The agimat has been passed

"The agimat has been handed down to me by my father," says Bong Revilla, son of Senator Ramon Revilla who gained fame with his agimat movie series back in the ’70s. I’m taking good care of it and putting it to good use."

Bong is talking about his latest movie, Bertud ng Putik where he fights evil forces with the use of, well you guessed it, an agimat. The movie is set in the 1950’s and in the present time where we see Bong’s character, Gabriel de Dios rescuing children from the malevolence of Parnaso, played by Roi Vinzon. The movie, produced by Imus Productions, is an official entry to the Manila Film Festival in June which also stars Regine Tolentino, Jeffrey Tan, Goyong and Rochelle Pangilinan of the Sex Bomb Dancers.

Bertud ng Putik features awesome action scenes made more exciting by the latest in special effects, far more spectacular than those in Imus Productions‘ last outing, uhm, aptly called Agimat (released during the Metro Manila Film Festival). "Talagang pinagpaguran at pinag-gastusan namin ito," shares Bong. "Moviegoers deserve nothing less."

Meanwhile, Bong is feeling euphoric nowadays for a commendation he recently received from the United States Assistant Secretary for Market Access and Compliance William Lash III for his excellent work as the Videogram Regulatory Board (VRB) Chairman in his fight against piracy. So far, under Bong’s term, the VRB has confiscated almost 10,000,000 pieces of pirated optical discs and equipment worth over $60 million.

Lash, likewise, cited Bong for the conviction of 12 Chinese and Indonesian arrested by the VRB last year for pirating VCDs.

Meanwhile, the VRB has again gained another conviction against an illegal replicator whose case dragged since 1993. Convicted were Jaime and Maria Cristina Chan for illegally duplicating VHS and Betamax tapes. The two were convicted by Branch 3 of the Municipal Trial Court of Legaspi City, Albay in 1998 but brought the case to the Court of Appeals. After almost 10 years, the conviction was affirmed by Judge Cesar Bordeos. The Chans were sentenced to spend three months and one day to one year in prison and ordered to pay P50,000 each in fines.

"These recent developments have greatly boosted our morale," says Bong. "It is especially heartwarming that our efforts to fight piracy have been recognized."

Seems like the agimat is indeed working for you Chairman Bong! Congratulations and good luck to your movie!

Robin and Judy Ann

ABS-CBN premieres its latest offering, Basta’t Kasama Kita, featuring the first-ever teleserye combination of Judy Ann Santos and Robin Padilla. The TV show mixes drama and romantic comedy with elements of action and adventure.

In Basta’t Kasama Kita, Judy Ann plays Princess Gonzales, a young law graduate who foregoes a promising career as a lawyer to sign up with the National Bureau of Investigation as an agent. Princess’ unexpected career choice was prompted by her desire to know what happened to her father, Godofredo, an NBI agent who died mysteriously 15 years ago. Princess vows to get to the bottom of his death.

Princess is assigned to task force EAGLES (Elite Agents of Government Against Lawless Elements of Society) and there she is partnered with a macho but brilliant veteran agent named Ambet Catinig (Robin Padilla).

Judy Ann and Robin is joined by a formidable cast comprised of Robert Arevalo, Charlie Davao, Gina Pareño, Tetchie Agbayani, Rommel Padilla, Lito Pimentel, Sylvia Sanchez, Jiro Manio, Jeffrey Santos, John Apacible, Nikki Valdez and Angelica Jones.

"When we chose the cast, we asked ourselves, who would fit their role to a tee?," says one of the teleserye’s directors Jerry Sineneng (he directs Basta’t Kasama Kita with Trina Dayrit). "And because of their tremendous acting abilities, they were able to justify our choices. Ang gagaling nila lahat."

"This is such a welcome change for me," shares Judy Ann, who is riding high in the success of her latest blockbuster with Piolo Pascual, ‘Til There Was You under Star Cinema. "At least here, nakaka-pag patawa ako. Hindi na puro iyakan katulad ng mga iba kong soap opera!"