Eddie Garcia: Not getting older, just getting better - CONVERSATION with Ricky F. Lo

Everything in moderation. Or didn’t you know?

That’s Eddie Garcia’s guiding principle in life and in everything he does – whether in diet (no fats, please!), in lifestyle (no nightlife, not anymore!), in attitude (don’t expect too much so you won’t get disappointed!), even in women (one at a time? No, Eddie won’t tell you, he not being the kiss-and-tell type).

He gets at least eight hours of sleep a day, jogs and works out regularly, has stopped smoking decades ago and firms up his very military physique with 19 kinds of minerals and vitamins.

At 75-plus (or is he really 80? Incredible!?!), Eddie looks decades younger. He has more stamina and verve than actors dozens of years younger than he is. He is ramrod straight and, during his recent regular check-up, was given a clean bill of health by his doctor. He is durable not only as a person but also as an actor, arranging his own schedules and lugging his things to the set by himself, without the help of any factotum (alalay).

Mention any role in the movie book and Eddie has done it in his own unique style – as a screaming faggot, as a closet homosexual, as a priest, as a judge, as a cop, as an unfaithful father, as a submissive husband, as a Quiapo beggar, even as a "bomba" actor (yes, he has the wares to show for it!).

In short, Eddie doesn’t get older as the years slip by, he only gets better – and better.

In his latest movie, GMA Films’ Metro Filmfest 2000 entry Deathrow, directed by Joel Lamangan from a screenplay by Ricky Lee (story idea is by GMA Films boss Butch Jimenez), Eddie gives another disturbing performance as a death convict who dies by lethal injection. Among his co-stars is newcomer Cogie Domingo (whose real father is a human rights lawyer) as a minor thrown into death row against the law (minors are not supposed to be imprisoned at the National Penitentiary) and who develops a father-son bond with Eddie.

In the following Conversation, Eddie talks about his stand on capital punishment (which President Erap wants scrapped, having pardoned all the death convicts in Muntinlupa), hitherto unexplored episodes in his life (childhood in Juban, Sorsogon) and what his fears (if any) and frustrations (if any) in life are.

Deathrow is not a true story, is it?

"It’s fiction but it could have been inspired by true-life incidents. I play a death convict, in jail for more than 35 years, 20 of those spent in death row. Cogie is a minor, convicted of homicide, but he’s not supposed to be in death row because it’s against the law to put a minor there. The problem is that he’s an adopted child and he can’t find his birth certificate to prove that he was a minor during the commission of the crime. The judge had no choice but to mete out to him the death penalty. To make a long story short, in the end, na-lethal injection ako and Cogie is set free through the efforts of a human rights lawyer (played by Jaclyn Jose)."

Is the whole lethal injection process shown in the movie?

"Every little detail of the process, from the time I am brought to the lethal injection room to the time I am strapped to the bed to the time the injection is administered into my body. It’s the first time na ipinakita kung paano patayin ang isang death convict by lethal injection, shown graphically until the convict closes his eyes and breaths his last. I’m supposed to be the eighth convict to die by lethal injection."

You shot for almost a month inside death row. You had an eyewitness view of how the death convicts live, I suppose.

"The whole time, I really felt like a death convict. Halos araw-araw, kasama namin ’yung mga real death convicts and some of them even appear as ‘extras’ in the movie. (The lethal injection scenes were shot in a set specially constructed for the movie by GMA Films, exact to the last detail and looking eerily like the real death chamber. – RFL) I’ve done ‘convict’ roles before, pero hindi ganito katindi. Except for flashbacks kasi, the whole story of the movie happens inside the death row."

What did you learn from shooting Deathrow?

"I think the biggest problem is our justice system. Napakadalang ng bista nila. So many of them are languishing in jail even while their cases are being heard in court. In effect, they’re already serving their sentences even before the courts finish hearing their cases. In some cases, mas marami pa ang taong itinatagal ng convict sa loob kaysa sa sentensya nila. One convict has spent almost 10 years in prison before he was meted a four-year sentence."

Are you in favor of the death penalty?

"For some crimes, yes. Halimbawa, a father raping his four-year-old daughter, dapat sa kanya lethal injection. That was my stand before shooting Deathrow and that’s my stand after doing Deathrow."

Have you become more sympathetic toward those in the death row or prisoners in general after doing the movie?

