Robin Padilla: Lost & Found

He's a changed man now and he has vowed to remain that way forever and ever, amen! So help him, Allah!

Robin Padilla is a "good boy" now, no doubt about it, and his goodness is obvious not only externally but, as can be gleaned from his present philosophy in life and God-centered outlook and attitude, internally (emotionally, mentally, etc.). His "bad boy" image has long been buried -- good riddance! -- never to be resurrected again. . . knock on wood!

When he showed up for the presscon of his latest movie, Star Cinema's Tunay na Tunay, Gets Mo? Gets Ko! at a function room of Annabel's Restaurant in Quezon City, Binoe (as he's still fondly called by friends, a throwback to his, well, "clueless" days) was wearing not the usual cap in reverse but a white skull cap, white slacks ("No underwear," observed a very perceptive movie writer) and light-colored shirt. Very Muslim.

He's at peace with himself and with the world, exuding a serene aura. His eyes were fixed on you as he talked, clear and bright, not glassy like before (in his drug-crazed days), and he didn't anymore talk with the disturbing slur, articulating his words very distinctly.

In Tunay na Tunay, Robin plays a cop, with leading lady Jolina Magdangal as a rich girl who escapes home when her father (who turns out to be the syndicate head Robin and his group are pursuing) asks her to marry somebody she doesn't love. They meet in Chinatown where they both hide from their respective adversaries (he, the bad cops trying to do him in and the syndicate men; and she, her unreasonable father), fight at first and then, you guessed it, fall in love and live happily ever after, the slight age-gap notwithstanding.

Conversations sat down with Robin two years ago a few days after he was set free from the National Penitentiary on a conditional pardon. In this follow-up Conversation, Robin sounded even better, completely drug-free as he's expected to be, clear with his goals in life and mentioning God almost in every sentence, vainly able to suppress an urge to preach.

You've changed a lot. You now talk straight, unlike before when you would mumble and eat your words (as in nabubulol).

(Smiles) "It's because I'm not an addict anymore."

And you've become prayerful since you became a Muslim (while inside the National Penitentiary). How many times do you pray every day?

"Four times. First at 4:30 a.m., then at 12:30 p.m., then at 4:30 p.m. and then at around 7:30 p.m."

You went to Mecca once to attend the Ramadan. Aren't you planning to go there again this year?

"I really want to but I have pending commitments, one of them is my movie with Regine (Velasquez, tentatively titled Date with The Star, inspired by Notting Hill) for Viva Films. You have to stay in Mecca for at least one month to complete the whole Ramadan. You have to walk miles and if you don't have the stamina for it, you better not try."

Are the Padilla brothers all Muslims now?

"Not all. Kami lang ni (Kuya) Rommel. (Kuya) Rustom is a Jehovah's Witness.

But my wife Liezl (Sicangco) is now also a Muslim."

Liezl (and your three daughters) are staying in Australia (and she's now heavy with your fourth child). Are you living alone here?

"I'm staying in our old house in Fairview with my Mom."

I saw your mom (Eva Cariño) recently on TV and she was thanking God that you've changed your ways. In answer to the host's (Kris Aquino) question whether or not she would marry again, she said you wouldn't allow her to.

"In fact, what I said was that okey lang na mag-asawa uli ang Mama ko. She also deserves to be happy."

Okey lang sa'yo?

(Smiles again) "But first, I have to have a man-to-man talk with whoever she's going to marry. I'll warn him not to fool my Mom, not to hurt her. Kung sasaktan lang niya ang Nanay ko, e, di..."

...e, di, ano?

"...e, di, Bilibid na ako uli!"

Speaking of Bilibid, you've been a "good boy" since your release two years ago under conditional pardon. You've been observing all the conditions, haven't you?

"I have to!"

Aside from becoming more prayerful, ano pa ang changes sa buhay mo since you came out of prison?

"Mas cool ako ngayon."

Are you less temperamental now?

