Pushing Changes and Industry Reforms: BONG REVILLA Talks About MTRCB

A thankful Bong Revilla recently pronounced his desire for changes and entertainment industry reforms specifically about the MTRCB and its functions.

He's been around the country, going to different regions to hear common folk stories to asses where he could help. Albeit doing this, he never incurred an absence in sessions, saying he's not going to take things easy.

He mentioned how much love he's gotten from his recent show "Walang Matigas na Pulis sa Matinik na Misis" together with Beauty Gonzales and an ensemble cast. Ratings were good, so was the feedback and he's looking forward to do more shows, a movie, and a dream project if everything fits.

He also touched on the Eddie Garcia Law which was done to protect actors and production from the unbelievable working hours they have in the past. Recent pronouncements from producers deem some parts of the regulation is a bit counter productive, and Bong Revilla wants to make sure some terms should be revisited, perhaps improved. Child actors are only allowed 4 hours, but some projects may require them to do more and they might need to see what they could do without sacrificing safety for them too. He says "The Eddie Garcia Law certainly is helping a lot of people, but I heard some producers are reacting with the terms, and some are gravely affected. I think we have to revisit the law again. We need to have a dialogue with the producers, the stakeholders, the actors, because some senior actors are not being tapped to cast anymore. This goes the same with the kids, it's going to be hard to get them to shine if we are being limited to 2 to 4 working hours. It's going to be hard to look for the next Nino Mulach, we need to revisit, study it further, including how government could support or fund them. We have a lot of actors in the Senate and I think it will be easy to prepare laws. Don't fret, because we all want to help the industry."

He also touched on the rising ticket prices for movies, and plans to find a way laws to make it more affordable in the coming years. He says "To watch movies together with your family, you would need to shell out more than a thousand pesos to get decent food, drinks and watch the film. It's too much. We need to think about those who can't afford to go to the movies. We need to fix it, and make sure things would get abused."

About the MTRCB taking more roles in regulation of digital streaming platforms and social media he says "Let's see if they are the right agency to handle it. It should be studied further, but it's an option, certainly. Things are getting out of control on social media, just a cellphone would gain them access. We think that should be further studied."

Here's the press conference on video:

Aside from the tasks he's doing now, he still makes time for family. His secret? Time management, something that has been inculcated in him by his father, the late Ramom Revilla. Every weekend, they always make sure to sit down for lunch or dinner, and talk amongst themselves if they need to resolve things at work, or with personal matters. 

He says "You should always find time for family, despite the schedule. It's a need. Like tomorrow, it's a Sunday. Yes there are times we have to work on weekends, but the few hours we can talk, we need to make an effort. This is something my Mom and Father taught us early on. I remember us lining up for questioning. Talk about the week that passed. We just continue to do that. I always tell them to use their heart, and they'll never go wrong. It's what would guide them. Never to also harm people, because that will go back to you. I went through pains, they saw it, and I was with them when I recovered. If a leader went through a really tough time, you could see my sons, they're tested by me. I am always there to guide them, I monitor them even when I'm busy."

Pushing changes and reforms see a tough task ahead, but it is somehow needed. So is genuine connections, thoughtful leadership.  

Swashbuckling Season 3 Finale of "Walang Matigas na Pulis sa Matinik na Misis" Coming This Sunday

If you're reading this, you've probably been following the episodes of "Walang Matigas na Pulis sa Matinik na Misis" every Sunday. They're going to do the season finale this week and it's going to be even more exciting than usual. Yes there will be relationship issues in between, but you better be ready for even more action scenes and blasts like you've never seen before on Philippine TV. 

Senator Bong Revilla will reprise his role as Tolome and just as soon as he professes his love at the altar for Gloria (played by Beauty Gonzales), some big trouble suddenly happens. Will this mean they're not going to have their happily ever after? 

Thing is, Tolome will have to do the legwork as his bride gets harmed/abducted. From scary underwater scenes to high speed chases on land and water, he's got to do something to get her back!