"Oh, yes, especially those neglected by their families who have stopped visiting them."

What was your initial reaction when you read the script?

"Well, when I had lunch with Butch (Jimenez) and Jimmy (Duavit), producers of GMA Films, they gave me a two-page synopsis of the film. I told them, ‘Maganda!’ It’s a role I haven’t done before, a landmark role like the one I played in (Lino Brocka’s) Tubog sa Ginto (as a family man who’s a closet homosexual). It’s a role that comes once every 10 years."

Have you ever had any brush with the law, even perhaps for traffic violation?

(Thinks long and hard) "None that I can think of. I’m a law-abiding citizen. When I was in the (military) service, I was a law enforcer. I’ve always been on the side of the law."

You mean the Philippine Scouts?

"Yes. It was under the US Army. I was assigned in Okinawa which was occupied territory at that time, kaya pati civilians doon ay sakop namin. I was with the Philippine Scouts (military police) for 27 months, from 1946 to 1949. First love ko talaga ang pagiging military. It was only when the Philippine Scouts were disbanded na napunta ako sa movies."

Did anybody else in your family join the military?

"No. Just me. In fact, they were surprised when I joined the US Army. I decided by myself. Ako naman, I’ve always been independent from way back. I do my own thing; I don’t rely on anyone, even at an early age. At 13 or 14, I was already on my own. Before the war pa, I’ve been traveling between Juban, Sorsogon, where I was born, and Manila. May pagka-adventurous din naman ako. I had aunts in Manila and I’d spend vacations with them, traveling alone from Sorsogon. My father, Antonio Garcia, was originally from Buhi, Camarines Sur, but he settled down in Juban. May abaca plantation siya, mayroon ding coconut at rice."

What sort of childhood did you have?

"I’m the eldest of five children, three boys and two girls. I swam in the river like the rest of the kids and flew kites in summer."

Were you already fond of girls at that time?

(Reluctantly) "Well, naguumpisa nang mag-admire."

Who were your playmates?

"Mga anak ng mga nagtra-trabaho sa farm. When I was a kid, our family used to own a lot of carabaos. We would match two carabaos in combat and it was fun watching the defeated one being chased by the victorious one around the field."

Since your childhood ambition was to be a soldier, accidental lang pala ang pagiging artista mo.

"When I got out of the military, I came across an ad in a newspaper placed by the late Manuel Conde, looking for seven guys to play Siete Infantes de Lara with him. Jun Urbano, Manuel Conde’s son, was very small at that time, still in knee pants. There were about 40 of us who applied. During the auditions, we were made to deliver a few lines from the script. Maybe, they were also observing our looks. They were looking for mestizo types, mga Spanish-looking guys."

Your military experience must have helped you clinch the role.

"Maybe. I was chosen, along with (the late) Johnny Monteiro and (the late) Mario Montenegro. For three months before the shooting, hindi na kami nagpagupit. In the morning, nag-body-building exercise kami; in the afternoon naman, we had fencing lessons. By the time shooting started, mahaba na ang buhok namin so we didn’t need a wig."

Who were the other three chosen?

"One was Albert Madison, brother of Elvira Reyes (Manuel Conde’s leading lady in the movie). There was George Anderson who was half-American, and Jimmy Castelvi III (uncle of former action star Romano Castelvi). I think Jimmy is still alive, although he has lost his eyesight. Of the seven, only the four of us (including Johnny, Manuel and Mario) continued doing movies. George went to the States and joined the Navy."

Your parents must have been happy when you joined showbiz.

"My father was, at ganoon din ang mga kapatid ko. But my mother, Vicenta Verchez, had died by then. She died in 1948. I didn’t even see her remains because I was then in Okinawa."

So talagang very prominent ang Spanish lineage mo.

"My parents both had Spanish blood. My paternal grandfather was a captain in the Spanish Army. He married somebody from Macabebe, Pampanga, mestisahin din, and then they settled in Bicol."

How was it growing up during the war?

"Mahirap. Sometimes, the guerrillas and the Japanese soldiers would clash right in our farm. I was still young then, a few years before I joined the military. I saw the Japanese capture guerrillas who were killed sa bayan mismo. I saw one dead guerrilla with his eyes wide open, nakatirik."

‘Yung discipline mo talagang nakuha mo sa military.

