What can she say about her nomination as National Artist? “Basta kung ibibigay ba, e di maraming salamat. Kung hindi naman, salamat na rin.”
What about her and her rival, Gov. Vilma Santos, being both nominated as best actress in the Urian Awards and their fans are again all agog about it? “Masaya. Nandito pa rin kami. Pero sana, huwag na kaming intrigahin o pag-awayin kasi may mga edad na kami. At saka hindi lang naman kami ang nominated doon. Marami kaming nominado (nine all in all).”
In “Hustisya”, she plays Biring, a probinsiyana from Bicol who goes to Manila to help her cousin Vivian (Rosanna Roces), a syndicate boss who is into human trafficking and other corrupt practices. She has a hard time adjusting to the big city and remains blind to all the corruption going on around her. She has a daughter, Sunshine Dizon, who’s a teacher, and a grandson, Jeric Gonzales. Biring starts to change for the worse when she is accused of a crime she didn’t commit. It’s the lawyer who helps her in her case, Rocco Nacino, who reshapes her. Rocco’s character is described as “walang puso, walang kaluluwa” and he teaches Biring to lie and be corrupt herself. In the end, Biring inherits the syndicate headed by Vivian and also becomes mercilessly corrupt.
“It’s the darkest character I’ve ever played,” says Ate Guy. “Kaya excited talaga ako. Hindi ako api-apihan dito. Lumalaban ako.”
Also in the the big powerhouse cast are Chynna Ortaleza as the lesbian who becomes Biring’s best friend in prison, Angelina Canapi as another lesbian, Gardo Versoza as Osang’s right hand man, Jim Pebanco as an evil crime lord who’s ruthless but is an avid art patron, Tony Mabesa as a corrupt priest, John Rendez as the bodyguard of Jim Pebanco, Sue Prado as a crooked policewoman and Romnick Sarmenta, as Marlon, the only good and incorruptible character in the entire movie who is an honest newspaperman. “Hustisya” is certainly an explosive drama about good and evil that we should watch for this year.
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