The show also includes a stellar cast like Ms. Carmi Martin, Jestoni Alarcon, Liezel Lopez, Niño Mulach, Dennis Padilla, Mary Bautista, Raphael Landicho and Jeffrey Tam. They also have guests like Jillian Ward, Ms. Gloria Diaz, Leo Martinez, Sid Lucero, Jon Lucas, Jay Manalo, Ryan Eigenmann, Faith Da Silva, Roxie Smith, Long Mejia, Boss Toyo, Neil Ryan Sese, King Gutierrez and Joko Diaz to even make things interesting in the finale.

Make sure you watch it on February 2 at 7:15PM all on GMA!

Get Ready for a Bigger, Better "Walang Matigas Na Pulis Sa Matinik Na Misis" as they start SEASON 3!

If you've been a fan of "Walang Matigas Na Pulis Sa Matinik Na Misis", they're on their 3rd season now on GMA. While made for TV (and judging from recent trailers), they've amped up production for the new installment, and from the looks of it, it's pretty great! If you're a fan of action films, the Revilla brand of comedy, cute and fun will be in the forefront of this show. Just like the previous seasons, he'll be with the gorgeous Beauty Gonzalez, Liezel Lopez, Nino Mulach, Maey Bautista, Ms. Carmi Martin, Jeffrey Tam, Michael de Mesa, and more!

According to Senator Bong "We really wanted to do something big and put movie level production and put it into this TV series. We couldn't have done this without GMA's help, especially Boss Anette Gozon, as we work with them at IMUS Productions. If you loved the first and second season, we're sure you'll love the third one because we're working with the best people behind the scenes and of course, very professional artists too."

It's been 30 years since they've done this on film, and this series that's being seen on TV will include the same cast, and additions because he also hinted a 4th season soon. They promise it'll be bigger scenes, something that fans of the show will surely love when it gets broadcasted on GMA's assets and on free TV.

Beauty says "Contrary to what people say, I find him very funny, he grins a lot, not really hard to make him laugh which I discovered while working with him. Sometimes we couldn't stop laughing and the director had to intervene because it's always fun on set. He also takes good care of us and the rest of the cast, he also lets everybody shine! He's still the same person that I've seen when we started, until now, which is really nice because he really lets us become stars in the show."

Here's our coverage of the press conference, please enjoy!

 

Lauded by other artists in the show, Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. has been described as the consistent leader, not just in the show but in real life. He also doesn't let his co stars do scenes half heartedly and always suggests areas to improve because he's been doing this for years. He also lets his co stars be comfortable, so when they throw lines, it feels like family. This is why they always appreciate things they do on set, because it feels good to talk to someone they trust. He's also someone who's becoming even better as time goes by. He still does the stunts on set, which makes his co stars admire him even more. This season will also include viral guy Boss Toyo who will play himself, funny man Leo Martinez, and Jestoni Alarcon so it will be very interesting.

The show will premiere this December 7:15 PM, every Sunday and same days thereafter. Make sure you watch them! I heard there will be some revelations about his other shows in the pipeline, much like a Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. multiverse of sort! So follow their social channels because it will be also announced there!

Industry Friends Host Bong Revilla Comeback

He was in jail for 4 and a half years, he feels 6 years of losing his life in all the mess that is, of the cases and accusations filed against him. Today I went the press conference hosted by his industry friends, a luncheon hosted by Mother Lily Monteverde the matriarch of Regal Films. 

Manay Ichu Maceda “I want to welcome Bong and I want him to know that the real friends are still in showbiz. His father used to work in Sampaguita, when Gina was born it was him who went to the hospital. His dad was a charmer, but Bong did good on making tax exemptions in the industry and I hope he continues that in the Senate.”

Mother Lily Monteverde says “People will always say what they want to say and especially nowadays people have always something to say. Everything we do has some shade of color, I feel we have lost the joys of being spontaneous, lost the right to make choices without people having opinions about them. But this afternoon, I don’t care what people think or what motives they think I have for this gathering. As far as I’m concerned and from my heart I am simply welcoming home a dear friend whom I have missed. Bong Revilla is a dear friend and we are happy you are back! There is no greater treasure than appreciating the blessing of friendship that has been given to us. Good afternoon!”

