Coco: I, too, was an OFW
Among his plans for 2017 is to stage a free show abroad, maybe in Saudi Arabia, and pick the most needy OFW and send him home all-expenses paid for a holiday with his family back home
I’m not sure if Coco Martin has watched Sunday Beauty Queen, Best Picture in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) which officially ends today. And if he did, I’m sure the stories of the OFWs in Hong Kong must have brought back certain memories to Coco for a personal reason.
“I was also an OFW,” recalled Coco to movie writers at a thanksgiving merienda that he hosted at Victorino’s restaurant on Thursday. “I worked as a janitor in Canada for nine months. My father was also an OFW in Korea.”
That was more than 15 years ago and Coco confessed that all he wanted was to work abroad, only to find out that his dream would turn into a nightmare.
“It was in Canada where I felt the real meaning of homesickness,” continued Coco. “I missed not only my family and friends, pati na rin yung mga taong kinaiinisan ko. May pera ka nga pero wala kang taong makausap; may pang-inom ka nga pero wala ka naman makainuman. I know how hard it is to be an OFW. During our time, we would catch birds and fish para may makain. I would collect plastic bags and sell them, then send the money to my lola back home.”
That’s why now that he has money...lots of money!!!...Coco plans to stage a free show abroad, maybe in Saudi Arabia, and choose an OFW in dire need and surprise his family by sending him home for a break...all expenses paid with pocket money to boot. Late last year, Coco led the cast of Ang Probinsyano, his megahit Kapamilya action-adventure series (on extended run until perhaps beyond the original February target date), on a show at the Big Dome which was packed full with fans admitted for free (Coco agreed to do it only if no tickets were sold).
“I have a lot to be thankful for,” said Coco. “2016 was a very good year for me, very blessed ako.”
His second starrer with good friend Vice Ganda, Star Cinema’s Super Parental Guardians (SPG; the first was Beauty and the Bestie, the company’s entry which topped the 2015 MMFF), didn’t make it to the Magic 8 of last year’s MMFF and just the same, released nationwide two weeks before the Dec. 25 start of the festival, it was a huge hit (directed by Bb. Joyce Bernal who replaced Vice’s favorite director Wenn Deramas who died in early 2016), so far grossing, according to Funfare sources, over P600 million — and counting!
Coco’s wish (granted!) is to direct a movie for this year’s MMFF but he wouldn’t reveal details just yet except to say that it’s going to be an indie, the genre that ruled the 2016 MMFF and where Coco started to build his career, launched in Masahista by Brillante Mendoza, his mentor, and followed it up with, among other indies, Serbis (also by Brillante) in which Coco did a torrid love scene in the raw with Mercedes Cabral (yes, the actress who described Regal Matriarch Lily Monteverde a “f----g idiot” during the pre2016 brouhaha).
He gave credit to where it is due (aside from Vice Ganda who has guested in Probinsyano) — child stars McNeal “Awra” Briguela and Simon “Onyok” Pineda who undoubtedly contributed to the success of SPG and Probinsyano. There are back stories to how Probinsyano turned Onyok (who competed in It’s Showtime’s Mini-Me contest as Bamboo) and Awra (who gained a following on YouTube) into
overnight sensations. “Onyok auditioned for Probinsyano but he didn’t pass,” related Coco. “But he really wanted to act kaya naawa kami sa kanya. We took him in as an extra. Tuwing take, nagugulat siya, lumalaki
ang mata, and we found that cute! Off cam, I would crack jokes and ask him to act the jokes out. Gayang-gaya nya
ako! So, we included him as regular member of the cast.”
Awra’s story was something else.
“Somebody brought Awra to the set. ‘Baka gusto mong tulungan,’ sabi nung nagdala sa kanya. He was very shy. I asked him, ‘What’s your name?’ He answered in a soft voice, ‘McNeal.’ I told him, ‘From now on, your name will be McNeal.’ We asked him to jump onto the train where he fought with Onyok.
My character entered the scene and when Awra saw me, napasigaw siya, ‘Type!’ Cute ‘yung dating niya.”
For 2017, Coco has suggested to the ABS-CBN management to expand the show’s shoot coverage and include the provinces, starting with Cebu where Coco hoped to discover new talents. “We have bigger ground to cover in Probinsyano,” he said, “like solving petty crimes in parts of the country other than Metro Manila. I love the show because it teaches good lessons at nagtuturo ng mga good values lalo
na sa mga bata,” adding that he’s thankful to Susan Roces (also in the show’s cast) for granting the rights to televise the iconic FPJ legendary character.
“For me,” said Coco, “FPJ is not just a great actor; he’s a hero who has helped a lot of people without the public knowing it. That’s one example that I want to follow.”