When asked what convinced him to return to GMA and do a soap, his answer is: “Pera. Malaking-malaking pera!”
He later adds that he stopped doing movies in 2004 and TV soaps in 2006. “Last year, bumalik ako sa ‘Bridges of Love’ and I felt sad when I realized hindi ko na kilala yung mga bagong artista. I started in 1980 so more than 30 years na ko sa industry. Naging head ako ng local actors guild at ng Optical Media Board, pero sa ngayon, mas kilala ko pa yung mga press people I’ve known from way back. Isa na lang ang kilala ko, si Luis Manzano. Kaya ayan, tinanggap ko itong ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ ng GMA. Dahil dito, nakilala ko si Lovi Poe, si Tom Rodriguez, si Max Collins. And I also like the concept about Alzheimer’s disease. My late mom had it. There came a time na kaming mga anak niya, hindi na niya kilala. Ang kilala lang niya, yung pamangkin naming nag-aalaga sa kanya. It’s sad to see something like this happening to your loved one. It’s hereditary so kami ng mga kapatid ko, napag-usapan na namin ang tungkol dito. It’s good that at 61, magaling pa ang memory ko. So it’s important to be active para yung brain mo won’t degenerate.”
So how is it working with Lovi, Tom and Max? “Bilib ako sa work ethic nilang tatlo. They’re so dedicated to their craft. And tindi ng professionalism nila. I’ve seen kung paano sila maghanda for a scene and I’ve never seen actors who work hard as they do. When they do a scene, hindi sila bumibitiw. Papalit-palit ng camera angles, pero kung ano yung emotion nila, yung iyak nila, hindi sila bumibitiw talaga. It’s really nice to work with them kasi bumabalik din yung passion ko for acting.”
