Philippine movie icon and former senator Ramon Revillan Sr. died on Friday, his son Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revila, Jr. confirmed on the same day. He was 93.
“After 93 full years, our father, former Senator Ramon Revilla, Sr. succumbed to heart failure at 5:20 this afternoon. He is now free from physical pain and is in the loving arms of our Creator,” Revilla Jr. wrote in a statement on his Facebook page.
The incumbent senator first confirmed the news through a Facebook Live video.
“Wala na po ang tatay ko. Please pray for him,” he said in between tears and showing the roomful of grieving Bautista-Revilla clan.
Born José Acuña Bautista Sr. in Imus, Cavite on March 8, 1927, Revilla Sr. was the youngest of the 10 children of businessmen Ildefonso Bautista and Andrea Acuña. He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce at the Far Eastern University.
He adopted his screen name when he began his film career in the ‘50s.
He, however, only landed small roles, so he shifted career and went to government service.
Revilla Sr. started as a senior intelligence officer and rose through the ranks to reach the rank of major and headed the Secret Service Unit (now known as the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Division) from 1965 to 1972.
That year, he returned to show business and adopted the role of action star and producer.
Revilla popularized the agitmat (amulet) from Filipino folklore with his back-to-back fantasy movies hits “Nardong Putik” (1972) and “Pepeng Agimat” (1973).
He also popularized characters “Tiagong Akyat” — whose “Hulihin Si Tiyagong Akyat” movie won him Famas Best Actor in 1973 — and “Tonyong Bayawak” (1979), which made him that year’s Box-Office King.
His last big screen appearance was in his son Revilla Jr.’s “Exodus: Tales from the Enchanted Kingdom” (2005).
Revilla Sr. entered politics in 1992 when he won a seat in the Senate. He finished two terms and served until 2004.
As a senator, he was hailed as the “Father of Public Works Act.”
According to senate.gov.ph, he earned the title after he was named chairman of the Senate Public Works Committee and his authorship of Republic Act (RA) 8150, which was signed into law by President Fidel V. Ramos on Sept. 8, 1995.
The law sought to identify the infrastructure projects to be pursued all over the country at that time.
He also authored RA 8294, or the “Revilla Law” that lowered the penalties for illegal possession of firearms; and introduced amendment to RA 6425 or the “Dangerous Drugs Act” that imposed life impris onment or capital punishment on drug traffickers, among others.
Revilla Sr. not only relegated a glittering show business career to his son Revilla Jr. but also his political career. The son also ran for a Senate seat and won the elections twice, in 2004 and 2010.
The Revilla patriarch is said to have fathered at least 72 children from 16 different women. Different accounts, however, said he had 81 children with the youngest born in 1996.
Another of Revilla Sr.’s sons, Cavite Second District Rep. Strike Revilla, issued a separate statement on his death.
“Today, our Daddy, Sen. Ramon Revilla, Sr., joins his Creator and our mother in heaven. Our hearts are broken, but grateful for the years we were able to share together as a family,” Revilla said.
”Maraming salamat sa lahat, Daddy. I may no longer be able to hug you when I need comfort or talk to you when I need inspiration, but you will never be forgotten. You will live in my heart forever, and in the hearts of everyone whose lives you had touched. Mahal na mahal ka namin,” he said.