Robin Padilla: ‘Time for us to embrace a Visayan president’

CEBU, Philippines – Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has a huge fan in Robin Padilla, and if it was up to the actor, the official notorious for his take-no-prisoners brand of leadership should be the next president of the Philippines.

“Siguro, it’s time for us to embrace another system of governance. Itong sistema ngayon, it’s not working,” Robin told The Freeman on the sidelines of his recent book donation activity at SM City Cebu.

“I’m a fan of Duterte. I think it’s the right time for us to embrace a Visayan president,” he added when asked of his thoughts on the recent Maguindanao tragedy.

The former “Bad Boy of Philippine Movies” had said in previous interviews that he agrees with Duterte’s pro-federalism stance, which  calls for power sharing between national and provincial governments.

Robin, who converted to Islam almost two decades ago, has also made known his stand to support peaceful means of resolving the conflict sparked by the Maguindanao encounter – even when baited in interviews to start a word war with fellow actor Richard Gomez who has been vocal of his views of an all-out war.

Book revolution

The charismatic action star was in town for MoneyGram’s turnover of more than 6,000 books to 10 public elementary schools and five colleges in Cebu.

MoneyGram, a global money transfer company which Robin endorses, donated books and educational materials aimed at developing children’s English language skills, enhance knowledge of business, legal and science professions, and infuse students with an early love for reading.

Cebu was among the beneficiaries chosen as it is still recovering from the loss of educational infrastructure and supplies that were destroyed during super typhoon Yolanda in 2013, said MoneyGram’s regional manager Alex Lim.

Robin lamented the dwindling interest in books in the digital age, and hopes the donation would spark a renewed love among the youth to browse through a paperback’s pages, instead of just clicking away at gadgets.

“Maliit na bagay ang libro pero pinakamahalaga dahil karunungan ito,” he said. “Inabot ko pa ang kahalagahan ng libro. Nag-aalala talaga ako sa kabataan ngayon, kaya magkaroon tayo ng rebolusyon. Ibalik natin ang [interest sa] libro. Huwag naman puro Wattpad.”

MoneyGram, a partner of M Lhuillier, has worked with The Asia Foundation, a non-profit international development organization, to donate more than 28,000 books to more than 30 schools throughout the country through the Books for Asia program.

Shining example

Robin showered the crowd at SM City Cebu his full attention that Tuesday afternoon, spending a good amount of time with fans who wanted to snap a photo with him or simply shake his hand.

On the fulfillment he gets touching base with fans, Robin said: “Ang pinaka-rewarding ay yung mga ngiti nila, kasi hindi nababayaran yun. Kapag lumapit ka sa tao at napangiti mo sila, solved na ako dun. Hindi na nila kailangan magsalita.”

The secret to his drawing power after all these years, he said, was sincerity. “Hindi kasi ako plastik sa mga tao. Kung ano yung nakikita nila, eto na yun. Siguro yun ang sikreto. Kita naman yun diba?”

Young actors and celebrities could take a cue from Robin, who dished out tips to showbiz upstarts on how to handle fame and the influence that goes with the territory.

“Maging magandang example ka. Sana yun ang sundan ng mga batang ito. Huwang silang maging pabaya, lalo na ngayon na ang influence ng social media, matindi. Nung panahon namin, hindi naman ganito. Parang 24 hours, naka-hook up sayo yung fans mo kaya malaking bagay na maging good example sila.”

He continued, “Iba kasi generation ngayon eh, kaya hindi natin sila pwedeng i-judge totally. Isa na rin yung mas mabilis sumikat sa panahon ngayon. Para sa akin, yung generation na ito, kulang sa character. Dapat kasi kapag bumuo ka ng isang aktor, dapat may character – ibig sabihin, magalang, mapagmahal sa tao, hero…dapat hindi nawawala yun. Sana mabago, kasi kapag walang respeto, wala lahat.”

Robin also pointed out the importance of stars nurturing genuine relations with the media.

“Kasama mo kasi sa trabaho ang press. Tandaan mo, hindi ka kailangan ng press; kailangan mo sila. So respetuhin mo sila. Pagdating naman sa character, nagmumula yun sa bahay eh. Tsaka lahat ng bata naman nagdadaan sa rebellious stage. Pero dapat pagdaan mo sa stage na yun, you look back at matuto ka. Hindi naman puwedeng 45 years old ka, rebel ka pa rin. Ang tawag dun, bad man.”

After reaping awards for his MMFF 2014 entry “Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo,” what’s next in the drawing board for Robin? “Meron kaming mga binubuo ngayon. Dapat gagawain ko yung Fallen 44, kaya lang marami din ang gusting gumawa, kaya pinabayaan ko na. Nagshu-shoot kami ngayon ng ‘Ang Tatay Kong Hoodlum’ kasama ko yung anak ko, si Kylie [Padilla]. Ipapasa ko na sa kanya,” he shared.

Robin is currently seen on TV5’s Saturday night sitcom “2 ½ Daddies” with siblings BB Gandanghari and Rommel Padilla.