HINDI in-expect ng sikat na YouTuber at vlogger na si Mikey Bustos na magiging positive ang pagtanggap ng madlang pipol sa pagbandera sa kanyang pagiging bisexual.
Kasabay nito ang pagpapakilala niya sa publiko ng kanyang partner na si RG Garcia na siya ring tumatayong manager niya ngayon.
Sa grand mediacon ng bago niyang campaign bilang tourism ambassador ng Taipei, Taiwan sa Pilipinas, ang “#UndiscoveredTaipei” ay magkasama sila ni RJ na humarap sa press at game na game na sinagot ang mga tanong about their relationship.
Inamin nila na pitong taon na rin silang magkarelasyon at talagang inilihim muna nila ito sa publiko dahil kailangan nilang protektahan ang kanilang career.
Bakit nagdesisyon na silang lumantad? “First, there’s career–and this is a big thing here in the Philippines. The culture here is generally conservative, like old-fashioned.
“Not all are okay with a person being gay. I find that there’s a stigma. And so, I think this stigma has carried on into show business.
“So RJ and I, we’ve been so blessed throughout our career to be the face of many brands, many services, many advocacies and a lot of these contracts have the ‘wholesome clause.’
“So for the longest time, RJ and I were afraid to break our contract because it was our source of income and it was our bread and butter. And now, basically, we were just tired of hiding.
“It’s gone to the point where we don’t care if it affects my career. And we’ve chosen happiness over money,” ang paliwanag ng Filipino-Canadian vlogger na sumikat sa kanyang funny but informative videos about Filipino culture.
Pagpapatuloy pa ni Mikey, “It was a mutual decision between me and my partner. We’ve been dating for almost seven years now. So, it was just time.
“I’m almost 38 and I really wanted to be my most authentic self and deliver the message,” aniya pa.
Tuwang-tuwa at feeling blessed ang vlogger dahil sa mainit na suportang natatanggap nila ni RJ mula sa LGBTQ community, “It was all love, I didn’t expect that. And it gives me hope for the Philippines and the LGBTQ community. It’s been all love, nothing but love.”
Samantala, kitang-kita ang pagmamahal nina Mikey at RJ sa isa’t isa sa launching ng #UndiscoveredTaipei, ang latest tourism campaign ng Taipei, Taiwan na humihikayat sa mga Pinoy at iba pang mga taga-Asia na bumisita sa nasabing bansa.
Talagang asikasung-asikaso ni RJ si Mikey kaya maraming members ng LGBTQ sa event ang nainggit at na-inspire sa kanila.
Ito na ang second year ni Mikey bilang ambassador ng Taipei sa Pilipinas. Siya pa rin ang kinuha ng Taipei government dahil sa matinding impact ng kanyang mga vlogs tungkol sa kanilang bansa kaya naman tumaas ang bilang ng mga turistang pumupunta sa Taipei.
At ngayong taon nga, magpapatuloy ang kanyang journey as Taipei tourism ambassador sa pamamagitan ng #UndiscoveredTaipei, “It’s my second year as ambassador and I’m truly honored and grateful for this and to be able to visit Taipei.”
Highly-recommended daw niya sa mga Pinoy na bibisita roon ang Beitou Hot Spring at ang super favorite niyang Taiwanese food na Stinky Tofu.
At dahil kabilang na nga ang Taiwan sa mga bansang pwede ang same-sex marriage, posible rin daw na doon din sila magpakasal ni RJ.