Coco: What’s next after Juan dela Cruz?

MANILA, Philippines - Coco Martin’s ABS-CBN action series Juan dela Cruz will end on Oct. 25 after a nine-month run.

“Malungkot na masaya. I will miss the bonding moments with my co-stars including the production staff and crew,” Coco said during the recent presscon. “Para kaming naging magkakapatid. I think it’s one thing that keeps us energized and what we look forward to every taping day no matter how tired we are.”

As Juan dela Cruz, Coco is half-Taga-Bantay and half-aswang whose mission is to help the humans against the creatures of darkness ruled by Haring Aswang, his own father. He has inherited an iron cross as his armor and shield from his mom who was Taga-Bantay.

The idea was to divide the series into Books 1, 2 and 3.

“But we realized that it’s not something viewers will appreciate,” added Coco. “Ayaw naming tipirin ang manonood so we just let the story flow. This is one of the soaps I did na hindi na kailangang pahabain. There are still more revelations. I think that Juan dela Cruz’s audience appeal comes from the story itself, not from the characters.”

Coco considers Juan dela Cruz the most challenging soap he has done because it has all the ingredients — action, drama, fantasy and comedy — to spice up the love story.

In appreciation of the public support for the series, Coco is supporting the show’s advocacy project Juan Fun School that helps the education of Filipino children.

“With the production team, we have visited four schools already. We wish that before Juan dela Cruz ends, we can put up a school. There are many out-of-school kids,” observed Coco. “It’s a nice feeling to be able to help people. I am happy and contented to be in this industry and I don’t want to make it complicated. I want to live simply.” 

As soon as Juan dela Cruz folds up, Coco plans to take a week-long vacation with his family at his new residence in Fairview, Quezon City, instead of taking them out of town.

He wants to make up for not having been with his family due to his tight work schedule.

“The minute I wake up, I take a bath and then leave. When I arrive from the taping, I take a bath and then go to sleep right away. It’s like that every day. Halos ’di na kami nagkikita-kita ng pamilya ko.”

That’s why Coco has decided to build small houses within a compound so that his whole family can be together. The project is 90 percent done.

“My parents will have separate houses because they are separated. I have my own where I will stay with my lola. Each of my siblings has his own.”

Meanwhile, pressed by reporters on the issue about his alleged child with Katherine Luna, Coco refrained from making any comment even if reports said that his and the child’s DNA didn’t match.      

“I never looked at the issue as a thorn on my side; tinrato ko siya bilang blessing kasi isa ’yun sa nagpatibay sa akin kung nasaan man ako ngayon. I’ve been through a lot, and it helped me become a strong person.”

So, what’s next for Coco? “I want to do another mainstream movie and an indie film.”

But he’s not saying a final farewell to Juan de la Cruz. Who knows, he might reprise the character… on film?