4 for Agimat

MANILA, Philippines – It’s only the middle of the year. But it feels like Christmas for Tayong Dalawa boys Gerald Anderson, Jake Cuenca and Coco Martin, as they recently received their early gifts from Santa. 

Along with Jolo Revilla, Gerald, Jake and Coco will headline the latest ABS-CBN offering, Agimat. It is a TV series chronicling four of Ramon Revilla Sr.’s unforgettable characters on the big screen. Yes, it’s a prize for Gerald, Jake and Coco’s good work in Tayong Dalawa. Given Ramon Sr.’s hunk of a man characters, the three fit the role to a T.

This is the second time the Kapamilya network is paying tribute to an icon. First was the Cinema FPJ: Da King, a retrospective of Fernando Poe Jr.’s best work and performances. 

The four-part series will also show why many consider Ramon Sr. a proponent of local tinseltown’s action, adventure and fantasy movies.

Remember, before Hollywood had the Unbreakable character in Bruce Willis or Hollow Man in Kevin Bacon, we had Ramon Revilla with his signature “magical,” superhuman characters like Nardong Putik.

Jake and Gerald will play Elias Paniki and Tiagong Akyat, respectively. Coco is Tonyong Bayawak while Jolo is Pepeng Agimat.

So, who will portray the Nardong Putik? No one, answer the brains behind Agimat. They couldn’t find the family of Nardong Putik to ask permission from since it is a true-to-life story.

During the presscon, Gerald, Jake, Coco and Jolo couldn’t contain their happiness about this development in their careers. They were all smiles when each was presented. Also present at the event were Ramon Sr.’s daughters Rowena Bautista and Andrea Bautista-Ynares. Putting the Revilla seal on Agimat are Jolo’s participation and Marlon Bautista’s creative inputs. By the way, Ramon Revilla Sr. is a fan of Tayong Dalawa and May Bukas Pa. 

Asked what kind of amulet the four guys would like to possess, Jake replies, “Something that will protect my family.” Coco wants a charm that will make him invisible and solve the world’s cares. It would be a love potion for Gerald and an agimat to help people for Jolo.

Since a typical Ramon Revilla movie is teeming with gorgeous leading ladies, the male leads of Agimat have their own choices. Coco wishes to be paired either with Maja Salvador or Alessandra de Rossi. Jake has Roxanne Guinoo, Melissa Ricks and Bea Alonzo on his list. Gerald prefers Kim Chiu, Anne Curtis and Erich Gonzales, while Jolo has Lovi and Shaina Magdayao in mind.

If the TV remake of the actor-politician’s movies means anything, it’s the fact that Ramon Sr.’s movies are timeless as Andrea puts it.