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Mario Bautista, has been with the entertainment industry for more than 4 decades. He writes regular columns for People's Journal and Malaya.

Aug 8, 2018

Vhong Navarro Is Moving On After Court Finds Cedric And Deniece Guilty, Proud Of His New Movie About Time Travel, 'Unli Life'

VHONG NAVARRO doesn’t have any hesitation in working with a new director like Miko Livelo in his Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP) entry, “Unli Life”. “He maybe younger than me but I can trust him,” he says. “Magaling siya. He knows his craft.”

The story idea of “Unli Life” comes from his own manager, Chito Rono, who’s present at the presscon to show his support for Vhong. Chito himself, as a director, has an entry in the PPP, “Signal Rock” starring Christian Bables. How does he feel when people say that “Unli Life” will be the number one topgrosser in the PPP?

“Okay lang,” he shrugs. “Si Vhong bida rito, e. May track record na yan at story concept ko naman ito.”

So what will happen to his “Signal Rock”? “Yun ang magiging number 2,” he laughs. “Siempre, I also love my own movie! Hindi ko naman kasi alam na magkakasabay pala silang ipalabas sa PPP. But we’re proud of both movies. Magkaiba naman, drama ang ‘Signal Rock’ and comedy ang ‘Unli Life’, so sana, parehong panoorin ng mga tao.”

What can he say now that Vhong’s tormentors, Cedric Lee and Deniece Cornejo, have both been found guilty by the court of grave coercion? “Hindi pa nagsi-sink in kasi may ibang mga kaso pa. Yung serious illegal detention at perjury cases. Sana maganda rin ang kalabasan nito.”

Some follks have made an effort to settle this out of court but Vhong rejected the idea as he just adamantly wants the truth of what happened to him to come out. For Vhong, what happened is the Lord’s way of waking him up.

“It was really a humbling experience,” he says. “Inaamin ko namang naging over confident ako noon, sobrang bumilib ako sa sarili ko. Kaya ngayon, everytime I pray, I say, ‘Lord, sana huwag nyo na hayaang lumaki uli ang ulo ko, sana marunong pa rin ako laging tumingin sa pinanggalingan ko at kunsaan ako nagsimula. Matindi rin ang pinagdaanan ko, lalo na nang mawala ang father ko who’s very close to me. But I just dwell on the blessings. Sunod-sunod din naman ang magagandang blessings na dumarating sa akin. Isa na itong ‘Unli Life’ where I play Benedict, a podcast DJ na naging broken hearted after makipag-break sa kanya ang girlfriend niyang si Victoria, played by Winwyn Marquez, kasi nasasakal na ito sa sobrang pagkontrol niya sa buhay nito. Feeling depressed, napadpad ako sa bar called Turning Point where I meet Joey Marquez as Mang Saro, a bartender na inalok sa’kin ang alak called Wish Key na makakatulong para makapag-time travel ako at para baguhin ang pagkakamali sa nakaraan ko and then mailagay sa tama ang kasalukuyan. Doon na nga ako mapupunta sa iba’t ibang eras in history na lagi kong pipiliting bawiin si Winwyn. Dahil sa pagbabalik-balik ko sa past, doon ko matutuhan ang isang mahalagang lesson na makakapagpabago sa buhay ko. When we shot this, di ko alam na mapapasali pala sa PPP so another blessing yun.”

If he’d really be allowed to go back in time, what will he change? “More than anything, I want to go back to the time my father was still alive so I can spend more time with him.”

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