Ninoy Aquino, Francisco Dagohoy biopics on Cesar Montano's to-do list

We feel sorry for Jay Perillo who was eliminated after the first round of competition of the “Are You the Next Big Star?” grand finale held at the Studio 7 of GMA Network Center.

Jay was our personal choice (as well as of other press friends) over Alex Castro and Geoff Taylor, who was the grand prize winner among the guys. We felt that Jay has the better singing voice and is the better performer compared to Alex or Geoff. During the rehearsal of the duet he did with Basil Valdez entitled “Kung Ako’y Iiwan Mo?”, we had goosebumps listening to Jay--something that we could not say of Alex’s or Geoff’s performances.

But in fairness to Geoff, he did better than Alex in their face-off. We wonder what could have been the outcome of the contest had it been Jay who battled Geoff in the final face-off.

We had the chance to talk to Jay a few minutes after he was booted out of a slot in the third and final round of "Are You the Next Big Star?" and the young man admitted that he cried backstage. It was probably out of frustration. He really gave his all in the competition but sad to say, his best wasn’t good enough to merit him a spot in the finals.

“Naisip ko ang mga hirap na pinagdaanan naming before kami nakarating sa finals kaya hindi ko maiwasan na makurot sa puso dahil sa nangyari,” said Jay, who is a contract star of Viva Entertainment Group. “But I didn’t expect anything. During the lsst few weeks leading to the finals, my prayer had been was whatever happens or whatever is the outcome in the Finals, I would accept it wholeheartedly.”

 “Mahirap po isipin kung ano ang tumatakbo sa isip ng mga judges. Kanya-kanya sila ng decision. Alam ko po na ginawa ko ang part ko at masaya naman po ako kung saan ako dinala ng effort ko kasi alam ko po na ginawa ko ang lahat,” added Jay with a smile even though we knew he was hurting inside.

He continued, “I was very thankful  naman po ako sa kung ano ang ibibigay sa akin. Thankful naman po ako talaga. Pero naiyak po ako, siyempre po. May kirot po talaga pero after po ng five minutes, naka-move on na ako.”
How does he feel that many people in the audience felt that he should have moved to the Finals because he was the most consistent performer? 

“Nagpapasalamat po ako nang todo-todo sa lahat nang nagsasabi niyan. Iyon pa lang pong mga tao na nagsasabi niyan, parang pakiramdam ko na panalo na ako. Alam ko po na ‘yung mga tao na iyan ay naniniwala sa kakayahan ko, sa talent ko, kaya nagpapasalamat po ako sa kanilang lahat,” added Jay.

What are his plans after this setback? “Tuloy pa rin po ang musika. Hintayin na lang po natin kung ano ang mangyayari. Sabi naman po ay may meeting kami with GMA bukas. Tignan na lang natin kung ano ang mangyayari. Hopefully, ito pong Next Big Star ang way para magkaroon ako ng nang mas magandang break. Dito po kasi sa Next Big Star ay ibinuhos ko lahat. Before kasi alam ko na hindi ako determined sa career ko noon. Pero dito kasi ibinuhos ko lahat kaya masakit,” he explained.

Jay may not be named the Next Big Star, but in our opinion, he deserves to be the top winner. Nevertheless, this is not to take credit away from Geoff, who also gave a good accout of himself by performing very well in the finals.

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You can’t forget what your heart desires. For Cesar Montano, it feels like that as he launched his comeback as the Mega Sardines endorser. From his “Tatak Barko” Mega ad, which espouses freshness of the sardines, he elevates it to a healthy platform, “Tatak Puso, Para sa Puso.” It’s endorsing the benefits of Omega 3 for a healthy heart, enriched in every serving of Mega Sardines. The television commercial, a parody of a genre that made Cesar Montano a film icon, is like an action film steeped in comic flavor. 

Going to more serious stuff, Cesar said that he’s indeed throwing his hat into the political ring in next year’s elections. He will be running as governor of Bohol, his home province. He has been in Bohol most of the time, in preparation for his candidacy, meeting with townspeople and consulting with his advisers on his political moves.

The actor also expressed interest to do a film on the life of Ninoy Aquino. He had already told Mrs. Cory Aquino about this intention of his sometime in 2006 and she agreed. He will produce this under CM films with Marilou Diaz-Abaya as director. Cesar also is also doing the life story of Francisco Dagohoy, in which he would be both the star and director. He might do this earlier than the Ninoy Aquino flick. This might be shown either December or early next year.