"From training in my family na rin. You know, before you do anything, pagisipan mo muna ang magiging repercussions. If you beat a red light, puede kang hulihin ng pulis, di ba? Always think of the consequences of your actions."

You’ve always been saying that had you stayed with the military, you would have been either a general now or six feet under the ground...

"Siempre ganoon, e. Kung nakaligtas ka sa Korean War, you would be assigned to the Vietnam War. You could never tell. You could survive the war and become maybe a colonel or you could have been killed."

Have you become a general, ka-rank mo sana sina former President Fidel Ramos.

"No way, I was ahead of him. Galing siya sa West Point. The Philippine Scouts nga were disbanded so I retired."

Did you get any benefits, lifetime pension maybe, from the US Government?

"Well, I could have applied for American citizenship but I did not. I could have joined the US Army but I did not. My provost marshall in Okinawa told me, ‘You come back here and I’ll give you a job as a CID agent.’ I could also have enrolled in a military school in the US and automatically become a lieutenant upon graduation, but then, napasok na nga ako sa movies."

If you stayed with the military, what sort of life would you have had?

"Retired..."

...at pa-golf-golf siguro....

(Laughs) "...siguro!"

It would have been a boring life, considering that you are a workaholic.

"I can’t stay put. If there’s something to be done, gusto ko gawin kaagad. I do today what has to be done; I don’t postpone it to tomorrow. Although I have Spanish blood, hindi ko na-pick-up ‘yung manaña habit."

Deathrow, I’m sure, will be among your most memorable movies. Can you name a few others from the hundreds and hundreds that you’ve done?

"One is Tubog sa Ginto. During that time kasi, late ’60s and early ’70s, hindi tina-touch ang mga ganoong sensitive subjects (homosexuality) in local movies. I also like Boyong Mañalac which is about a real cop. Alam mo, sa dami ng ginawa kong pelikula, I can’t think of any other."

What are your favorites naman among movies you’ve done?

"Marami. One is Saan Nagtatago ang Pagibig. There’s also Atsay ... Pinagbuklod ng Langit (about former President Ferdinand Marcos and Imelda Marcos)...Imortal."

Why did you lay low as a director?

"Nagkasunud-sunod ang assignments ko as an actor. There was no time. Directing takes a lot of your time. It takes a lot of preparation. Mga meetings-meetings, rewriting of the script at kung anu-ano pa. But now, I’m almost finished with one, Abakada Ina (Viva Films), with Lorna Tolentino as lead actress."

Can you still keep track of the trophies you’ve won and continue to win?

"Let me see.., sa FAMAS, I have five for Best Director, six for Best Supporting Actor and four for Best Actor. I have two Best Director trophies (for Atsay and Imortal) from the Manila Film Festival. I even have one Best Actor award from the Olongapo Film Festival. From the Film Academy Awards, I have two Best Actor awards. Honestly, I have lost count already."

What’s your most treasured possession in life?

"Can’t think of any."

I guess it’s your unblemished reputation both as a person and as an actor. And your privacy which you have been guarding very carefully.

"Para sa akin kasi, I don’t think what you do in private will help enhance your box-office appeal."

Your private life, I heard, is quite exciting.

"It’s boring. Not much excitement, really."

What do you consider the biggest tragedy in your life?

"When my son, my junior and my eldest, died in a motorcycle accident. He was only 22. It happened in the late ’70s. It was painful. I got over the incident by keeping myself busy. I felt a little guilty because the motorcycle was my gift to him. But, that’s fate, that’s life. Mahilig mag-motor so, hayun, ibinili ko ng motorcycle. He was one of my three children."

Do you have any fears, if any? I bet it’s not about growing old.

(Thinks long and hard) "I can’t think of any."

Any frustration?

"None. Ako kasi, I’m not a dreamer. For example, if I want to buy something, maybe a car, I work hard and save money and buy it. I won’t buy a car or anything if I can’t afford it."

What’s your biggest disappointment in life, if any?

"None, I guess. Ako kasi, I weigh things. I expect something to happen and if it doesn’t, I shrug it off. I tell myself, ‘It’s not meant to be’."

What sort of place do you want to have in the history of Philippine Movies? You know, how do you want people to remember you?

"Very simply as an actor who made them laugh if I play comedy roles, who made them cry when I play a drama role and who gave them excitement when I play an action role."

And, may I add, your being durable and versatile.