MANILA — Joaquin Arce, a housemate on “Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) Celebrity Collab Edition 2.0,” candidly discussed his impairment with Kuya, or Big Brother.

Arce revealed his right ear deafness to Big Brother or Kuya on Day 32 of the well-known reality show.

“Pinanganak po akong bingi sa kanang tainga. Never ko po naranasan na may dalawa akong tainga na nakakarinig. But my entire life, I’ve been looking at it in such a positive light na hindi ko po napansin ang mga negatibong effects,” Arce stated.

“Noong lumalaki po ako, hindi ko po naramdam na may special needs po ako. Kasi ‘yung mga magulang po, they treated me like I wasn’t deaf, they didn’t treat me na kawawa ako. They enforced positivity na dahil dito unique ako. As a kid, inisip ko po siya na super power ko siya. Superpowers are what make superheroes unique, that what makes them superheroes and not normal people,” he stated.

Arce stated that he had improved as a listener as a result of his impairment.

“At dahil po dito actually I make it a habit sa pakikinig sa mga tao, para marinig ko lahat nang mga sinasabi. I guess I became a good listener because of that,” said Arce, who is the stepson of actress Angel Locsin and the son of businessman Neil Arce.

Arce discussed his impairment while expressing how happy he was to be a part of his roommate Marco’s drama play. Marco chose to share the tale of his brother, who has down syndrome.

“Sa kuwento ni Marco nagta-tug po talaga sa heartstrings ko po. … Talagang masaya po ako na pinili niya ako para maging part sa kuwento niya. I really feel for him,” Arce stated.

Big Brother went on to say that he is proud of Joaquin for accepting his impairment and using it to his advantage.