Senator Bong Revilla and Bacoor Mayor Lani Mercado Revilla

Bong Revilla says “I want to thank Mother Lily for hosting this welcome. Manay Ichu too. To everyone in TV and movies, entertainment people, the people whom I started in this industry, thank you. For almost 6 years that I lost, I am now 52 years old, but this will make me a better person, a better leader and a better husband to my wife. I have seen who my real friends are, those who care, I missed you all. Lots of tears, it hurts, it’s like I’m alive but almost feel dead with the suffering my family has endured over the years. My Dad still advised, I should forgive them. When I heard that, it’s like I heard God, I instantly forgave people who did this to me. I cannot convince everybody, I want to move forward, I went through the process and I faced these all because I believe I didn’t do anything wrong. The truth came out, and I am so thankful for the people who didn’t let go of the hope. I promise to even do more for the industry.”

He has been going to different places already “I have gone to provinces and I get a little sentimental about how warm the people have been. I am happy about the surveys even if I haven’t gone out, I guess it hasn’t sunk in yet the whole acquittal. It felt like divine providence, I have been doing good in surveys and seen how people have held on and loved me still. It’s one of the reasons I filed for candidacy, I decided after my birthday and all this I have prayed for. I was only asking for my freedom but I want the Lord to use me for his purpose. I believe in God. If we based it on equal judgement, I wouldn’t be worried but it has always been political, at the very last minute some papers also came out with preposterous stories. My life is an open book, showbiz has been good to me, I only want to give back to serve people. I have been working hard with hospitals, our industry, the poor, the bullied, I felt all that. I spent Christmas out but still in the hospital because Dad needed to be attended to. During New Year I got to do gift giving which my Mom started a long time ago. Lessons? I still have trauma with politics, but the good thing was I felt the love of my wife, she’s outstanding, I saw how she has been good to my kids. Getting jailed is like a nightmare you wouldn’t want others to feel. My life is colorful, like a film, it’s a lot for a book or a movie. This was the most horrible experience but I hope in some way it would be something people would learn from. I still know how many corners my cell had, how much cockroach flew to me or how much webs there were in each corner. I still have trauma when I see cops, I hope it gets out of my psyche. I wanted the truth to come out, to clear my name, my family, it was all I asked for. When I was being hit all throughout the years, I felt so much self pity, I felt I didn’t deserve it. What kept me hopeful was my wife, my family, what kept me busy there was worship, working out. I’ve been a Senator for terms, I chair public services, public works, mass media and others, I had 200+ laws passed and I want to focus on things that affect the lives of Filipinos. I was surprised about traffic, inflation, hunger, work and TRAIN law (must be revisited). That is what I want to do this time.” 

KUMAGCOW

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The Revilla Brothers for TRES

Had so much fun listening to the answers of the cast of TRES, a trilogy movie with episodes 72 Hours, Virgo and AMATS. The film stars Jolo Revilla, Bryan Revilla and Luigi Revilla. This shows on October 3, so we're excited to see how they'll tell us about it. They want to actually see their Dad in the presscon just like before but with the ways things are, they are hopeful things will get better. Senator Bong gave them the opportunity to make this and the brothers felt it would have been better with him in it. They are proud to see him personally attending to the scripts, the scenes and even ask about it every time they visit him. They want you to watch it too, and here they share their thoughts about the movie.

Rhian says "It's not my first time working with the Revillas and we had TV shows together. Father and sons have similarities and they know to take charge in the set, everyone is comfortable and well fed in the set. We always meet in the set and he doesn't sleep. We come together as a family, we eat together and I usually just sleep on that. I learned a lot with guns because Jolo taught me, he was easy to talk to, I thought he was like a politician, and I was putting conclusions."

Jolo says "I don't sleep because I always make it a point to be there when they need me. We don't do that because that means money wasted. It was hard to do this because it is a trilogy, we couldn't believe it will happen. 72 hours, AMATS and Virgo are for different audiences, it's got something dark, something tough and something that talks about drugs, so in a way we are targeting everyone as an audience for this film. We will be visiting cinemas soon, so if you are watching our you will hopefully see us too. Rhian was so easy to work with and she's very professional. She is my first choice. There will be more of these films, you can expect that with IMUS productions."

