Budoy: An advocacy serye about unconditional love, sacrifice, and betrayal

Gerald Anderson is back on primetime television. The drama prince topbills ABS-CBN’s first advocacy serye, “Budoy”. The producers of the show believe that “Budoy” is going to be a monumental family drama series on Philippine television.

The advocacy TV series which premiered on October 11, 2011 gives emphasis on the importance of education among the Filipino youth including mentally-challenged individuals. The show highlights the significance of accepting and loving oneself and one’s family. “Budoy” makes the viewers feel how vital it is to give your family unconditional love.

“Budoy's” powerhouse cast is composed of the country’s seasoned stars Tirso Cruz III, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Mylene Dizon, Christian Vasquez, and Janice de Belen. They are joined by veteran actors Daniel Rivero, Gloria Sevilla and Barbara Perez. The group is supported by rising young stars Jessy Mendiola and Enrique Gil. The show’s theme song “Saan Darating Ang Umaga” is sung by Angeline Quinto. “Budoy” is directed by Ruel S. Bayani and Tots Sanchez-Mariscal.

“Budoy” dominated the national TV ratings during its first three nights of airing. Based on Kantar Media/TNS, the pilot episode of “Budoy” garnered 27.2% TV ratings nationwide overshadowing GMA7′s “Amaya” which only got 20.3%.

“Budoy” currently airs on ABS-CBN Primetime Bida. It is shown right after “100 Days to Heaven” and followed by "My Binondo Girl".

The story

The story centers on unconditional love, sacrifice, and pitfalls of betrayal. Anderson plays the title role of a mentally-challenged boy. Budoy is the son of the top ob-gynecologist in the Philippines, Dr. Anton Maniego (Tirso Cruz III) and his secretary, Luisa Maniego (Zsa Zsa Padilla). The two married despite the apparent disapproval of Dr. Anton Maniego's mother.

Dr. Anton Maniego hails from a family of brilliant doctors. His mother Dr. Alberta Maniego (Barbara Perez) is a successful oncologist while his brother Dr. Isaac Maniego (Christian Vasquez) is a renowned brain surgeon.

Dr. Anton performs an in vitro fertilization procedure on his wife, Luisa. At that time, the procedure was fairly new in the medical field. When the couple finally produces a child, the family rejoices. However, the family’s enthusiasm for the child is short lived as soon as the family discovers that Budoy is suffering from Angel Syndrome, a condition characterized by a delay in the intellectual development of a child.

The family could not bear the shame of having an "abnormal" child in the family. To mask their so-called disgrace, they decide to replace Budoy with a normal child. The family chose to give up their own flesh and blood to protect their name and reputation.

Budoy grows up into a young man with a big heart. Soon he realizes that the world he lives in can sometimes be cruel and judgmental. His path crosses with unkind individuals who give him sorrow and grief but he also meets kind-hearted people who accept him for who he is. Budoy finds strength and inspiration to live each day from the people he loves.

Zsa Zsa Padilla shares that “Budoy” promotes a positive message to the youth. “Maganda na maipapakita rito na si Budoy, kahit may kapansanan siya, sobra ‘yung paghahangad niyang makapag-aral kasi alam niya ang value ng education, na ito ‘yung paraan para makaahon sila sa kahirapan,” the actress said on Push.

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Challenging role

Anderson is grateful for the opportunity to play the role of Budoy. He told the press that he felt the pressure of delivering his part but he is happy and confident that the people will appreciate the show. He said that he feels really blessed and honored to portray Budoy.

"Sobra kaming proud kasi ibinuhos namin lahat dun and we did everything para gumanda ang show," he said.

Anderson admits that his role as a mentally-challenged individual is very challenging.

"Aaminin ko sobrang exhausting siya kasi mataas lagi yung energy ni Budoy and tuloy tuloy yung taping ng soap. Pero sobra siyang fulfilling. After every tape, eh, ang sarap ng pakiramdam kasi alam kong may maganda kaming nagagawa," Anderson shared in SunStar Manila..

According to the drama prince, the directors and writers of “Budoy” worked very hard to deliver all the facts straight in a manner that would entertain the viewers and at the same time help them understand special children.

To give his role justice, Anderson took part in immersions where he had the opportunity to observe special children in Montalban. He was able to observe their behavior and how they communicate with other people.

“Habang nagkaklase sila, nag-o-observe ako sa loob ng classroom. Tapos yung iba kinakausap ko, pati mga nanay nila, kapatid at kahit yung mga yaya nila, tinatanong ko kung iba ba sila sa bahay at sa labas,” he said on Yahoo Philippines..

"Talagang nag emmerse kami. Andun lang kami sa mga schools, tinitingnan ko sila. Nago-observe kami and I watched DVDs over and over again," Anderson revealed.

Anderson learned a lot from watching several films with mentally-challenged characters such as Tonton Gutierrez in “Saan Nagtatago ang Pag-ibig,” Aga Muhlach in “Nag-iisang Bituin,” and foreign films like “Rainman,” “I am Sam,” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.”

Anderson starred in various teleseryes such as “Sana Maulit Muli,” “My Girl”, “Buhawi Jack,” “Kung Tayo’y Magkakalayo” and “Tayong Dalawa.” He says that his role as Budoy is very far from the roles he played in the past and he considers it is his most challenging role yet.

“Malayo siya sa previous roles (ko). Mahirap siya, pero nung nakuha ko, mas naging madali na yung eksena kasi alam ko na how I would react,” Anderson said.

"Ang secret talaga is yung preparation, eh. Yung pagdating sa set alam ko na gagawin ko. Kabisado ko na yung script at sa tulong na din nila direk," the actor added.

Anderson said that before he started taping for the advocacy serye, he applied the things he learned from his trainings. When he was in Hong Kong, he tried to act the part to test if he could deliver a believable role. “Okay naman kasi pinagtitinginan ako ng mga tao dun. Sa bahay ginagawa ko yan, pati sa pag-drive, minsan nagpa-practice ako,” he said.

As part of his preparation for his role, Anderson lost 15 pounds, grew his hair longer than usual and wore a set of fake teeth. He even made a habit of bringing home the fake teeth in order to get the hang of wearing it.