Friday, June 13, 2008 Daboy laid to rest By Jill Beltran
ON THE day of the Philippine Independence, one great soul was freed as actor Rudy Fernandez was laid to rest at the Heritage Memorial Park in Taguig City.
The memorial service was attended by Fernandez's immediate family, relatives, and friends namely Senators Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada and Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., Philip Salvador, Robin Padilla, Susan Roces, Boots Anson Roa, Tirso Cruz III, Edgar Mortiz, Nadia Montenegro, among others.
Former President Joseph Estrada was also present at the interment.
"He is a great loss to the movie industry. This is especially sad for us because he was not only a fellow actor but a true friend of the family, especially to my son Jinggoy," Estrada said quoted from one of his interviews.
The funeral mass was officiated by Fathers Sonny Ramirez and Larry Faraon minutes before Fernandez's funeral. Part of Ramirez homily was a quote from the Bible saying "that one has to be broken into pieces in order for God to work in him and make him whole again" which he addressed to Fernandez's family.
Fernandez dealt with periampullary cancer for two years and later succumbed to it last Saturday at the age of 56. He underwent several treatments like chemotherapy sessions, radio-frequency-ablation treatment for his liver and Rexin-G therapy.
The actor is survived by his three sons, Ralph and Renz by actress Lorna Tolentino and actor Mark Anthony Fernandez by former partner Alma Moreno.
Daboy, as his friends and supporters fondly called him, was born on March 3, 1952.
He is the son of film director Gregorio Fernandez. He started his active film career in 1970 while he was still a student at the University of Santo Tomas.
Daboy first appeared in the film directed by his father titled "Luksang Tagumpay" in 1956. He was only three years old then. In 1960, he appeared in his father's film "Emily."
He also starred in "For Your Mama", "Sweet Matutina", "Bitayin si Baby Ama", "Lagalag: The Eddie Fernandez Story," and "Ang Leon, Ang Tigre at ang Alamid".
One of his breakthrough films was "Markang Bungo" (Skull Mark) which is a film based on a true story. He portrayed the well-known Baguio City policeman Bobby Ortega. The said film is famous for Daboy's Tagalog line, "Trabaho lang ito, walang personalan."
In 1995, the sequel "Iligpit si Bobby Ortega, Markang Bungo 2" (Execute Bobby Ortega, Skull Mark 2) was released.
Daboy also portrayed the life of some Filipino politicians like Quezon City Representative Vincent Crisologo and Senator Panfilo Lacson. He made the movie of Crisologo in 1991 titled "Bingbong: The Vincent Crisologo Story".
Through his notable talent in acting, Daboy won two Famas Best Actor awards for the action films "Batuigas...Pasukuin si Waway" in 1984 and "Victor Corpus" in 1988.
The last film he made was "Hula Mo Huli Ko" with Rufa Mae Quinto in 2002. He then veered to television roles as he appeared in GMA-7's sitcom "Da Boy, en Da Girl," opposite Rosanna Roces.
He also played a supporting role in other TV series in GMA like "Twin Hearts" and "Atlantika." He was also the host of the docu-drama "Kasangga."
Earlier this month, Daboy was awarded by The Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC) the 2008 Ulirang Artista Lifetime Achievement Award during the 24th Star Awards for Movies. He was also bestowed an FPJ Lifetime Achievement Award by the Film Academy of the Philippines.
In 2001, he ran for Quezon City mayor under former President Estrada's Puwersa ng Masa but lost to Feliciano "Sonny" Belmonte Jr.
With these achievements, Lorna was right with her remarks that Rudy's life is "well-lived and well-ended."
