Why September will always be special for the Ranillos
MANILA, Philippines — Mat Ranillo Jr., widely known as the King of Visayan Movies, may have gone to the Great Beyond 51 years ago, when he died in that fateful plane crash. Yet, he is definitely never forgotten. His family never fails to remember him. The month of September, in particular, is very important to the Ranillos for three reasons.
Every Sept. 12, the family remembers their patriarch’s death. Sept. 21 was their dad’s birthday. He would have turned 92. Sept. 24 was the wedding anniversary of Mat Jr. and Gloria Sevilla, tagged as the Queen of Visayan Movies.
Mat Jr.’s son, Dandin, the fifth in the brood of six children, recently flew in from Northern California to bond anew with his mom and sister Suzette here in Manila. Last September, Dandin lovingly made a Facebook post to remind everyone about the well-known achievements of his dad.
Dandin shared excerpts of his dad’s award-winning Visayan film, Badlis sa Kinabuhi (Line of Life), that also starred his mom and Frankie Navaja Jr., directed by Leroy Salvador. The film was shown in 1969 and received 12 FAMAS awards out of its 14 nominations.
Subsequently, Badlis sa Kinabuhi also became the Philippines’ entry to the ASEAN Film Festival in Indonesia and was showcased under the informative division of the Berlin Film Festival. By 1970, Badlis sa Kinabuhi was released in its original Visayan version in Manila and made a killing at the tills.
In 1969, however, Mat Jr. died in a tragic plane crash that left his young family devastated. He and Gloria had five children when he passed away. The eldest was Lilybeth, followed by Archie, Suzette, Jojo and Dandin.
The kids were all merely one year apart. At that time of Mat Jr.’s death, Gloria was even seven months pregnant with their youngest, Juni, who was born in November 1969 without seeing his dad.
“I was only nine then when my father died,” shares Dandin. “Since my father was basically the bread winner, life drastically took a turn for the bad. My mom was in shock for a while and didn’t know what to do.
“All of us, kids, were too young to understand and how to carry on. The family’s movie production company (MG Productions) went downhill, although my mom tried to continue on. She grew up being an actress and that was all that she ever did. My father did the rest. The family suddenly lost direction. And nobody was there to guide us.”
Picking up the pieces when Dandin’s dad died proved to be a major challenge for the family. The death of Mat Ranillo Jr. was truly heartbreaking, if not devastating for all of them.
Archie, for instance, had a hard time coping when his dad passed away. “My being an introvert made it hard for me to accept dad’s death,” Archie discloses. “But God is good and brought me to showbiz, where I was able to express my suppressed feelings openly through the roles I did. God made a way for me to cope.”
Yes, the family all managed to move on. “I really don’t know how we were all able to manage after dad died,” Dandin says. “Mommy continued producing, then made Suzette an actress. Followed by Mat (Archie). Then, we all appeared on the big screen. I guess we relied more on the popularity of Mat then, to make it through. Until we became actors, too, making money on our own.”
Dandin remembers his dad as a very lovable person whom everybody, even male friends, loved. “He was gentle, always smiling, handsome, a perfect father and person,” Dandin grants. “He worked as a lawyer at the Bureau of Customs. He was an actor-producer of Visayan films. He also made a couple of Tagalog movies.”
All the Ranillo boys carried their dad’s name, Matias, originally taken from their grandfather, Matias Ranillo Sr. Archie is Matias Archibald III, Jojo is Matias Jonathan IV, Dandin is Matias Bonifacio V, Juni is Matias Junius Ferdinand VI.
Although the tradition was not strictly passed on to all their male children, Dandin was the only one who named his son Matias Yeshua, with JC as the boy’s nickname. His wife’s name is Alice.
Not one of the Ranillo boys followed in their dad’s footsteps to embark on a legal career. “Dad was a lawyer,” Dandin proudly discloses. “None of us became one. Dad was one of a kind. I guess nobody took after him. If he were alive today, none of us would be in showbiz.”
Life was never the same without their dad, who spoiled everyone in the family. Yet, the Ranillos eventually managed to move on. Every year, though, the month of September will always be special to them, as they consistently remember their patriarch with fondness and love.
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