TAMPA, Florida - Action drama prince of Philippine television Gerald Anderson headlined this year’s TFC Hour at the Philfest Village in Tampa.

"Every time na may TFC ako and I see these amazing people doing amazing things, conquering different countries, sobrang na-iinspire ako… ang galing ng Pinoy, ang galing ng Tampa," he said.

Lucky fans also got to meet and chat with their idol.

"Naku, nakaka-kilig, ambait-bait ng batang yan," said Erlinda Czyzewski of Merritt Island.

On his 27th birthday last month, instead of having the usual big celebrity birthday bash , the Fil-Am star held a benefit dinner to launch the Gerald Anderson Foundation , a non-profit that will provide K9 search and rescue services to help save lives in times of calamities or disasters in the Philippines.

The first group of K9’s is now training in tracking, area search, article search, obedience and even cadaver search, while Anderson and his team of volunteers will be trained as effective handlers of rescue canines.

"Yung makakatulong kami, yun po yung motivation talaga ng foundation, yung mga personal experience ko sa floods, sa mga nanganagilangan ng tulong, hindi bilang artista pero bilang isang tao, someone who has power and nasa position para makatulong sa iba," the Kapamilya actor said.

Anderson is now filming AWOL, an indie movie that he hopes to shine a spotlight on the plight of Filipinos in uniform.

"Sobrang kulang sa pansin and hopefully, I can bring yung much attention dito sa mga sundalo natin, to make a difference. At the end of the day, nakakalungkot kasi maraming tao ang hindi nakakaalam na may giyera sa sarili nating bansa," he said.

Tampa’s Philfest marks the beginning of TFC Sama Saya 2016. From the east coast to the west, Kapamilya stars like Anderson will party it up with kababayans in Pinoy fiestas all over the US this summer.

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