John Arcilla to supporters of presidential candidates: Time to move on

MANILA, Philippines - John Arcilla has his hands full doing one TV project after another on GMA Network. After That’s My Amboy, he’s going to be part of the upcoming revival/sequel (“requel” for short) Encantadia.

The award-winning actor plays Hagorn. “It’s not just any character, it’s the main (antagonist). In everything that you do as an actor, there’s always that challenge. But you have to make the challenge workable, so in a way, the challenge goes away because you deal with it,” John tells The STAR.

He says that Hagorn is not a “simple black and white character,” adding that he wants audiences to view it not just with the usual hate reserved for onscreen villains, but with some sympathy as well.

“I don’t want to make it a caricature. It has to be connected to the human experience. I play one of the gods, a king with powers but also with frailties, because gods have weaknesses like the foot of Achilles. The flaw of Hagorn actually comes from love that’s unreciprocated which turns into madness,” he says.

“He knows how to love but he doesn’t know how to listen to the object of his affection. For him, it’s like ‘I love you, I can destroy anything, I can build anything just to show how much I love you.’ But when that’s not reciprocated, he doesn’t know how to let go. He doesn’t know how to transcend from being unloved. That becomes his first sin. Then, his envy towards the object of affection of the one he loves becomes vindictiveness.”

John says that audiences can reflect from the story of Hagorn, that if someone goes astray, the community he belongs to is partly to blame.

“As a community, we also have a responsibility towards how our (fellowmen) end up in life,” he says. “For example, a thief, he steals because he’s poor, or a criminal becomes criminal because life’s hard. If life is good, I think crimes will decrease. What I mean is, yung kontrabida sa buhay mo, may pinanggagalingan yan.”

John, who has done some of the most acclaimed roles and films to date, finds his latest TV project a dream come true. Ever since he was a kid, he has been fascinated with costumed characters. And he has lived out such roles from the time his acting career commenced on theater in the ‘90s. He also enjoys movies that boast of spectacular and high-tech production.

Plus, he’s a big fan of the original Encantadia, which first aired a decade ago and remains one of the grandest shows that GMA has ever produced. “I was a fan. Mahilig ako sa divinity, sa four elements — fire, earth, water and air — sa astrology. I read up on those things. So before, when people at home were watching Encantadia, I was also drawn to it.”

Meanwhile, John was asked on what he thought about his blockbuster historical film Heneral Luna being heavily referenced during the recently-concluded national elections.

Incoming President Rodrigo Duterte has drawn some comparisons from supporters and pundits to John’s titular character, Gen. Antonio Luna, who had been depicted and described as foul-mouthed and fiery but brilliant military leader and nationalist during the Philippine-American war.

“I just want to clear with the kids, especially the first-time voters na naging icon si Heneral Luna dun sa paglaban. (Luna) expresses himself (through cuss words). Suddenly, those terms became normal when we are mad and angry towards authority,” he says. “But I just want to clarify na wag sana nila gawing role model yun para labanan ang authority kasi may authority na sa tamang disposition, may authority naman na wala sa tama like, kung aking kalaban as Heneral Luna ay isang corrupt official, at nag-assassinate sa akin, baka they deserve the swear words.”

What he bemoans, however, are the careless if not irrelevant dispense of invectives “na kahit sino nalang, walang respeto na sa authority, sa elders, like suddenly, it’s hip to swear. But no, that’s not the point. I’ve always said, change is good but it has to be in the right perspective. Expressing your (anger) is good in the right perspective, too, and towards the right opponent. But if you’re going to use it against all authorities, at just about everyone, just because you want to express your frustration, I think it’s wrong.”

John stresses that there’s something to learn not just from Luna’s virtues but also from his flaws. “Antonio Luna — he expresses himself too much. Being aggressive is good but without diplomacy, it can be mistaken as arrogance, and I think that’s what happened to him. Di porke’t ginanap ko si Heneral Luna at lahat ay napaibig sa pagmamahal niya sa bayan ay lahat ng ginawa niya ay tama. He had a tragic flaw and that’s why he was assassinated (at 33 years old).

“True, you have a genuine love for the country, you want to save your country from colonizers, but he lacked (diplomacy) and somehow, it was his tragic flaw as a hero, as a person. He was misunderstood because mas nakita sa kanya yung anger, yung madness, but are we saying that his love for the country was wrong? No. But the way he did it, dun nagkaroon ng konting problema and di natin kailangan i-take yun na tama lahat. We have to study which ones are good and which ones are not.”

Relating it to the post-elections fighting and bashing, especially on social media, John is encouraging supporters to look to their candidates as to how they are after the elections. “Look at Duterte, pagkatapos ng elections, tapos na. Yung last debate niya, nag-mura pa ba siya dun? Wala na. Then after the elections, he said it’s time for reconciliation. Look at the candidates, after the elections, they were already civil to each other.”

However, he laments that “followers still cannot move on. We’re like mobs. Masyadong (emotionally invested) na hindi na nag-iisip. You know, it was just a phase in choosing our leaders; it shouldn’t be a fight till the end.”

John admits that he left his presidential choice blank during the May 9 elections as he couldn’t make up his mind between the Mayor of Davao City and former DILG Sec. Mar Roxas, the standard-bearer of the Aquino administration. Nevertheless, he says, “I’m pro-people, kung sino man sa kanila, kaya kong tanggapin at suportahan bilang Pilipino (whoever gets elected between the two of them, I will accept and support as a Filipino).”