Avid viewers of “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” may sometimes despise him for his irrational actions, but it cannot be denied that Don Julio, the patriarch of the Montenegro family compellingly portrayed by veteran character actor Tommy Abuel, is still admirable for being an understanding and loving person, especially to his son, Ramon (Christopher de Leon), and his grandson, Tanggol (Coco Martin).
READ: 15 scenes of Don Julio as a 'very good' father to Ramon in “FPJ's Batang Quiapo”
Thus, there are viewers who are perhaps delighted to know that Don Julio is among the characters that are retained, as the well-loved primetime series enters its third year and marks the beginning of a new chapter. And more than two years since the show started, CCM Film Productions finally had the chance to catch up with Tommy in this interview.
“[I’m] Very glad na sa pangatlong yugto ng ‘Batang Quiapo’ nandito pa rin si Don Julio, still alive and kicking. And I would hope that the character would go on and on and on,” he said when asked how he feels about still being part of the series. “Of course, I know walang forever, but for as long as Don Julio can give the fans of ‘Batang Quiapo’ what they want, I'm still hoping that the character will go on till the end of the show.”
He may already be in his senior years, yet Tommy is actually aware that his character’s catchphrase, “bery good!” has been trending on social media. When asked how it started, he recounted that he was thinking of something that would make the character be remembered by the audience.
While he was in the process of creating the character in the initial year of the show, he and the production decided that the character of Don Julio wouldn’t be the old rich type but rather a self-made man who didn’t inherit generational wealth from his parents. Thus, it made him presume that his character is not very good in foreign languages like English.
Then in one episode they were filming, Don Julio had to utter the line “that’s good.” But since it was already established that he isn’t fluent in English, he realized that an ordinary person would simply say “very good!” That's when he decided to tweak it to “bery good!”—and the rest, as they say, is history.
Since it is known that Don Julio has always adored his one and only grandson Tanggol, the same actually goes for Tommy’s relationship with his co-actor-cum-director Coco Martin, whom he described as a very generous person. Besides, he is also delighted that Coco is knowledgeable about what the public wants and is able to deliver it. At the same time, he is impressed by how he’s able to manage the entire production very well.
Meanwhile, with regard to the viewers’ warm reception and surprising admiration towards the Montenegros, Tommy confessed that he had actually imagined it to happen because many perceive them as the good guys, while their enemies are the bad guys. And since the viewers have apparently been rooting for them, he’s certain that they also want the Montenegros to remain in the series for a very long time.
The interview concluded with Tommy thanking everyone who has been watching “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” over the past two years, as well as inviting us to keep on supporting them as the show enters a new chapter. The long-running series airs during weekdays at 8 PM on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), A2Z, TV5 and iWant.