Ronnie’s hard work pays off

MANILA, Philippines - He declined an offer to guest in one movie project. He, too, turned down an opportunity to be part of a TV series. Ronnie Ricketts purposely shied away from acting since he was appointed as chairman of the Optical Media Board on November of 2009.

“It’s because I wanted to concentrate on my job,” begins Ronnie regarding his long absence in front of the grinding cameras. “That’s when the industry noticed my dedication and hard work (as chairman). Some thought I will do nothing, na poporma lang ako. But when they saw that I was really working hard and I was trying to come up with different approaches in my campaign, then lately, our effort is being noticed worldwide, they knew I’m serious with my job.”

The OMB chair adds the task is too tough, that one can’t accomplish anything by merely sitting down. Add to that the “emotional stress” as no one seemed to believe that he could make a change when he took office. “That’s why I believe there’s truth to Mahatma Gandhi’s saying: First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. I had experienced all of that because I was ignored, I was laughed at and they fought me. But it will all fall into place when you work hard and you are consistent with your moves.”

Asked if there was a moment during the early part of his term that he almost quit, he replies, “No, baligtad there was so much eagerness in me to prove to them that I can accomplish things kaya naka-focus lang ako sa trabaho. Initially, my staff was just observing me like what’s the first thing I will do or will I report on time every day, yung mga ganun o masipag ba ako. Pumapasok ako araw-araw at 6:30 (a.m.) pa lang andun na ako. Everyone (at OMB) saw the changes I did. Basta tuloy-tuloy lang ang trabaho.”

Even if he, more often than not, has gotten into myriad of life-threatening situations, Ronnie never thought of leaving his position. One of them was when he and his driver nearly came close to death on their way home from an operation. An unidentified man inside a vehicle suddenly blocked their path, rolled the window open and pointed a gun at them. But that didn’t stop the OMB chair from putting his plans against film piracy into action. He was lauded many times for his endeavors, the most recent of which was when members of the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) commended him and director general Ricardo Blancaflor for effective approaches in dealing with piracy and further modernizing protections of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). In connection to this, the Philippines has been taken out from the Watchlist Category and was elevated to a commendable Special Mention Category.

“When they asked if there’s a possibility to successfully fight (film) piracy, I told them, ‘It can be done.’ And now, it was done. Yes, meron pa din ilan but what’s good is it was lessened by greater percentage.”   

But for all the things he was able to accomplish, Ronnie is not the type who would take all the credit. He recognizes how his team, the PNP, DOJ, the city government of Manila and all the agencies concerned united and worked hard to fight film piracy.

Nonetheless, Ronnie, after many fights, is able to win. “Di ba yun ang last na sinabi ni Gandhi — they fight you, then you win. And I feel good about it.”

Thus, when Viva boss Vic del Rosario Jr. broached the idea of him doing a movie once more, Ronnie no longer hesitated. He knows he can do acting without neglecting his OMB duties. “Ang tagal na kasi akong inaaalok nina Boss Vic at ni Wilson Tieng ng Solar to do a movie. Sabi ko pag-iisipan ko.”

So when Boss Vic mentioned about it again last year that he would help in the movie, Ronnie eventually accepted the offer. He wrote and directed his comeback movie, The Fighting Chefs, under Rocketts Productions. His wife Mariz is line producer while daughter Marella will be introduced in the movie.

“I can’t say no anymore kasi ang ganda ng offer ni Boss Vic and even director Tony Reyes was willing to help. He helped me with the script kasi nga kulang-kulang pa, nag-suggest s’ya at inayos n’ya for free ha. You will see in the credits direk Tony as creative consultant.”

Co-starring with Ronnie is Chef Boy Logro. “Initially, we thought we could never have Chef Boy because we talked to the wrong people. According to them, Chef Boy’s schedule is so tight  and I told them that we will do our shooting only on Saturdays because I have work at OMB and then they were firm on saying that they can’t do anything.”

Good thing, Mariz was invited to guest in Chef Boy’s TV show and that’s when they saw the chance to personally invite the latter to do The Fighting Chefs.

“Chef Boy right away accepted at sabi pa ‘gusto ko yan.’ We are happy that we are able to work with him. Ginulat pa nga ako kasi ang aga sa set, quarter to six andun na e ang usual call time is 6:30 a.m.”

Ronnie has nothing but praises for Chef Boy. “He’s so humble and he told me his life story, nakakabilib pero napaka-simple nya, no airs.”

The movie also stars Hero Angeles, Vandolph, Jeffrey Santos, Joross Gamboa, Jon Hall, Arci Munoz, Onyok Velasco with the special participation of Mark Gil, Roi Vinzon and Roldan Aquino.

The Fighting Chefs will have its premiere tonight at Robinsons Galleria cinema and regular showing in theaters is on Wednesday, March 6.