Coco vows caution with political endorsements

CEBU, Philippines – At the recent media conference for his forthcoming series “Ang Probinsiyano,” teleserye king Coco Martin said he made the mistake of voting for certain candidates in the last elections. That’s why for next year’s polls, he will be more careful and discerning in choosing whom to vote.

He confirmed that there are already some politicians seeking his support but he declined to name them. “Honestly, there are some who are approaching or asking, or sending feelers but for me, it’s not just my future that is at stake here,” Coco said in Filipino. He said that he has grown tired of politicians who didn’t keep their promises.

“All of us desire for change not only for ourselves but also for our children, for our family and our society. It is very important that at this point, I need to hold on to my beliefs, and understand how things should be. Once I have voted for certain people, they will be the ones in power. They will do whatever they desire.”

“I told myself that this time, I will be strict in choosing the people whom I will trust or whom I will help,” added Coco. He said some of the people he had helped failed to live up to his expectations.

But not everyone whom he supported disappointed him. He is proud of what Senator Sonny Angara did and so with President Noynoy Aquino. “We may have different opinions, but I am proud of President Noy,” he said.

If he will have his way, Coco would like to see new and young politicians leading the country so we can have the change that we are all hoping for.

“If it is possible, I’d like to see new people being elected so we can have a new society. If we will only add the same people to what we have and elect the same people to the same positions, I don’t believe we can see the change that we are hoping for. We will still be in the losing end,” said Coco.

“If there will be a chance, let’s go for change. Let’s elect new blood so we can effect change.”

Change is also what prompted Coco to accept the challenge to do the TV remake of the Fernando Poe, Jr. movie “Ang Probinsiyano” which FPJ Productions and Dreamscape Entertainment produced for ABS-CBN.

“We want to pay tribute to the members of our police force. We want to change their image which has been tarnished because of some bad eggs in their ranks. But majority of them are good people who are diligent in their job and they deserve to be given tribute,” added Coco who plays a policeman in the series directed by Malu Sevilla and Avel Sunpungco. He had the chance to watch many FPJ films because his grandmother who raised him was an FPJ fan.

“We want to bring back the respect of the people to the police,” said Coco, who underwent training for his dual role as a cop in the Police Academy in Laguna, even having his hair shaved in the process to make him look like a real rookie cop.

* * *

Regal Entertainment producer Lily Monteverde marked her 76th birthday a few weeks ago and to celebrate the event, she threw a party at her Valencia Events Place. The party was supposedly an intimate gathering for Mother Lily and her friends from the entertainment press. But since Mother Lily is well-loved in showbiz, other personalities both from showbiz and politics came to the party as well.

Among her well-wishers were presidential candidate Mar Roxas and his wife Korina Sanchez, as well as Senator Antonio Trillanes. The presence of Mar and Korina became controversial because many thought Mother Lily had thrown her support to Mar’s candidacy.

Mother Lily is known to support candidates whether it be for governor, senator or even higher positions. Whenever it’s campaign period, Mother Lily sponsors press conferences for several candidates so that the members of the entertainment press will have the opportunity to meet them. And she does that for everyone, whether he or she is a member of the administration or the opposition. Mother Lily helps them all. It was the Regal matriarch who paved the way for the movie press to meet then presidentiable Defense Chief Fidel V. Ramos. She also supported Senator Loren Legarda, among others.

So it should not be a surprise if Mar should attend Mother Lily’s party. If we remember right, we saw the picture of Mother Lily and her daughter Roselle when PNoy made his announcement that Mar was his choice as successor.

Mother Lily said that people should not jump to conclusions that she is supporting Mar. The election is still far away and anything can still happen. Besides, she can’t drive anyone away from her party.

What makes Mother Lily occupied these days is the release of several movies under Regal. First to be released this month is “Resureksiyon,” a horror flick featuring Jasmine Curtis Smith, Isabelle Daza and Paulo Avelino.

Other forthcoming Regal projects are “No Boyfriend Since Birth” starring Tom Rodriguez, Carla Abellana, Mike Tan and Kiray Celis, directed by Jose Javier Reyes; and the New York-filmed “Pre-Nup,” starring Jennylyn Mercado and Sam Milby, directed by Jun Lana.