Bryan says "We really have moments and hang out in his home and the energy is different in the set because of that. We deliver because we rehearse a lot, our director is an honest guy. Our Dad said it out of the blue, he looked for it and we were even out of shape at that time. This is going to be action packed."

Luigi says "We had to be leads in our own story, our Dad made it a point to do that so we could feel how it is to be in his shoes. It wasn't hard because they made us do the movie with our strengths. Yes unfortunately I kicked Markki Stroem in a scene and got his tooth off, it was very intense so we didn't knew until it happened. I watched my Dad do Panday, and saw it behind the scenes. I didn't know I would be in showbusiness, like my Dad and Lolo who are legends. We are here to help each other and we complement each other. Ms Assunta is also very professional and we had to do things for our characters."

Assunta says "I am the leader of a drug gang and I use people but Luigi's character made me fall in love. We both need each other and not in a good way. We both need to survive and this is a need for love, he has no choice and we fed off each other. We had so much fun and I think it's because it's like I'm one of the boys so it's impossible to link us in real life. It's important to ask help, we worked with real good directors if we very away from our characters and that is a good thing. Luigi did good for a first timer. I wanted to make him feel comfortable because it was his first time, I said sorry on his first torrid kissing scene because it was intense. We acted it out on the first day and I think it was Direk Dondon's way of making us comfortable with each other, to make the audience learn something from it. There is a story, it happens in real life and I hope they got that first, of what drugs do with people, not to take advantage. We do not have to be predators to the weak and vulnerable."

Myrtle says "It's an honor to work with with the new generation of Revillas. My character is a little too innocent, but falls in love with a drug addict, that's a different thing to attack."

Richard Sommes says "I had to look for their skillset as an actor, Bryan was tough, very bad @ss and a different kind of action hero. When we worked together we didn't have a script yet but it was made with him in mind, he's a rogue cop. I am a professional director, I deliver even with limitations, I work with deadlines and deliverables and it's all part of the plan. We dealt with guns and had to close donwn streets because we had a dragon dance scene we had to work with it."

So if you are still hungry for more of these good looking guys, take a moment, a few hours to watch the movie. Bryan Revilla is a revelation, I haven't seen him in years but the trailer alone is crazy intense.

I will watch this I promise. This is under IMUS Productions and released by ABSCBN CINESCREEN under Star Cinema.

KUMAGCOW
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Luigi Revilla for TRES

This is my first time to meet Luigi Revilla, the brother of Jolo and Bryan. He's the son of Senator Bong Revilla and Lovely Guzman. Albeit coming from different moms, he was never treated as such and so when TRES was pitched for production they knew it had to include this guy. According to him, if his Dad says he's got to do this film, he will do it. It was so nice to see him in good spirits. 

Luigi says "I am doing a part of the movie called "AMATS", thank you for being here. I was studying so I wasn't around that much in showbusiness so I concentrated in my studies. I finished entrepreneurship in Enderun College. Right now I am learning the ropes of a few businesses I do with my wife. In AMATS, it has double meaning. It either has to do with dru9s or women. He's an addict, Assunta's character got him into the circuit. She's like a cougar, and I also am battling it out with Ronwaldo Martin's character here. My love interest here is Myrtle Sarroza, he fell in love and tried to get back on track. We feel these stories are apt for the third installment of TRES, and our directors have different styles but we all get along especially while we were doing this episode. What I want to tell you is that we all have something to give, I wouldn't say being a blackbelter would be an advantage, it's more of a strength and I hope people would love it."

He adds "AMATS is different, 72 hours is Bing Revilla esque, my brother Bryan is dark and his acting comes out. AMATS is more millennial, not much explosions but fast paced moves utilizing my skills. I always go to him and talk about the scenes, I like his style because we get to be inspired by music we also use to motivate actors on the scenes. I had a scene here with Markki Stroem and he lost his tooth when I kicked him in the face, props to him he was so professional and it was accidental. It was one big fight scene and that happened, unfortunately."

