“I considered this is a blessing na binigay ng Panginoon dahil siguro one way or the other may may mga nagawa naman tayong mabuti kahit papaano and we continue to do that, ang gumawa ng mabuti sa kapwa in our own very simple act,” dagdag pa ng dating aklakde.
Ibinahagi rin ni Herbert na kahit naging mayor siya ng mahabang panahon ay hindi pumasok sa utak niya na siya powerful. Masunuring aktor daw siya sa kanyang mga nagiging director.
“Sabi nila when you’re in government parang you’re the one in control especially nung nag-mayor ako – you’re the one in power – but they don’t realize that being an actor, even being behind the camera is a very difficult task.
“Yung planning, preparation, resources, putting things together at particular day na hindi ka dapat sumabit do’n dahil maaantala na yung mga susunod mong gagawin sa darating na mga araw. And this is what I learned from the entertainment industry.
“Ako naman bilang isang artista, they say, ‘Oh, naging mayor ka, vice mayor, konsehal,’ akala nando’n yung power pero hindi. I like people, tulad ng mga director ko, who puts me into where I am supposed to be. ‘Oh ito ang blocking mo ha, tayo ka dito, lakad ka don, sabihin mo itong dialogue na ito.’
“And I do it because becoming good leader you must be a good follower. Kailangan mo ring sumunod sa instructions. Kailangang maging sharp ka to deliver the lines, sharp enough to project that particular emotion to a particular scene.
“So ang sinasabi ko, bilang isang artista, hindi porke napunta ako sa gobyerno at nagkaroon ako ng pagkakataong magsilbi, eh, pumasok sa isip ko yung power saka authority. Bumalik ako sa pag-aartista because this entertainment industry as an actor grounded me,” tuluy-tuloy niyang paliwanag.
When asked kung ano ang maipapayo niya sa nga celebrity o artistang gusto ring pasukin ang pulitika, ani Bistek dapat daw ay maging handa sila.
“Iba kasi yung naging dating ko, eh. I started serving the people sa barangay namin as youth leader sa Kabataang Barangay and I was just 17 years old. I was studying 4th year high school and then nag-aartista ako noon – may sitcom ako, soap opera and a live show every Sunday.
“And then, as a youth leader, tuluy-tuloy na siya, hindi na siya naputol except nung natalo ako nung 1998, pero nung time na yon nagtapos naman ako ng pag-aaral ko and I took up two masters degree.
“The entertainment industry teaches you to prepare – mga preprod, planning, timing – andyan na lahat until you give your final product to your client and that is the people. Ito dapat yung produkto where they will be entertained, masasayahan sila maiibsan yung kanilang kalungkutan. Ganun yung turo sa akin ng entertainment industry,” lahad ng actor-politician.
“So kung meron tayong mga kasama, mga kapatid natin na nasa industriya, it’s not enough na sandigan natin yung katanyagan natin. Kailangan nating maghanda, kailangan nating mag-prepare. Kasi masakit pagsabihan na, ‘Kaya naman naging ano yan kasi artista yan.’ That’s very very offensive.
“Para maiwasan natin na ma-offend tayo, from the beginning let’s not also offend them by being prepared,” huling pahayag niya.
Samantala, ang TV sequel ng Puto ay handog ng Viva Television at makakasama ni Herbert sa proyekto si McCoy de Leon na gaganap naman bilang kanyang anak.