"You know, ang temper ng tao... what's important is after magalit ka, you know na nagalit ka. Ang mahirap 'yung after nagalit ka, idi-deny mong nagalit ka... and you insist that you're right even if you're wrong."

You're not violence-prone anymore?

"Ayoko na ng kahit anong klaseng violence."

That should qualify you to be a cop. You want to be a cop, don't you?

"Yeah. I'm now enrolled at the Philippine College of Criminology, pero irregular student ako. Second year. When I was in first year, regular ako; pumapasok ako everyday. Now, I go to school only on Wednesdays, starting at 7:30 a.m. I can't take a full load because of my tight schedule. Ngayon, mornings lang ang klase ko."

What do you think needs to be improved in our police system?

"A lot, a lot! Cops should be career-oriented, not money-oriented. Cops should realize that being a policeman is a career, not a means of making easy money."

What about police brutality?

"Actually, kung may tamang edukasyon ang pulis, hindi magri-resort sa brutality. It just so happened that before, anyone who completed 72 units ay puede ng mag-pulis. There's now a new law na dapat at least 270 units ang natapos mo before you can become a cop."

I bet you can't be an undercover agent (like your role in Tunay na Tunay, Gets Mo? Gets Ko!) because it would be hard for you to disguise yourself.

"A, hindi talaga pupuede! But I can be with the NARCOM. One look at a person and I'll know kung may tama siya."

The voice of experience.

"Been there, done that, kaya alam na alam ko. I'll be an asset at the NARCOM."

What was the worst thing that happened to you when you were hooked on drugs?

(Without batting an eyelash) "When I almost committed suicide."

Once?

"Many times!"

By drug overdose?

"No. With a gun."

How did it happen?

"I was high on drugs and I pointed the gun at my head."

Good thing it didn't fire.

"I did pull the trigger once but the gun didn't fire. My companion got the gun from me. He opened the magazine and there was a bullet inside. Had I pulled the trigger again, I could have killed myself."

You were not afraid?

"You know, when you're high on drugs, you fear nothing. Wala kang kinatatakutan."

Do you think God has a purpose in making you live? You could have died in one of your suicide attempts.

"Alam mo, even if you're not religious, God has a purpose for you. Isinisilang ka pa lang, may purpose na ang Diyos sa'yo."

In your case, what do you think is God's purpose?

"Maybe to open the eyes of the youth to the dangers of taking drugs. When I say that nothing good will come out of taking drugs, people, especially the young, will believe me because I'm speaking from experience. I am the living proof that a drug addict can be rehabilitated and become a useful citizen again. But it's all up to the person if he wants to change or not."

When you see all those children sniffing solvent in the streets, anon'ng nararamdaman mo?

"I want to round them up and put them in jail or in a rehabilitation center. One night, I passed by Quezon Avenue and saw street children na sumisinghot ng rugby. I wanted to get off my car and haul them to the presinto."

Why didn't you?

"My companions stopped me. They told me, 'You're not yet a cop; saka na.' Illegal arrest daw 'yon."

You could have done it -- you know, citizen arrest.

"A, mahinang defense. Baka mamaya, baliktarin pa ako."

What about your resistance to women? Has it become stronger?

"It's a matter of bibigay ka ba o hindi? Will you give in to temptation or will you resist it?"

How do you resist it (if you're resisting it)?

"As of now, ang panlaban ko puyat.. I hardly have time for myself. I just finished shootingTunay na Tunay and I'm shooting Heto Na Naman Ako (line-produced for Millennium Cinema by his Kuya Rustom, with Vina Morales as leading lady) and I tape for my sitcom (ABS-CBN's Puwedeng-Puwede) every week. Pumapasok pa ako sa school."

Do you still sleep (considering all the things that you're doing)?

"The most that I get is four hours of sleep a night. 'Yon ang pinaka-mahaba kong tulog. For months now."

Is it true that you committed yourself to playing Norberto Manero, Jr. (the convicted killer of Italian priest Fr. Tullio Favali)?

