The State of Grace

CEBU, Philippines - Ever since Mary Grace Poe - Llamanzares took over as chair of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board  in October of 2010, there seems to be no “grace period”—as how they put it—as the board had to deal with a string of controversies, the latest of which involving TV5’s embattled program “Willing Willie.”

But so far, it appears that the only daughter of showbiz royalty Susan Roces and the late National Artist for Film Fernando Poe, Jr. is showing “grace under pressure.”

“It’s been very interesting,” Grace describes her job to The FREEMAN in an exclusive interview recently. 

Grace shares that at first she had qualms heading the board because of the time and energy she is expected to pour into it. “Before [MTRCB], I was working for the family, wherein there wasn’t really a regular time, whereas here you have to be physically present all the time. It is a challenge especially because I have three kids,” says the 40-year-old fashion-savvy mom of a 19-year-old boy and two girls, aged 12 and 6.

While the post is her initial taste of public service, rumors were rife then that she was eyeing an elective post during the May 2010 elections. “The rumor was true that I had plans of running as senator,” she admits. “But when I asked my mom, who is not the type who says no right away, you can tell that she was really against it. She told me, why don’t you go around and test the waters? So, I went around with (former president) Erap Estrada and Sen. Chiz Escudero. Then people were saying how can I consider the public position such as the Senate when I didn’t have the experience in public service?” 

“Eventually it started to sink in, because true, I didn’t have the experience. Plus, I didn’t have the financial capability. And my mom was not supporting me. She would have been my biggest endorser. Well, she could endorse me, but I didn’t really want to risk that because her heart is not there. She is allergic to politics,” she says, hinting at her father’s failed bid for the presidency in the 2004 national elections as the main cause.

But the MTRCB appointment is a slightly different story. 

“The reason why my mother became semi-supportive of the MTRCB thing is because she knows the industry. A large part of the reason is the familiarity with the people you’re going to help. This is the industry that helped the family, and I guess, sustained me since I was able to afford a good education,” says the Political Science graduate of Boston College in the US.  

While there’s no telling yet if her job is the stepping stone she needs to assume a bigger role in the political landscape in the future, Grace claims it has, nevertheless, been an eye-opening experience. “Actually, now that I am holding a government position, it’s not more of an encouragement, but somehow I’m able to see all the limitations. It’s not easy. This is an appointed position, but you still feel very accountable, how much more with an elective position? It will be a difficult position to find a balance between people who will be supporting you, and people who won’t be supporting you.” 

At any rate, she says that under her leadership the MTRCB will still function like a watchdog, but not by imposing stricter rules but by encouraging dialogue with producers in creating quality material for the viewers. “I still would like to project its responsibility to the viewers. We have to uphold standard community values; it’s not really the imposition of a particular religion or belief. We have to be in tune with the times. That’s why we have a good diversity in our board, so they will represent different sectors: parents, writers, directors, somebody from the clergy who’s involved with communication and film.”

“The image we want to have of the MTRCB is that it is actually helping the film and TV industry thrive. How do we do that? By having an open mind especially when reviewing and rating films and by making sure that we do our jobs responsibly and fairly, and by encouraging them to include in their shows and movies any project that would have some sort of a value to impart to the viewers.”  

She says that there were some films in the past that the board gave the X-rating, and which she wouldn’t if given the choice, but since she couldn’t overrule what has been decided on, she hopes now that they’re forming an appeals committee, they’ll be able to see more of the merits of the film when it goes to that level. 

Grace is also very much aware of the influx of what critics tag as poverty porn and other materials that magnify the negative elements of Philippine culture and society. While these may be reflective of realities, she believes: “Our reflection of life is not all bad and controversial. There are certain things like love of parents towards children that would inspire courage and nationalism. These are not outdated values, but these could take us to progress. It’s not naman a bad thing to encourage something good to be shown in our movies. It doesn’t mean that just because you show the controversial aspects of our society, it’s a good film.”

One concrete plan that should further this direction is the social awareness ad that the board is coming up that is based on the book of Alex Lacson entitled “12 Little Things You Can Do For The Country.” “We will get actors from all networks to present it. The cable operators agreed to show it. If they have anti-piracy ads, why can’t the MTRCB help uphold certain values? Let’s talk nicely about the Philippines because impressions are very important.”

Grace admits that she doesn’t get to religiously follow TV nowadays, except for her mother’s “Babaeng Hampaslupa” drama series on TV5. But when she has the time, she also goes to the movies. One of her recent favorites is “In My Life,” starring Vilma Santos, John Lloyd Cruz and Luis Manzano. “I lived in the States for 12 years. I know what it is like to live there and how difficult it is. My mom, when she visits me there, she really gets depressed because it’s so quiet and she feels that you don’t have a life there. I can totally relate to the film.”

But of course, she’s the biggest fan of the films of her father, touted as the King of Philippine Cinema. “I may be biased but I mostly like my dad’s movies like ‘Muslim 357’ since it’s action-packed plus it also glorifies the contributions of the Muslim community, and ‘Aguila’ with director Eddie Romero.”

