Still glowing in orange despite the latest series of bad news that rocked her family in just three weeks this summer, Janine Gutierrez spoke from the heart about the importance of taking care of one’s health, specifically in getting insured for your hospital needs, after she is launched as the latest ambassador of iCare.
On April 12, 2025, Janine’s paternal grand mother and Asia’s Queen of Songs Pilita Corrales died in her sleep. Pilita is the mother of Ramon Christopher Gutierrez, known in showbiz as Monching, the father of Janine.
Four days later, it was Janine’s maternal grandmother and the Superstar Nora Aunor who passed away on April 16 due to acute respiratory failure. Janine’s mom, Lotlot de Leon, is one of the four adopted children of Aunor.
Just two weeks later on May 2, award-winning actor Ricky Davao, the former husband of Jackie Lou Blanco, Janine’s aunt, succumbed to cancer.
Janine took her time to answer question on how she is slowly returning back to work after sad events in her family. But she could not be more grateful with family to whom she has anchored her coping process with, and the need for a guaranteed hospital care in HMOs (health maintenance organization) like iCare.
Janine is the first celebrity to ever endorse entirely an HMO, advocating on proper health management and readiness for hospital care. “Madami sa atin, nasa hospital na nga, instead of getting well, iniisip pa kung paano mababayaran ang hospital bills,” she shared.
Popular to the BPO sector, iCare is one of the biggest HMOs in the Philippines, it in fact placed third in terms of highest net income in the first quarter of 2025 according to the Insurance Commission. Its main innovation is its user-friendly app which helps its users including consultation using Telemed7.
HMOs served as medical insurances are enrolled members pay monthly, often with contributions from employers, so that they are covered in common reasons for hospitalizations. Come hospital confinement, users don’t need to pay hefty bills.
According to Carol Dominguez, iCare’s Board Member and John Clements, its President and CEO, choosing Janine Gutierrez as its ambassador is beyond strategy, it is also deeply personal. “My brother, Leo Dominguez (of LVD Talent Management) is one of the respected talent managers in the country. More than that, he was a man of unwavering principles. He believed in artists with soul, who led with substance and who made their craft matter. Janine is one of those artists,” Dominguez said.