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Love her or hate her, it’s undeniable that Chanda Romero really did an incredible job in her portrayal of the treacherous Olivia Guerrero in “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo.”
Over the past months, she indeed got on the nerves of viewers and piqued our gigil as Olivia a number of times, such as when she attempted to kill Marites (Cherry Pie Picache) as her way of exacting vengeance against both the Montenegros and the Guerreros.
At the same time, there were also instances when she was able to pull at our heartstrings and made us pity her, especially every time Don Gustavo (Dante Rivero) insulted and embarrassed her in front of their family and of other people.
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Just when Olivia thought that she would be able to get away from the wrath of the Guerreros or escape death by leaving the Montenegro mansion with her right-hand men and the remains of her late son, Iñigo (Albie Casiño), we witnessed how she died in the arms of Roberto (Albert Martinez) after being fatally shot by Miguelito (Jake Cuenca) during their final encounter.
As Chanda bids goodbye to the “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” family along with her co-actors Dayal Chowdhary and Ihman Esturco, who played the roles of her lackeys Isaac and Lorenzo, respectively, the CCM Film Productions team prepared a farewell celebration for them, as seen in the photos uploaded by the said production outfit across its social media platforms.
CCM Film Productions also shared the exit interview with the veteran actress, in which she fondly talked about her experience working on the series, her realizations and takeaways, as well as her unforgettable memories with everyone on the set.
Chanda on her experience working in the series
She may have been in the local entertainment scene for more than five decades already, yet Chanda imparted that she couldn’t recall working so hard in her life or for as long as she could remember until she became part of “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo.”
Portraying Olivia may have been physically and emotionally demanding, which made it impossible for her to have an easy day in taping, but she couldn’t be any happier or prouder of herself. She was extremely delighted to have something to talk to her husband about every time she came home and to have something to be amazed about herself. Besides, she had also done a lot of things in this series that she actually didn’t expect to be given to her, nor was she able to carry out.
“Ang natutunan ko rito sa ‘Batang Quiapo’ is that professionalism is easily achievable,” Chanda said when asked what working on this series had taught her. “I realized [na] as long as alam mo at naiintindihan mo ang trabaho mo, and nandoon ‘yong determination na i-deliver kung ano ‘yong inaasahan from you, that’s just the key to all of this.”
She went on to imply how amazed she was that despite the many challenging scenes they had to shoot in the past six months that she was part of the show, she never heard nor witnessed any altercation among the staff, and they were all able to deliver their respective duties very smoothly. Moreover, she also appreciated how they took care of her on the set, revealing that she never had a personal assistant ever since 1989.
Chanda on her most unforgettable scenes as Olivia
While it was her first time working with Director Malu Sevilla, she divulged having worked with Dante Rivero, Celia Rodriguez, and Albert Martinez. Since she was surrounded by some of the finest talents in the Philippine entertainment industry, Chanda admitted to feeling pressured, knowing that they were all watching her as Olivia being vehemently angry, bitter, and hurt. The scene was so intense that she recounted having to hold either the hand of Dante or Angel Aquino afterwards because she was really shaking.
The second one was the death of Iñigo, which totally devastated Olivia. Since that sequence was very long, she decided to divide her emotions in order to avoid the possible “umay factor” in her acting. She also has her co-star Tommy Abuel, who played his biological father, Don Julio, for giving her suggestions on how she could execute her grieving scenes better.
The last one was the “Royal Rumble” scene, wherein she exposed the true gender identity of Roberto in front of the public, which resulted in the high-octane clash between the Montenegros and the Guerreros. She confessed to feeling again the pressure of being watched by everyone both as Olivia and as herself, yet she was able to amazingly pull it off.
Chanda on why the Guerrero familly is her “favorite team”
Despite her character being disowned and detested by the members of their family—except for her mom, Doña Pilar (Celia Rodriguez)—Chanda disclosed that the whole Guerrero family is her “favorite team” in the teleserye.
She explained, “Kasi since the beginning pa of my stepping into ‘Batang Quiapo’, I grew with them, and I worked with them eh. No matter how dysfunctional their family is, ang ganda ng dynamics—iba-ibang topak, iba-ibang puso kung puso man ang matatawag doon, iba-ibang utak, iba-iba ang pitik. Pero napakalaki ng naitulong sa akin ng the whole of the Guerrero family.”
Chanda on her realizations and takeaways from the series
With regard to what being part of the series had reminded her of, Chanda began by saying, “The keyword really is respect”. She elaborated, “Kahit sino ka pa, kahit gaano ka pa kalaking artista, kahit na producer ka, kahit na ikaw utility, if you respect each other, you will always, always work in harmony. Irespeto mo ‘yong bawat isa, irespeto mo ‘yong trabaho mo, irespeto mo ‘yong oras and effort ng lahat ng kasama mo. You do not ask for respect e; you earn it.”
Meanwhile, aside from the awesome and unforgettable experiences, the veteran actress revealed that her biggest takeaway from “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” is all the friendships that she has formed while making this series.
“So, I’m leaving the set happy that I was able to deliver and prove my worth, but sad that I am leaving a lot of new friends, na hindi ‘yan taping friends. And I hope that they know that I will still be their friend outside of this set,” she expressed while trying to contain her emotions, then went on to convey her love to the “Batang Quiapo” family, as well as her gratitude for all the support that they’d given her all throughout.
Chanda on how thankful she is to Direk Coco
In her message for her co-star and director Coco Martin, Chanda confessed that she used to only dream of working with him a year ago, as well as being given the opportunity to be part of the series. Thus, she couldn’t be more grateful and glad that it finally happened and that she was among the senior actors whom he had given the chance to be involved in this project.
“Nagapapasalamat ako kay Direk Coco for considering me for this role, na I hope naman na nagampanan ko nang mabuti. And thank you kasi in my 53 years, this is one of the rare times na I can say, ‘Ito ‘yong pinagtrabahuhan ko for 53 years. Ito ‘yong the respect, the praise, and pinaramdam n’yo talaga sa akin that I still know what I’m doing and I can still be good at it,” she stated.
Chanda capped off the interview by expressing her gratitude to the ardent viewers of the series, especially those who showed love and support to her character even though she’s a villain.
“Sa mga nanood ng ‘Batang Quiapo’, salamat sa mga suporta n’yo, salamat sa gabi-gabing pagtutok n’yo sa teleseryeng ito. Salamat doon sa [mga] na-highblood kay Olivia kasi tandaan n’yo, kapag walang kontrabida, walang bida,” she said.
Now that one of the villains in the life of Tanggol and his family is already gone, what will happen next? Well, that’s for all of us to see, so you better not miss an episode of “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo,” weeknights at 8 PM, on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), A2Z, TV5 and iWant.