Bong and the Pirates

Ramon "Bong" Revilla is very busy not only on screen but even off camera. As an actor, he is visible not only on TV with his top-rating weekly GMA 7 sitcom, Idol Ko Si Kap, but also on the big screen. Unlike other stars who just do one movie a year, he has just wrapped up his third film this year, Ang Agimat, Anting-Anting ni Lolo, which is an entry in the annual December film festival. He is also busy apprehending film and audio pirates in his capacity as Videogram Regulatory Board Chairman. You’d wonder if he really has an agimat or amulet that makes it easy for him to juggle his hectic schedule that easily.

"Actually, it’s not that easy," he says. "But when you love what you’re doing, then you wouldn’t mind the pressure and the demands of your work. And it just so happened that I really love acting and I really enjoy helping the local film and music industry by running after the pirates who destroy our business. And mind you, I still have my family to take care of. I would have to thank my wife, Lani, for being a good mom to our six kids. She really takes good care of them. Ako naman, when I am free during weekends, I make sure we all have lunch and dinner together as a family."

His two previous films, Mahal Kita, Final Answer with Rufa Mae Quinto and Kilabot at Kembot with Assunta de Rossi, were both blockbusters. He is confident that Ang Agimat will be an even bigger hit because it is intended for kid viewers who troop to the theaters during the Yuletide season.

"This is the Christmas gift of Imus Productions not only to children but also their parents, something that their entire family will really enjoy," he adds. "We’ve already spent P35 million for the production. We have built expensive special sets and used special equipment for the film which has high-tech elements that recall such Hollywood hits as The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, The Mummy, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and even Spiderman. Local moviegoers are now very discriminating, so we have to come up with films that can match the kind of thrills offered by foreign ones. Our movie is also the first local picture to employ digital sound. Others are using Dolby, but only mono. Ours will be like those of foreign films with sound effects that surround the theater, and we are importing an expert sound supervisor from London to make sure it would be of world-class quality because we want to market Agimat abroad."

Three generations of Revillas will be seen in the film: Sen. Ramon Revilla Sr., Bong, and his son Ramon "Jolo" Revilla III. It is Jolo who actually has the biggest role as Pao, a teenager who inherited a brass pendant from his late father. With the help of a hermit (Ramon Sr.), Pao learns how to get the magical stone that will give his amulet some special powers. Before he gets the stone, he has to pass three crucial tests that pit him against some monsters and magical creatures.

Pao becomes the nemesis of evil forces when he succeeds in getting the amulet activated. He can be transformed to a child wonder, Pao Pao (played by child star Goyong), when he needs to be small and agile like Spiderman. And he can also morph into a mythical superhero, Paulo (played by Bong), when he is faced with grave danger, like the Queen Manananggal (Mylene Dizon), who terrorizes their small town of San Roque.

"History repeats itself in this movie," Bong reveals. "In 1982, I was launched by Viva Films as a young action star in Dugong Buhay, with my own dad supporting me in my first lead role. Now, exactly 20 years later, I am doing the same to my own son who is also in the cast of Idol Ko Si Kap."

In all honesty, who does Bong think will turn out to be the better actor, he or his son? ‘I must say it’s my son. When I was launched to stardom, I was very raw. When I watch Dugong Buhay, I cringe because I can see that my acting left so much to be desired. I have so many unnecessary mannerisms. In the case of Jolo, he had the advantage of taking several acting workshops before he faced the camera. Also, he got enough training playing a regular role in Idol Ko si Kap. He is definitely much more relaxed in his style of acting than I was when I was starting. I really admire my son for, this early, I can see he is very much dedicated to his craft. Sineseryoso niya."

Jolo says he also admires his father very much. "As an actor, he is my idol. He can do both comedy and action films very well. I also admire his dedication to his job as chairman of the Videogram Regulatory Board. I can see he really wants to help the local film industry in booting out piracy."

Doesn’t he have any complaints at all, what with his father’s reputation as a womanizer?

"I have no complaints. He’s a good father and I know very well that he really loves my mom and there’s no other woman in his life."

At this point, Bong jokingly butts in with a naughty smile on his lips, "How can you be so sure?"

Jolo also smiles. We ask him if he won’t be a ladies’ man like his grandfather and his dad. "I don’t want to be a chick boy dahil ayokong may masaktan akong babae," he replies.

Bong butts in again laughing. "Are you sure nasasaktan nga sila?" he asks.

In Agimat, Jolo has two leading ladies: Shaina Magdayao and Katarina Perez, while Bong has no leading lady at all.

"See, ikaw nga itong mas playboy kaysa akin diyan," Bong kids his son. "I do nothing in the film but figure in ferocious fight scenes not only with the Queen Manananggal but also with the Mummy Queen played by Nancy Castigleone and with an Ancient Stone Warrior who springs to life played by Carlos Morales. These are some of the film’s exciting highlights."

