The feared, respected Tita Midz

A lot of people I know fear Armida Siguion Reyna (because she will really give it to you if you incur her ire). But along with the fear comes respect. Respect for her as a person and respect for her various contributions to the different branches of entertainment (music, television and film).

On television, she has helped preserve and propagate Filipino music through Aawitan Kita all these decades.

Aawitan Kita is difficult to produce – and expensive. I doubt if Armida ever made money out of this program. But she went on with it and in the process, the show helped enrich further the Filipino culture. Her reward came in the form of awards and citations – oh, a whole slew of them – from various organizations that paid tribute to Aawitan Kita, which will always be considered a shining gem on Philippine television.

Aside from Aawitan, Armida also produced other noteworthy programs on TV. There was Mga Kuwento ng Pag-ibig, which tapped the best writers, directors and performers in the industry. And then, there were those drama specials that featured the lives of historical characters – like Gabriela Silang, for instance.

As a motion picture producer, she came out with some of the finest film products in the history of Philippine movies – from Mga Bilanggong Birhen in the ’70s to Ligaya ang Itawag Mo sa Akin and Ang Lalake sa Buhay ni Selya (two of the films that hailed Rosanna Roces as a top-caliber artist) in the late ’90s.

In her capacity as producer, she does not only make quality projects, but also tries to instill professionalism into the system. To make sure her cast and crew do not play hide-and-seek with her during production, the principal photography of most of her films is often done in Pagud-pud, Ilocos Norte – away from the distractions of city life.

As an actress, she has excelled in this field, too. Her first film was Sa Pagitan ng Dalawang Langit where she plays a leper who escapes from the leprosarium to see her daughter. She won the Best Supporting Actress award in the 1975 Bacolod Film Festival for this one. Then there was Ang Tutoong Buhay ni Pacita M. where she was cast as the mother-in-law Nora Aunor couldn’t get along with. But her best performance ever is in Tahan Na, Empoy where she is so hateful as the oppressive aunt of Snooky Serna and Niño Muhlach. She rightfully won Best Supporting Actress honors for this one from the Gawad Urian and the FAMAS.

As chief of the Movie & Television Review and Classification Board, I dare say that she was the most effective. Sure, there were rallies staged against her by members of a conservative group that wanted to impose their own perverted brand of morality on all of us. But I could sense Armida’s vision. Although we never discussed this between us, I think what she wanted was for the forever-repressed Pinoy moviegoers to have their fill of sex films (for as long as these are not out-and-out pornography) – to the point of saturation. True enough, the local moviegoers began ignoring those cheap exploitative sex movies and went for quality films that, well, still had elements of sex.

Okay, they still looked for sex in films, but at least the Pinoy moviegoers reached the stage where they were beginning to be selective and often chose sex movies that at least had a good story and with fine technical elements. Next stage? Maybe the Pinoy moviegoer’s taste could have gotten further refinement. Maybe we would have eventually gotten sick and tired of sex films and won’t look for this anymore and would only appreciate true quality Filipino movies. Maybe... maybe... But Armida didn’t stay long enough as MTRCB head, so we can’t tell what could have happened.

However, we should remember that during her time as MTRCB chief, the local motion picture industry had a rich harvest of quality films: Jose Rizal, Bata, Bata Paano Ka Ginawa?, Sana Pag-ibig Na, Saranggola, Bayaning Third World, Tanging Yaman, Tuhog, etc. The local movie business never had it so good in a long time.

Armida Siguion Reyna has been inactive as a producer for a long time. But I am glad that she is back in the movies as an actress – as the matriarch (replacing no less than Lolita Rodriguez) in Joel Lamangan’s Filipinas, Viva Films’ official entry to the 2003 Metro Filmfest.

Last Nov. 5, Armida turned a year wiser (and so did son Carlitos Siguion Reyna – they share the same birthday) and this is my tribute to a woman who may be the empress of katarayan (sorry, there really is no English word for this), but still respected by everyone inside and outside of show business.

With her, I really don’t know where I stand (most Scorpions are like that). But wherever it may be, I salute this grand dame for putting so much respectability, honor and dignity into the local entertainment profession. Happy Birthday, Midz!