Miggs swings between school & showbiz

Miggs Cuaderno refuses to be swayed by the rants and the raging storm. At 12, the award-winning actor (Best Actor, Cheries Chers International Film Festival and Movie Child Performer of the Year, Star Awards) marches to the beat of a different drummer.

He’s all for burying the late strongman in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

“Past presidents and military men are buried there. The former president was a military man,” Miggs explains.

But he wants to make it clear: Marcos is no hero. He made mistakes we should avoid at all costs. All Miggs wants is closure to the burial issue.

“His remains have been buried. Let history judge him,” the precocious boy points out.

If Miggs thinks like an adult, and not the 12 year old that he is, it’s because the kid is born smarter than others.

This sixth grader’s report card at the Victory Christian International School shows a lot of 90-plus marks. Miggs is enrolled in the home study program because of his taping and shooting schedules.

His teachers assign him modules to study, then tests his knowledge through a comprehensive exam. He expects to graduate from elementary next year.

Miggs started out as a regular kindergarten student until the demands of his role in the defunct series Munting Heredera encroached on his schedule. At first, he had a tutor who helped him score well in tests and get high grades.

But others didn’t like what they saw. They felt that the talented actor was paying his teachers to get high marks. That’s when Miggs asked his mom Judy to enroll him in an online study program.

This way, he can do what he loves: Study and act at the same time.

Today, Miggs is about to shoot the indie film Ang Guro Kong ‘Di Marunong Magbasa (My Teacher Who Doesn’t Know How to Read), where he plays one of the child warriors trained in handling guns and firing mercilessly at the enemy.

But does Miggs, young as he is, understand what being a child warrior is all about?

Miggs nods.

Rebels fight the government, and wage a war that leaves children orphans, he says.

In the story, Aaquil (played by Quezon City councilor Alfred Vargas) turns community teacher because his small, remote barrio sorely lacks educators. His young students don’t know he’s illiterate. When he fails to return to the classroom, the confused students turn rebels and child warriors.

Miggs is excited for Guro, his first action film. Its writer-director, theater, television and film actor Perry Escaño promised Miggs he’ll not only have acting workshops, but training in handling guns as well.

The talented actor, always on the lookout for new things and more knowledge, can’t wait to start shooting the film by December.

Besides, he didn’t get the role on a silver platter. Miggs passed through the proverbial eye of a needle, proving that direk Perry doesn’t just look at an actor’s awards. He’s looking for the perfect fit for a role he has in mind.

Miggs auditioned with 500 others (only Alfred and Mon Confiado were pre-chosen for the cast). Only 104 made it to the final cut (Lou Veloso and Miggs’ fellow child actors Micko Laurente, Marc Justine Alvarez and Bon Lentejas are among them).

Direk Perry proved he made the right decision when Guro was chosen one of 10 finalists for the Cinemalaya 2017 full-length film competition at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

Now, it’s up to the viewers to decide whether this brave new film deserves their all-important patronage or not. —With reports from Almed Garcia and Julian Mauricio