"Actually, commitment sa akin ni Manero 'yan when we were still inside Bilibid. (It was Regal Films which bought the rights to Manero's story a few years ago but Regal is not doing a Manero bioflick lest public sympathy might turn against the company. -- RFL) He told me, 'When my life story is made into a movie, I want you to play the title role.' 'Yon ang sinabi niya."

What's the best lesson that you learned inside the National Penitentiary?

"The best is my realization that nobody can't live without God. Kahit sino, hindi puwedeng mabuhay na walang Diyos."

Why, didn't you believe in God before you got into prison?

"I did; I believed in God but I wasn't afraid of God. I believed in God but I didn't worship God. That's was the problem. In Islam, everyday is holy war. Evil against good. Everyday 'yan. You should know how to ask forgiveness from God no matter what religion you belong to. The most important thing is you believe in a Supreme Being."

Tunay na Tunay is your fourth post-prison movie (after Tulak ng Bibig, Kabig ng Dibdib with Maricel Soriano; Di Puwedeng Hindi Puwede with Vina Morales; and Bilib Ako Sa'yo with Joyce Jimenez). Now, you have Jolina Magdangal as leading lady. Your leading ladies are getting younger and younger. Jolina plays a runaway girl (because she's being forced to marry a guy she doesn't love). No "love angle" in the movie's promo?

(Laughs) "She's too young. I'm not a cradle-snatcher."

You enjoy playing a cop, don't you?

"Oh, yes, I do because, as I've told you, I really wanted to be a cop noon pa. The only trouble was that nag-short-cut ako. I joined the 'intelligence' without first finishing a police course. I was made a civilian agent, nag-training-training ako, until, hayun, sumabit... they denied that I was an 'agent.' Now, if I have to be a cop, I want it to be legal. Masarap maging pulis. Nakakatulong ka sa kapwa."

Among the policemen, who's your role model?

"Gen. Vicente Vinarao who was the Prisons Director when I was in Bilibid. I admire him because I saw how good he was as Prisons Director; nakita ko ang kanyang accomplishments. He's a straight guy."

How's life without your family (Liezl and children)?

"Okey lang. The honeymoon period between me and Liezl is over. Our honeymoon period was when I was inside Bilibid. Three years din 'yon. Our priority now is our children (Queenie, 9; Kyle, 7; and Zhelireen, 5). Liezl is five months pregnant and we're hoping for a boy this time. They're better off in Australia because it's far from showbiz intrigues."

You seldom see each other and yet you got her pregnant. Matinik ka talaga!

(Laughs) "Made in Boracay. When Liezl came for a visit, nag-honeymoon kami sa Boracay."

Has Liezl learned to take showbiz intrigues and tsismis in stride?

"Sanay na siya. But now that she's pregnant, she has a lot of insecurities."

Aside from becoming a cop, don't you dream of becoming a preacher someday (like pop idol Cat Stevens who visited the country last year to talk about Islam)?

"Actually, that's also my plan. As soon as I save enough money and put up a business here, I plan to study in Saudi. Mayroon akong two-year scholarship. Sayang naman if I don't take advantage of it."

Once you finish that course in Saudi, what will be your rank or title?

"Parang imam ka na n'un!"

You will be a preacher-cop.

"At least, I will know the law, Islamically speaking."

What will you preach if and when?

"That there's only one God. It's important for a policeman to be religious, too. Hindi pu-puwedeng ang pulis walang God."

What about politics? Isn't any party inviting you to run?

"Not again! I ran once (for governor of Nueva Ecija), only because I couldn't say no to the people who asked me to, and I won't run again, I won't make a good politician. Why? Because I'm a Muslim."

If you were to write your autobiography, what would be the thrust?

(Turning serious) "It will be about a teenager who got lost, who had a dream which he temporarily forgot, who got into all sorts of problems, who got disillusioned when he acquired fame and fortune, who got into drugs but was able to get out of it, and who finally found his way back."

What's the turning point in your life?

"When I went back to God."

And what do you pray for everyday?

"That I wouldn't go back to my old ways."

(Good boy, good boy!)