On his brothers he says "We first saw each other during the wake of my grandma, I think it was God's plan that we meet in Boracay and every Sunday since we get together, I am so blessed that even Tita Lani accepted me from day 1. She never made me feel out of place, I love Tita Lani and I am blessed they accepted me in the family and now we are so close. My wife and Tita Lani are also very close, I am so happy that happened."

Luigi is a young Dad, he wanted to have a son early. He wanted to be a family oriented guy so he could spend time with family, he wanted to become like his Dad and the type of person he is. With this movie, he hopes to get that it opens up doors of opportunities for him and his brothers so they could make more films and help people behind the scenes too. He prays that his Dad continues to be strong, he doesn't want him to be free so he could be with all of them and make up for the years that he hasn't been able to be there because of circumstances. He's thankful for the opportunity to work with his brothers and until now he feels he is dreaming.

I hope the industry accepts them with open arms so they could enjoy something they love to do, acting. They would gladly do the legwork, his Dad is very hands on from the people who are doing this film and he wants to one day work with his Dad, hopefully soon. 

Good luck Luigi!


KUMAGCOW
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More Exciting Scenes On Dugong Buhay

Who among you has been following DUGONG BUHAY in Kapamilya Gold? I do! And the story is just about to get more hot as the next generation of actors take lead in the next few days because as the plot unfolds there will be more things happening to the characters of Ejay Falcon who plays Gabriel de Lara / Victor Bernabe, Arjo Atayde who plays Rafael de Lara, my favorite Yam Concepcion who plays Sandy De Guzman and Jed Montero who plays Trisha. We got the chance to talk to them a couple of weeks ago during a pocket press conference and seeing Yam again and the rest of the cast was something I was really looking forward to.

Carlo J. Caparas' Dugong Buhay Now in ABSCBN Kapamilya Gold!

A few days ago, we were invited to the grand press conference of "Dugong Buhay". It was initially written and published for Philippine comics and got the chance later on to be foretold in the silver screen. There are several names mentioned in the 80's film that made this an epic one since this was the very first film where Actor-Senator Bong Revilla appeared with his Father Ramon Revilla Sr.

There was hesitation in the beginning because the Revilla's wanted this to be done in movies again and interpreted by Jolo and his father Bong. Telling this on the small screen was another story because no other than ABS CBN took the pains of doing it and produce a teleserye engaging on drama and action which has not been seen that much on TV these past few years. Directors Toto Natividad, Mickey del Rosario said that this was one of the most exciting series to date that they have done because they were given lee way to interpret this freely by ABS CBN after being seen 30 years later.

Here are some shots from the press conference. Enjoy!

MMFF: Si Agimat, Si Enteng Kabisote at Si Ako!

I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to see Juday and Senator Bong Revilla but who wouldn't be happy seeing Bossing himself Vic Sotto a few nights ago during the blogcon for the movie Si Agimat, Si Enteng Kabisote at Si Ako at the classy Annabel's restaurant in Tomas Morato.

Without much questions about other pressing matters, I was so nervous asking some of the first ones thrown to him because yeah I do get seldom starstruck. The movie he said was going to be bigger and greater than ever because the float alone would cost them a million pesos so just imagine how much more they spent for the making of this movie.

Bossing Vic didn't have any problems with billing nor coordinating with Bong Revilla or Judy Ann Santos Agoncillo because from the very first day of negotiations it was more of like a gentleman's agreement. They didn't have any problems with the crew either because from the director alone they were confident that they'll do a great job. He's also happy that Raiza is joining them in this movie because she was so happy being with them using her very own artist's chair. They were happy to see her enjoy her time while filming and proud for her since she did a great job doing it.

Bossing Vic says this film was intended to be shown for the whole family and they were glad it was rated G by MTRCB. This is another reason to go out on theaters this Christmas. Make sure you watch it on December 25 and have tons of fun, adventure, comedy and a little drama that's got a touch of realness to it. There's also an environmental message that you'll learn about after you see this on screen. It's directed by Tony Y. Reyes and OctoArts Films, MZet Television, APT Entertainment, Imus Productions and GMA Films. Make sure you watch it!

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