It’s been Herbert Bautista’s tradition to meet with the entertainment press whenever he has something important to share or even if he just wanted to bond with them.
Last week, the usual jolly Bistek, the name he is fondly called in showbiz circles, shared a meal with his showbiz writer friends and talked about his Senatorial bid, and whether he liked it or not, the issues that surround his colorful personal life.
While he was talking about the IATF decision to finally allow local cinemas to reopen on Nov. 10 after months of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, showbiz scribes asked for his opinion on Kris Aquino’s engagement with Mel Sarmiento. He and the former TV host “were best of friends” for several years.
“Masaya ako dahil yung peace and quiet … yung ang hinahanap niya eh. Happy ako sa kanya,” said Bautista but admitted that he didn’t know he had no knowledge of Aquino’s social media announcement.
“I didn’t know she’s getting married. I don’t follow all her posts,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bautista expressed his concern about the lineup of movies that will be commercially exhibited starting Wednesday.
“It’s about time. A lot of people will benefit from it and I’m thankful. However, I don’t see any local movies in the lineup,” he started.
“I’m one with them in rejoicing with the reopening of cinemas. I am so happy that the movie industry is slowly but surely rising from the effects of the pandemic. Pero sana inuna nila ang local movies. I just noticed na puro foreign films ang unang ipapalabas this month,” he carried on.
Bistek first made a name for himself as an actor/comedian before throwing his hat into and making an indelible mark in public service. He starred in 38 movies, with Silly Red Shoes being his latest (2019), and appeared in more than 30 TV shows. His most recent TV project was the serialized version of his 1987 film Puto, which aired on TV5 and Sari Sari Channel.
The 53-year-old actor-politician is such an industry stalwart that seeing movie workers lose their jobs from cinema closure during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic broke his heart.
“One of the most affected industries in the world is the entertainment sector. Ang daming nawalan ng hanap-buhay dahil sa pandemya. So ngayon, sana, suportahan naman natin ang muling pagbangon ng pelikulang Pilipino,” said Bautista.
With the scheduled theater Bautista now urges the public to go out and support local productions that braved protocol restraints to provide them much-needed entertainment. This early, his sights are also trained on public support for movies that will make up this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) line-up.
Needless to say, the local TV and movie industry is closest to Senatorial aspirant’s heart. As such, bills that would benefit the industry and its workers will be on top of his priorities once elected to the Senate in the 2022 polls.
In addition to this, Bautista is poised as well to push for bills and programs that would cater to and benefit locally produced products, i.e. food, fabric, etc., that would boost and strengthen overall national pride. At the onset of the “new normal” campaign season, Senatoriable Herbert will put together interesting vlogs that would feature the best albeit oft-neglected aspects of Pinoy culture and everyday life for the infotainment of not just the Boomers and Gen Zs but more importantly, the Alpha generation as well.