Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. (left) and son Luigi
She treats me like her own son,” Luigi Revilla said of Lani Mercado, wife of his dad, detained former Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.
The young actor is Bong’s son with Lovely Guzman, who is not from show biz.
“Tita Lani is kind to me,” he said of the actress and mayor of Bacoor. “She treats me like how she treats my half-siblings, Jolo and Bryan. I’m so blessed to have known her. She even used to help me with my school work.
“But, of course, this loving relationship I have with them did not happen overnight. It took a lot of time and patience on both sides,” he pointed out.
Luigi has two other younger brothers with her mom. He and Lani were first introduced to each other when he was 13.
“It wasn’t a big deal to me. Growing up, I knew that Bong Revilla is my dad. I didn’t feel that I was different,” he shared with the Inquirer during a recent luncheon hosted by Imus Productions to promote the action trilogy “Tres,” which Luigi is part of.
Unusual setup
“I only realized our unusual setup when I noticed that my classmates would attend school activities with their whole family. I would ask, ‘Bakit wala ang daddy ko?’ To be fair to him, he took care of me well, even though he wasn’t always around,” Luigi explained.
“My mom introduced him to me as Papa Bong. She slowly explained our situation to me,” the 26-year-old said. “I guess it’s because my mom handled things very well that I never felt unloved, angry or lacking.”
Luigi’s being a Revilla inevitably led him to show business.
“I’ve always known how it’s like to be part of the business because I often got interviewed whenever Papa would celebrate his birthday,” Luigi recalled. “Luckily, I was never the subject of intrigues—although there were articles that would label me as ‘Luigi, anak sa labas ni Bong.’ That was painful.”
“It feels great to be a Revilla. Even though our Papa got detained in Camp Crame, I’ll forever be proud that I’m his son,” he said.
In “Tres,” Luigi plays the lead in the episode, “Amats.”
He explained that the episode’s aim is “to show the negative effects of drugs on you and the people around you.”
He portrays Louie, a rich guy who becomes penniless after his parents’ death.
Boxing, Muay Thai
Portraying a character who is always high on drugs wasn’t easy, especially for a rookie actor. “Tres” is his first big-screen project.
The skills he acquired through years of boxing and doing Muay Thai came in handy during fight scenes, said Luigi.
“I used to fight in amateur competitions. I love the sport, and I’m glad I was able to use it for this project,” he shared with the Inquirer.
“Tres” director Dondon Santos also directed the first episode titled “72 Hours,” which features Jolo.
Richard Somes was at the helm of the episode starring Bryan, titled “Virgo.”
The film will hit cinemas on Oct. 3.