We ask them both of if they really believe in the power of an agimat or amulet. "In my case, I really believe in it," says Bong. "I’ve seen for myself how it works. Men who wear amulets, talagang hindi tinatablan ng bala. Napapaso lang sila. But the power of amulets is only temporary. You have to regularly feed them with incantations so that they will not lose their magical power. Also, you have to use them para sa kabutihan and not for evil purposes, for them to be effective. Someone whom I believe really has an agimat is my dad. He just went through a series of setbacks in his health but he’s still very much alive and kicking."

Sen. Ramon Revilla earlier had a heart bypass operation. Then he lost his voice after a series of operations he had in the US early this year.

"My car fell into a ditch when my driver avoided a truck and my head hit the roof," he says. "My son-in-law, Sen. Robert Jaworski, took me to a specialist in San Francisco. They gave me an MRI and I then left for L.A. I soon got a call urging me to return to San Francisco because they had to operate on me immediately as I had a critical condition in my spine that could paralyze me for life. So I was operated on for nine hours. They inserted a titanium brace through my neck. After I left the hospital, I returned to L.A. and had another accident there. I fell and four of the screws were detached so I had to be operated on again for seven hours. My hospital bill went up to $150,000. All in all, I stayed two months in the hospital."

More recently, though, he had a stroke and had to be confined again in the hospital. It’s good he was able to finish his participation in Agimat before this happened. No wonder Bong says he really has an amulet.

"I became known for amulets after I made a successful comeback in the true-to-life of story Nardong Putik, who claimed to have several agimats," explains Sen. Revilla who started his showbiz career in the early ’50s at Sampaguita Pictures as leading man of Gloria Romero in films like Cofradia, Bim Bam Bum, Mr. Kasintahan and Kurdapya. After that, I made more films about real life people with amulets, like Pepeng Agimat, Kapitan Eddie Set, Tiyagong Akya and Kapitan Inggo, Kumakain ng Bala. But the truth is my agimat is my strong faith in the Lord. As long as I continue to receive His blessing, I know I will still be very much around to serve our people."

He’s glad to be back on screen with Ang Agimat. Actually, at first, I didn’t want to do the movie. But Bong implored me to do it for the sake of my grandson, Jolo, para three generations daw kami. So I gave in to his request. My scenes were shot inside a cave in Tanay and it was so tiring going up there. I play a hermit who gives the agimat to Bong and Jolo. But now, I’m happy to be a part of the most expensive film our company, Imus Productions, has ever produced. It’s our way of thanking the public for supporting us all these years."

His older son Marlon, who supervises the production, says they are using not just one but three companies for the special effects: Optima, Unitel and Shockpost. "If we want this to be viable in the international market, we have to make sure the technical aspects are truly of world class quality," adds Marlon.

Going back to Bong, if he were given an agimat in real life, what would he do with it? "I will use it to fight the terrorists who are now sowing fear in our land. I will use it against the film pirates and against corrupt officials in our government so our country can really move on towards achieving peace and prosperity. And that’s really my personal wish for our countrymen in the coming holiday season and in the New Year. I pray that our economy will progress because that can also mean better days for the local film industry."

As VRB chairman, Bong is really in a fighting mood. He aims to wipe out all the pirates who are destroying the local film and music industries. He personally led raids at the notorious homes of pirated CDs, VCDs, and DVDs in Elizondo and Arlequi Sts. in Quiapo where they collected a total of 1,700,000 pirated films and music albums estimated to amount to about 85 million pesos. The stuntmen working with Bong personally carried the hundreds of boxes of illegal goods and brought them to the PNP warehouse in Camp Crame.

This was followed by more raids in malls and shopping centers throughout Metro-Manila selling pirated VCDs and DVDs, and in secret factories in Bulacan that replicate pirated films. Since then, Bong estimates that he has confiscated P500 million worth of pirated goods and P1.5 billion worth of replicating machines. We heard he is now receiving a lot of death threats because of this. Does these scare him?

"No. In everything I do, I see to it that I finish what I’ve started," he replies." More raids will be conducted. I really mean business. They tell me there are untouchables behind piracy. I told these are members of the notorious Chinese 14-K group and when they were outlawed in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, they brought their illegal operations here, supposedly backed up by some big people in the government. I’m warning them that I’m not scared to step on anyone’s toes. Masagasaan na ang masasagasaan. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo herself congratulated me for the raids and told me to keep up the good work. I make sure that all the confiscated goods won’t be recycled with the help of the PNP and the NBI. And I’m glad because when a survey was conducted among the president’s action men, I came out number two, after the MMDA’s Bayani Fernando. That’s enough encouragement for me to go on with my mission. I just hope the other big stars in the industry would make their presence felt in this campaign because what the pirates are doing is economic sabotage and if we could curtail them, it’s the film industry that would profit. We should all be in this together."