At 55, Robin Padilla is far removed from the brash firebrand who exploded onto the scene in the ’90s.
Now a senator—tempered, cordial, and grounded—one might expect him to place his turbulent past firmly behind him. But the original Bad Boy of Philippine cinema isn’t done with the legend that made him a cultural icon.
Padilla has signed a multi-picture deal with Viva Films—the studio that built his myth and first spotted his potential more than three decades ago.
“Hindi ako magiging si Robin Padilla kundi dahil kay Boss Vic,” Padilla said, referring to Viva patriarch Vic Del Rosario.
He calls Del Rosario his “ama sa showbiz,” acknowledging the man who saw in him a different breed of action star, shaping him into one of the decade’s biggest box-office draws.
Del Rosario, marking Viva’s 44th year, returns the sentiment.
“Si Robin, parang anak ko na,” he said. “I was the first to see his potential as a new kind of action star. When we did ‘Bad Boy,’ it was something the Pinoy moviegoer had never seen before.”
The crown jewel of the deal is “Bad Boy 3,” a surprise continuation of the franchise that catapulted Padilla to megastardom.
The film picks up the story of Bumbo, the streetwise antihero whose turbulent past mirrored the gritty, combustible energy Padilla carried both onscreen and off.
“Continuation ito ng buhay ni Bumbo,” Padilla explained. “Sa una, naging gangster siya. Sa pangalawa, gangster pa rin siya pero nakahanap siya ng mamahalin at nanumbalik sa Panginoon. Eto, pagpapatuloy noon.”
The first two films became massive hits, turning Padilla into an icon so influential that parents once worried about teenagers mimicking his tough-guy persona.
Asked whether he fears reviving a character once blamed for encouraging real-life bravado, he said audiences have changed. “Iba noong panahon e. Mas matalino na ang manonood ngayon. Alam nila na entertainment lang ito.”
Nor is he concerned about how a return to his Bad Boy roots might affect his standing as a senator. “Hindi naman siguro,” he said. “Wala naman akong tinago sa madla. Alam nila kung sino ako.”
Balancing politics and showbiz, he said, is a matter of purpose. “Sa Senado, seryoso tayo. Tinatalakay natin ang mga batas at ang mga problema ng bansa. Bilang aktor, seryoso pa rin tayo pero ang kaibahan, narito tayo para magpasaya ng mga tao.”
As for whether the Bad Boy still lives within him, Padilla laughed. “Ah, hindi na. Dala lang ng kabataan ’yon,” he said, before adding more deliberately, “Hindi ko sinasabing mabait na ako. Patuloy nating tinatrabaho yan.”
To round out the newly signed partnership, five of his films — “Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo”; “Sa Ngalan ng Ama, Ina at Anak”; “10,000 Hours”; “Turn: My Pledge of Love”; and “Alab ng Lahi”—will be made available across all Viva platforms, from streaming to free TV.
Padilla maintained he is not just revisiting his past. He is attempting to reclaim it—older, steadier, but clearly still hungry for the fire that made him the country’s enduring Bad Boy.
Said he, “Ako pa rin ang Bad Boy dahil wala pa akong nakitang pagpapasahan ng titulong ito. Dapat meron ganun e, yung ako ang magpasa, hindi ang kung sino.”
