Elijah Canlas and his family just successfully held the 2nd annual JM Canlas Badminton Cup in honor of his late brother. The 24-year-old actor and his family are also busy with their KULIT foundation (named after their nickname for JM which stands for Kalinga, Unawa, Linaw sa Isip, and Taglay).

“I think he would love that. Yun yung gusto namin growing up, to be successful in our field so we can help more people, especially the less fortunate ones. Feeling ko matutuwa naman siya sa ginagawa namin ngayon. Since it just became official, parang last year we held a fundraiser and then late last year dun lang siya naging official non-profit organization na ito. We have our board members and mental health professionals consulting this organization and yung mga gusto namin gawin pang programs. The only way to reach out basically right now is to follow our social media pages,” Elijah shared in a recent guesting with host Gary Lastrilla on PUSH Bets. 

READ: Elijah Canlas honors late brother JM in badminton cup: 'Gusto namin madami kaming matulungan'

In his interview with PUSH ABS-CBN, Elijah looked back on how his relationship really was like with his late brother. Growing up in a family of three brothers, Elijah talked about his late brother JM who was six years younger than him.

“Medyo malaki yung difference but we really grew up together. Like when you have brothers, you wrestle, you pull pranks on each other, nag-aaway kayo. You bond over certain things. Pareho kami ng taste sa films, sa music. Parang we really share those personalities. Naalala ko before he passed when he was studying in La Salle, magigising na lang ako randomly at 6 a.m. or 7 a.m. na may nagbubukas na ng mga cabinet ko, ‘Kuya, pahiram ako ng damit na ‘to.’ Like ganun kami ka-comfortable with each other,” he shared.

READ: Elijah Canlas holds 2nd annual 'JM Canlas Badminton Cup'

The Sunshine actor also shared what are the most precious memories he has with his brother, from the very first one to the one he cherishes the most.

“It changes from time to time. Ideally, yung pinaka-vivid na memory sa akin was the first time I saw him when I was six years old, dinala siya sa bahay. Iniwan siya ng parents ko sa room kasi behave naman siya as a baby. Tapos I was just looking at him, kinakausap ko siya as a kid. Nag-lock lang yung eyes namin. I now have a younger brother. Iba yung feeling na may younger brother ka eh. Gitna kasi ako so na-experience ko maging bunso, na-experience ko maging kuya. Iba yung feeling niya.

"But right now, favorite memory ko was his last birthday two years ago. He wanted to play badminton para i-salubong yung birthday niya. Tapos busy lahat ng family namin so ako lang yung kalaro niya. Siyempre dinurog niya ako. Siguro two points lang na-score ko or three points. I had that video sa old phone ko bago nasira and I used to watch it a lot. Pero I remember kasi sobrang humble lang din niya and since bata sobrang kulit niya kaya KULIT ang name ng organization. Kulit tawag namin sa kanya kasi sobrang kulit niya talaga, as a kid pa lang even until growing up,” he recalled.

Another emotional moment Elijah shared with his brother happened last year when he went to watch the concert of one of JM’s favorite artists by himself.

“Bago pa sumikat, ike-claim ko na sobrang big fan na yung brother ko ni Olivia Rodrigo. I think it was the start of the pandemic nung 2020 and he was obsessed and he would make me watch her series and he would make me listen to her old songs. Meron siyang mga Olivia merch, yun yung mga hinihingi niyang gift, ‘Kuya, gusto ko ng Olivia hoodie.’ Tapos fans would give him gifts din ng Olivia stuff. Tapos he had this whole corner sa PC setup niya sa kuwarto niya ng mga Olivia stuff,” he said.

Elijah said he did not want to share the moment with anyone else but his brother, even if he could not physically be there anymore.

“I got to watch the Olivia Rodrigo concert kasi we’re in the same label sa UMG so I was privileged enough to get tickets. they were offering me two but I said I only want to watch it with my brother even if he’s not here na, gusto ko lang panuorin with him. So I decided to go alone. Tamang celebration lang. I tried to enjoy it as much as I can kasi alam ko ito yung mga kantang pinaparinig niya sa akin. Ito yung mga kantang kinakanta niya, memorize niya, and that he loves and panagarap niya mapanuod si Olivia Rodrigo. Pinangako ko yun sa kanya, ‘Sana makapunta tayo sa wherever kasi baka matagal pa before she goes to the Philippines.’ But napaaga last year. Nakapunta si Olivia and I had to, I had to watch her,” he added.

Elijah Canlas's younger brother, JM Canlas, passed away in August 2023 at the age of 17.