MANILA, Philippines — While most are giving away lifetime supplies of their brands, a unit of house & lot, or cash prizes to the country's first Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, Ronnie Henares is going the opposite direction by asking for a balato.
Well, not him specifically but his TV character, Tommy Diones from the popular weekend sitcom "Pepito Manaloto".
Henares posted the screenshot of a viral meme that stars him and Diaz. In the said meme, it shows a photo of Hidilyn's winning moment at the 55kg division of the weightlifting competition at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics. Surrounding the photos are the amount of cash prizes and incentives given to the Olympian champion by the government and private companies. Below it is a photo of Henares as Tommy with the superimposed words, "Hidilyn, my friend".
"Somebody is spreading this around! Sa bagay, mahigit nang isang milyon ang utang ko kay Pepito. Siguro naman, sa daming milyon makukuha ni Hidilyn, baka pwede niya ako ibalato ng isang milyon man lang," Henares wrote as caption.
His "Pepito Manaloto" co-star replied in the comment section: "Tommy, my friend (laughing emoji)."
Henares' Tommy is one of the most popular TV characters. He is known for uttering this line to the show's star, Pepito Manaloto, played by Michael V. In the show, Tommy frequently approaches Pepito with varying business schemes and borrows money from him.
First aired in 2010, the series recently premiered its sequel titled "Pepito Manaloto: Unang Kwento". It tells the humble beginnings of Pepito, set in the 1980s. It stars Sef Cadayona as young Pepito.
Other cast members include the young versions of Elsa (Mikee Quintos) and Patrick (Kokoy de Santos). Elsa and Patrick were portrayed by Manilyn Reynes and John Feir. The cast also includes Pokwang, Kristoffer Martin, Jay Arcilla, Archie Alemania, Denise Barbacena, and Gladys Reyes.