"Dikong Deo was the one who discovered me in Baguio, where my family used to live," Robin says. "I was only 16 years old then. My first exposure was on the TV sitcom produced by the late Ate Luds, Prinsipe Abante starring Cachupoy. In films, I was introduced in Public Enemy Number Two starring Eddie Garcia and the late Nida Blanca, produced by Cherry Cobarrubias. Then, after six years of trying so hard, Viva Films gambled on me in 1989 in the action movie, Hindi Pahuhuli ng Buhay, where I was introduced with Dawn Zulueta. It did well at the tills and I was given more starring roles, like Hinukay Ko na ang Libingan Mo with Eddie Garcia and Bad Boy, my first title role which gave me the tag Bad Boy of local show business. I also owe a lot to Ma’am Sharon Cuneta because when we were paired in Maging Sino Ka Man, mas lalo akong tinanggap ng tao."
He courted Sharon but she got mad when she found out he was already living with Liesl Sicangco.
"It took a long time before she forgave me. That was the time na sunod-sunod ang girlfriends ko, like Leah Orosa and Jobelle Salvador (with whom he has a kid each), then Vina Morales and Kris Aquino."
He was into a lot of vices that time. "I was into drinking and into drugs. And I was fond of guns, which proved to be my downfall."
In 1992, Robin was arrested for illegal possession of firearms and was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to 10 to 17 years of imprisonment.
"Looking back, I would say it’s part of God’s plan to open my eyes. If I weren’t sent to prison, I probably would have done a lot more mischief or I could have been dead by now. I could not even hold my temper then. In jail, I became very active in the community of prisoners. I went back to school, involved myself in various sports activities, helped organize my co-prisoners to wage a campaign against drugs inside the Muntinlupa. I was able to re-examine my life and my faith. I met some Muslim elders and it was with them that I found the kind of spiritual life I was looking for. I used to be a Jehovah’s Witness, but my faith was not that strong then. With Islam, I gained peace of mind. I became a much better person. It’s a struggle up to now, but we have elders who help me along the way to make sure I won’t go backsliding."
Robin has truly become a source of inspiration to other prisoners. His exemplary behavior while serving his sentence resulted into his being released from prison through provisional parole. Producers were eager to get his services again and he was able to stage one of the most successful comebacks in local showbiz. From being an action star, he branched out to romance with Regine Velasquez in Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw and comedy with Pops Fernandez in Videoke King, which both did well at the tills.
"I’m really thankful to the public because they gave me another chance," says Robin. "Several companies have even hired me again as their product endorser."
Can he say he is now also a much better family man?
"Oo naman. Actually, my decision for my family to live in Australia was for their own good. At the time I was just freed from jail, my eldest daughters were being teased in school. ‘Ang tatay n’yo, ex-convict’. So, I told Liesl it’s better for them to stay with her parents in Brisbane. It’s hard because we’re so far apart, but we all have to make a sacrifice because they now have a more peaceful life there. My three girls grow so fast. The eldest, Queenie, is now a teenager. Our youngest, the boy Ali, is five years old."
After devoting all his attention the past year to his ABS-CBN action soap, Basta’t Kasama Kita, he has returned before the movie camera to do Kulimlim, Viva’s entry in the coming Manila Filmfest. This is the first time Robin is doing a horror-thiller and he is understandably excited with his very demanding role.
"At first, I was hesitant to accept the project because my director is Maryo de los Reyes, whose Magnifico just won awards in the Berlin Filmfest. This is my first time to work with him and I’m worried I might not meet his expectations. But the role is really challenging and it would be foolish for any actor to bypass it. It’s so different from what I am in real life. As Jake, I play a rich gunstore owner who’s very devoted to his wife, Tanya Garcia. Tanya has two kids. The first one, Ronaliza Cheng, is ours. But the second, a boy played by Joshua Dionisio, was born after she was raped by three men: Ryan Eigenmann, Jhong Hilario and Marky Lopez. I’m very cold to the boy and this is understandable because he’s not mine. The three rapists went to jail, but after eight years, they were released and I’m angry that they got their freedom so easily. I had them summarily executed by a general who’s a friend of mine."
It is after the three men were killed that some strange things happen to Robin. While they are vacationing in their beach house in Zambales, he starts acting strangely, acquiring the mannerisms of the three dead men and suddenly being partial to Tanya’s son whom he used to avoid. In contrast, he becomes distant to his own daughter, a clairvoyant who can see that her father has been possessed by evil spirits. In portaying the role of the possessed man, Robin has to change all his usual behavior and even had to put on prosthetic mak-eup in some scenes.
"Ryan Eigenmann is bald, so when he possesses me, dapat kalbo rin ako," he explains. "I cannot let them shave off all my hair because I need it for my TV show, so they had to put on prosthetics on me to make me look bald. It takes hours to do that and we’re shooting in the middle of summer kaya sobrang init talaga nito. But after watching the film, I can say that all the hard work we put into its making is really worth it. I’m really proud of Kulimlim."
We know he has long been dreaming of winning an acting award, which has proven to be so elusive for him. Will Kulimlim finally make him win as Best Actor? "All those who have seen the film keep predicting that, but I don’t want to expect anything so I won’t be disappointed. Basta I did my best and I’m glad everyone on the set, from my co-stars to the technical staff, cooperated to make sure this will be a thriller that will really give the viewers a good scare. More than the awards, I’d rather see the movie making big money at the box office so that Viva can produce more movies and give more jobs to industry people na halos walang ginagawa ngayong the film industry is on a slump."
His leading lady, Tanya Garcia, is often criticized for her ineffective acting. How is she in Kulimlim? "She’s sure to surprise a lot of people. As the wife who sees her loving husband being transformed into a frightening monster, she has plenty of difficult scenes and direk Maryo always tells her after each take: "Very good!’ Ako nga, hindi nabe-very good. Instead, after my take, direk Maryo would pause then say, ‘Let’s do another version.’ But I do understand that he does this in his desire to perfect my acting because the role is really hard. And let’s face it, I’m an action star at sanay ako sa ibang style ng acting, so he has to motivate me differently for this movie where the role is so different from those I’ve done before."
Does he believe in possession? "I do. Even among Muslims, we believe in the existence of bad spirits. When I was nine, when we were living in Biak na Bato, Quezon City, I saw when a cousin of mine was possessed. He was behaving in a weird manner and became violent na parang papatay. My mom called a priest to perform an exorcism rite and my cousin calmed down only after the priest sprayed holy water over him."
Six years have quickly passed since he was freed. Robin says he now wants to expand his horizons and take a long rest in Australia where he intends to give his kids his undivided attention and later go back to school with his wife.
"First, I want to take some courses to improve my knowledge of English and Arabic. This is in line with my plan to put up a school for Muslims in my home in Fairview. We have some schools now for Muslims but they are not properly credited by the Department of Education, so I want a school na legitimate talaga for my fellow Muslims. I’m not going to charge them. Free lahat as we’ll put up a school called madarasah teaching Muslim doctrines."