking events, including the SLEX and NAIA 1 incidents.
“Lately, ang daming balita. I’ve already seen the film before but as I was watching the accident scene, I can just imagine the pain of those who have lost people recently. Alam naman natin yung mga nangyayari,” he began.
‘The Last Goodbye” stars Kapuso actor Matt Lozano and Kapamilya actress Daniela Stranner as high school classmates Xavier and Heart.
“Suffering is part of life. But hindi ibig sabihin na… if you’re a follower of Christ and you believe in God, it doesn’t mean life would be free of suffering. It’s part of life. Ang sa akin lang, suffering is… there’s always a reason for things happening in our lives.
“And para sa akin, it’s important to understand in spite of how difficult our situation is, in spite of how painful our situation is, even if it doesn’t seem or look good, God is still good. And He will always have a reason and purpose for a lot of things to happen in our lives.
“All we have to do is trust Him because He has good and better plans for us. And pain and suffering will always be the foundation of which beautiful things are going to be built by God into us,” he said.
Joe relocated to Australia in 2013 with his family. He’s been balancing his pastoral work with social media engagement, particularly his “Love Notes,” and running a small restaurant.
“We left in 2013, we planted a church, Victory dito. We were accidental missionaries and I’m now pastoring a church in Canberra. I’m also doing a bit of social media and we’re running a little restaurant as well,” he shared.
“So, everything is fine. I have four daughters and three grandchildren now after we left (the Philippines). God is good.”
Joe D' Mango with the cast members of the film and director Noah Tonga (rightmost).
Meanwhile, “The Last Goodbye” stars Matt Lozano and Daniela Stranner as high school classmates Xavier and Heart. Though seemingly mismatched — she’s beauty and brains, while he’s the unassuming goofball — they discover friendship, young love and its joys and somehow inevitable pains. Set in the early 2000s, the film is directed by Noah Tonga and produced by MAVX Productions, the company behind such movies as “A Faraway Land,” “I Love Lizzy,” “A Journey,” and this May 21, “ConMom” starring Paolo Contis, Kaye Abad, Patrick Garcia and Empoy Marquez.
Besides the premiere, Matt said that Joe D’ Mango also came to the set of “The Last Goodbye” in Daet, Camarines Norte.
“Nakasama namin si Sir Joe mismo sa shoot namin sa Daet. Masaya because we really felt his presence (and support),” he said.
“He was able to come to the second cycle of shooting. I am very excited for him to see this movie,” added Daniela.
The ABS-CBN Star Magic actress further described the movie: “It’s about two high school sweethearts. They started out as friends and ended up as lovers. Here in this movie, you’ll see different levels from loving to moving on. It’s a nostalgic movie.”
Matt and Daniela behind the scenes with co-stars Troy Regis, Karina Bautista and Esnyr.
Photos courtesy of MavX Productions
She added that it was not hard to embody her character because “the story was just very light and sweet, and it’s not only about us. It’s easy to portray (the story) because you’re also with your friends.”
It was the same experience for Matt. He said, “It was so easy for me to play my character because of Daniela also. Grabe yung pinaparamdam niya na emotion sa akin also. It was easier for me to put myself in the shoes of Xavier.”
Other cast members in “The Last Goodbye” are Arlene Muhlach, Bodjie Pascua, Lui Villaruz, Karina Bautista, Troy Regis and Esnyr Ranollo.
Joe D’ Mango himself teased that this will be the first of more adaptations of “Love Notes” with MavX.
“I think this is going to be the start of a series of ‘Love Notes’ projects with MavX. It takes time lang po, but we have a lot of things lined up. I’m very excited about that,” he said.
“Actually, may sequel story na po ito (‘The Last Goodbye’). Please support it. If this goes well, mayron na pong Part 2 ang movie na ‘to. Hopefully. God willing, it pushes through.”
“The Last Goodbye” is still showing in cinemas nationwide.