“Actually, my favorites are the action-packed ones. For Hollywood films, this is kind of shallow, but I love those of Jerry Bruckheimer and his partnerships with Don Simpson, the Bad Boy series, conspiracy types of films... I suppose it’s the influence of my dad.”

Grace remembers that as a child, she would wear all of her father’s costumes. “My mom is so fair and so perfect, parang I’d rather follow my dad because it seemed more fun.”

She reveals that she went through a phase wherein she dreamt of following in her parents’ footsteps. “When you’re young, you have a simplistic view of the world, so you look at your parents, and say I wanna be like them too! So, I can be more like a part of their world.”

“But later on, when I got older, I thought how difficult it was to be compared to two established people in a particular industry. They blazed the trail, but it would be all smoke for me by the time it’s my turn.”

“I was not as tall as them and physically, I didn’t look like them, parang I tried to do something which still has some sort of public exposure, like student politics when I was studying at University of the Philippines (before Boston College)—so not necessarily in showbiz, but you still have interaction with people.”

Even if she stayed mostly out of the public eye, it could be constricting growing up with such famous parents. She recalls participating in one student rally in Quiapo, and when she got home, her father asked her if she was in that area. Shocked, she asked how did he know. “And he goes, lagi akong may shooting doon, kilala ko na ang mga police dun.”

But she has always been conscious and careful of how she conducts herself, and not just because of the status of her parents. “I am adopted. That’s why I felt I really have to grow up responsibly as a way of giving back to my parents.”

While not being openly discussed in the media, her being adopted is not a secret in showbiz circles. She even learned about it when she was roughly six years old, and the way it happened proved very painful to Grace. “In school, one of my classmates was mean enough to tell me, hindi ka naman talaga anak ni... Children can be mean, saying things that they hear from their parents. So, I went home crying and asked my mom. She said, of course not, we chose you, or  something like that, without really saying yes or no.”

“I couldn’t remember her crying at that time, but so many times after that, she would be crying, saying ‘So many children come from their mother, but look at how they’re growing up. Their mothers don’t look after them. But with you, we went through a lot just to have you.’ Because my mom made it an official adoption, they really went to court,” Grace says matter-of-factly. 

Addressing wild rumors of her “biological” origins, she tells it in a lighthearted tone, “There are rumors that I’m the daughter of my mom’s sister, Tita Rosemary (Sonora) and a certain politician. So nakakahiya! When I see my Tita Rosemary, we just laugh about it. But we kinda look alike and my husband would always tell me, are you sure because pwede talaga. But that’s not true. And my mom would not hide it, I mean what for? There are secrets that I have known that are worse.”

What was important was that her parents never made her feel any less and were always reassuring of her place in the family. “Yes, I was curious of where I came from, and I would ask my parents, but my mom said, she didn’t really... you know. Suspicion, suspicion, but they’re from the province in Iloilo.”

Grace continues, “When I was brought to my parents I was less than a year old. But before that I was already baptized, it was Cardinal Sin who baptized me, as he was still the bishop of Iloilo then. I have pictures of the family that brought me to my parents but nobody’s really admitting who.”

“I’m no longer pushing the issue. I am just grateful I have my parents now, but I pray for my birth parents, because at the very least, at least, maybe they saw to it that I would have a better life.”  

She, nevertheless, laments that “what’s hard if they attack you and say that my being adopted is the only qualification in getting this position of MTRCB. They say, what makes her think that she can be MTRCB head when she’s only—only, take note—the adopted daughter? But that is something that you cannot change. It’s not like you can better yourself and not be adopted anymore.”

She, nevertheless, reiterates: “I encourage you to talk about me being adopted. You can repay those who adopted you by becoming the best person that you can be.”

Grace, out of daughterly obedience, gave up her burgeoning career and comfortable life in the States and returned to the country for good right after her father died in 2005.

She fondly remembers her last bonding session with “Da King.” “You know my dad, he didn’t like to travel abroad. I think the last plane flight he took was in 1963, it was the plane that crashed and killed the Manila Boy Scouts. They took the flight after my dad’s.”

“But in 2003, he travelled to visit me. I took him to Disneyland, and what was funny, siya ang kinukunan ng picture because ang daming Pinoy sa Los Angeles. It was heartwarming! Finally, the Disney people said ‘we can actually schedule a tour for famous people from your country for your security.’ Then, there was one boy who just went in front of my dad and in his American accent, said, ‘Dad, dad isn’t he the one you were watching in the videos?’”

The last father-daughter interaction was a phone call a couple of weeks prior to his death, which was six months after the 2004 elections. 

Looking back on how things turned out during the said elections, Grace says that while there are issues that remain unresolved, they are moving on by making the most of what they have now. Still, at the state that she’s in, especially in her career, it will not be really hard to imagine Grace picking up right where her father left off. (FREEMAN)