Pen Medina ‘slowly getting stronger’ after spine surgery

MANILA, Philippines — Pen Medina is on the road to recovery after undergoing a surgery last year due to degenerative disc disease (DDD), a spine disorder.

“I feel better. My wound is healing,” the veteran actor said in Tagalog during the media conference for FPJ’s Batang Quiapo. He plays Marciano “Marsing” Dimaculangan in the ABS-CBN series. His only problem, he added, is his weak heart. “Yung pagod, yung init, but (I’m) slowly getting stronger.”

He also acknowledged the people from the showbiz industry who extended their support to him during those tough times.

Following his hospitalization, there are still limits as to what he can do physically, especially during the taping of FPJ’s Batang Quiapo. “I need to be careful because of the implant,” he shared. “Titanium eh. Dalawang ganung kahaba nakaturnilyo dun sa buto. I can’t do back movements or twist or stoop.”

“But I try to (do movements). For example, direk Coco (Martin) asked me, ‘Tito Pen, can you do this?’ Yung namamalimos ako. I tried to carry it out. ‘Pag hindi sumakit, ‘Kaya ko, direk, ‘wag lang malayo (and) ‘wag lang mabilis.’”

He likewise requested to have a cut-off time for his working schedule to have enough time to rest. “Especially during taping, we don’t follow a script, (it’s) on the spot, we usually extend our shooting hours. I asked for a cut-off (time). At first, I was shy to ask. But I felt that my body became weaker and I had an irregular heart (rate), so I asked for a 10 (p.m.) o’clock cut-off.”

At 72, Pen doesn’t have plans of retiring just yet. “This is what we love (to do),” he stated. “There are also a lot of actors who still work (even at this age). Kaya… hangga’t kaya (we will still work).”

“The filming is not every day. Especially (in this series), we have a lot of cast members. Hindi naman kami isasalang ng three times a week. But I’m really thankful because we get to film (just a couple of times) per week. The rest of the week, I could still take some time off and rest. I usually paint and draw (during my free time). Hopefully, I could mount (an art) exhibit,” he added.

Using a pencil, Pen had sketched 10 “studies” and 50 mini paintings to date. He showed some of his sample artworks from his phone during the press interview, including Adolf Hitler, a portrait of his father and several nude paintings.

But his art pieces are not ripe for an exhibit yet, he admitted. “Because it is not unified. When you stage an exhibit, it should have a (common) theme.”

“It’s hard to explain,” he said on the concept of his collections. “For the big paintings, it’s a reflection of our lives. Most of the people don’t know what we show here… They say, ‘Bakit masama yung mga character(s) sa…?’ Actually, they are not that bad. When people get to discover the true description of what a bad person is, they will be surprised. That’s the theme of my paintings. Mga studies pa lang, eh.”

He already sold some of his artworks to buyers, including a broadcaster who interviewed him. “But as of now, I don’t sell (my artworks).”

(FPJ’s Batang Quiapo airs on weeknights at 8 on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, TV5, iWantTFC, and Kapamilya Online Live on ABS-CBN Entertainment’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. The show is also available to viewers in and out of the Philippines on iWantTFC, while viewers outside of the Philippines can watch it on The Filipino Channel on cable and IPTV.)