Television host Kuya Kim Atienza was emotional in his first interview about the death of his daughter Emman, who passed away in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 22.

"Lord kahit bigyan mo ako cancer titiisin ko yan eh. Madali ang physical pain kasi natitiis mo yun eh. Pero yung mamatayan ka ng anak, masakit. Masakit. Hindi ko alam saan galing ang sakit. Basta masakit lahat. (Lord, even if you give me cancer, I will endure it. Physical pain is easier to endure because it is physical. But when you lose a child, it hurts. It hurts. I don't know where the pain comes from. Everything hurts)," Kim told Jessica in a teaser for an interview on "Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho." The full interview will air on Sunday, Nov. 2.

Kuya Kim recalled the day when he received a sad text message from his wife, Fely, about their daughter. Two days before Emman passed away, Kim said the family knew her daughter had a problem.

"Emman texted her mommy. Sabi niya mom, 'I'm in an emergency right now. But worry not, there's no self-harm. But I need to go to a therapy center.' So we knew there was something wrong. We tried calling but hindi siya sumasagot.

"The next day, we tried calling her again, hindi pa rin sumasagot. I was in the Philippines, then Fely was in Florida. May pickleball championship. Buti na lang nasa America na siya when it happened. I was waiting here.

"On the second day, when I woke up in the morning, may message si Fely. I have terrible, terrible news. I knew already. Nanlambot ako at napaluhod ako. Sabi ko, 'Lord eto na.' So I called Fely. And Fely said, "Emman's gone.' Nanlambot ako. Nanlamig. Ang nasa utak ko, 'Lord, dasal ko sa'yo ito araw araw. (I felt weak and fell to my knees. I said, 'Lord, here it is.' So I called Fely. And Fely said, "Emman's gone.' I felt weak. It felt cold. My mind was, 'Lord, I pray to you for this every day.) Why?' Fely flew right away to LA. Yun na nga. Two days later, I also flew to LA," said Kuya Kim.

The Atienza family said the remains of the 19-year-old social media star are now in the Philippines. The wake details for her will be at Chapel 5, The Heritage Memorial Park, on Nov. 3 and 4, 2025, from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

"I'd like to think that my daughter did not die in vain. We know Emman is sick. She had a few attempts in the past. And my prayer to the Lord every single day is for this not to happen: for Emman to be safe, to be happy, to heal. Yet this happened.

"I know that nothing can happen by accident. And I know that all things work out well. Everything is planned by the Lord. I know Emman did not die in vain. May dahilan at ang dahilan ay maganda. That gives me peace," Kuya Kim also said.

Reacting to reports that Emman was terrorized by her nanny when she was younger, which led to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Kim said, "We were keeping that secret—nalaman namin ang mga details na yan in one of her attempts in the past.

"Meron siyang mga kinausap na therapist at sinabi ng psychologists, na nagkaroon siya ng PTSD. At ang dahilan ay yun at yung mga kinuwento niya. We were keeping that secret to protect her. Nagulat na lamang kami noong nilabas niya sa interview kay Toni (Gonzaga). (She had talked to therapists and psychologists, who said that she had PTSD. And the reason was that, and the things she told us. We were just surprised when she brought it up in the interview with Toni (Gonzaga).

"Pero hindi lang niya nilabas yan kay Toni. She kept talking about it with passion. She's open about it. Despite the pain, she was reaching out. Nagkukuwento siya eh. That's a sign na okay ka eh. Ang advocacy niya is mental health, and wag madi-depressed. Yun pala, she was suffering. (But she didn't just bring it up with Toni. She kept talking about it with passion. She's open about it. Despite the pain, she was reaching out. She was talking. That's a sign that you're okay. Her advocacy is for mental health, and don't get depressed. That's it, she was suffering.)

"Yung two years niya sa social media, kung saan marami siyang nakilala, marami siyang nailabas at naikwento," Kuya Kim said.

Kuya Kim discussed how the family is managing after the loss of Emman.

"I am good. I'm good. But grief comes in waves. Minsan biglang bumabagsak. Ngayon okay ako. Ayoko mag-isa dahil pag mag-isa ako medyo mabigat. (Sometimes I suddenly feel weak. Now I'm okay. I don't want to be alone because when I am, it feels a bit heavy.)

"I look at social media because I get inspired. Sabi nga ng mga kaibigan huwag ka na lang tumingin. Yung mga comments hindi ko binabasa but yung posts binabasa ko. I can see that Emman's death has touched a lot of lives. Nagulat ako, even Americans, people from outside the country, are making comments about Emman and how she has touched their lives.

"Malakas si Fely. She's a strong woman. Ang way of coping niya is getting busy taking care of the wake, pag-ayos na bahay. Galing kami sa LA ng ilang araw eh. That's what keeps her sane and not grieving too much. Ako ang emotional sa family but now I'm good

"My children are good. I raised my kids strongly. But with Emman, I didn't know that deep inside, she is suffering. She put up a strong front. A happy front. Yet she was suffering and in pain," Kuya Kim added.

Kim believes her daughter's death had moved so many people, mainly when some of the popular media outlets in the US carried the news.

"I can see that she's moving a lot of people, not only in the Philippines but worldwide. She was in the New York Times, TMZ, and Entertainment Tonight.

"Painfully, I was reading all the comments and articles. But what's good is that they wrote about what happened and what she stood for, which is a little kindness," Kuya Kim added.