Hajji Alejandro at Concert

Marco Sison is still coming to terms with the loss of his friend and fellow hitmaker Hajji Alejandro, who passed away in April this year.

- By Nathalie Tomada

On the sidelines of his presscon for his July 25 major concert "Seasons of OPM" at The Theatre at Solaire, the veteran singer recalled to The STAR their last show together and the friendship they shared off stage and behind the scenes.

He told this paper that his friend's death after a battle with Stage 4 colon cancer was just as shocking to them as it was to the OPM community and fans.

"Hindi siya masalita (Hajji). Hindi siya makwento," Marco began. "We even had a concert on Feb. 13 in Vigan. Sobrang saya namin dun, pawis na pawis pa nga siya."

But just a few days after the show, Marco received the unfortunate news.

"After a few days, I learned that he was brought to the hospital. Tinanggalan na siya ng kung ano ang tinanggal sa kanya... Nagtanong ako, 'Kailan tayo pupunta (bibisita)?' Sabi, 'Sa bahay na lang kasi magre-recover.' Nung nasa bahay na siya, (I asked) kung kailan kami pupunta, sabi nila, 'Huwag na muna.' Siguro nahihiya siya sa itsura niya. Hanggang sa... nawala siya. Sabi ko talaga, ano yun?"

He never got to see Hajji again.

"Hindi ko na siya nakita physically. Yung urn na. So, my last memory of him was when we were seated next to each other after the show. We were eating, tapos masarap yung kwentuhan. It was there where I invited them to my (solo concert). And they said, no problem. We were OK. He even asked, 'When is that?'