A Poem and Songs for Ben Tumbling

Benjamin Garcia, better known as Ben Tumbling, was one of the Philippines' Most Wanted personalities in the early 1980s. Prior to reaching a state of notoriety, Ben was a movie stuntman. However, police brutality allegedly pushed him to a life of crime. He was fatally shot during an encounter with police officers in Manila on March 13, 1981. Although law enforcers considered him as a hardened criminal, people from the poor communities of Malabon looked up to him as a beneficent Robin Hood figure. The widespread grief apparently inspired a poem that is inscribed on the marker of his grave at the Malabon Cemetery. A transcript of the poem and its English translation follows.

Image Credit: Video48

Movie Ads: "Geron Olivar" (1994)

Geron Olivar, an action movie produced by Regal Films, opened in theaters on February 10, 1994. This movie features Lito Lapid in the title role, under the direction of Jesus Jose. Other cast members include Edu Manzano, Zoren Legaspi and Kris Aquino.

Movie Ads: Lito Lapid in "Gascon: Bala ang Katapat Mo!" (1993)

Senator Lito Lapid, who has been a Senator of the Philippines since 2004, celebrates his fifty-seventh birthday today. Lapid was a major action star in Philippine politics prior to his foray into politics. One of his action films was  Gascon: Bala ang Katapat Mo!

Released on January 12, 1993, the film also stars Ruffa Gutierrez, who was crowned Second Princess at the Miss World beauty pageant later that year. Under the direction of Rogelio Salvador, Gascon: Bala ang Katapat Mo! also stars Tirso Cruz III, Jess Lapid Jr., Bob Soler, Janine Barredo, Max Laurel, and Isabel Granada.

This is a newspaper advertisement for the film:

Lito Lapid as Julio Valiente in "San Basilio"

San Basilio is a 1981 Filipino action film directed by Joey del Rosario and Tony Cruz. Featuring the masked folk hero Julio Valiente, the film stars Lito Lapid, a farmer and altar boy who assumes the role of Valiente to save the town from the clutches of the evil landlord Señor Escobar.

Produced by Lapid's LL Productions, the film exemplifies other Filipino actors' venture into movie production.

Lito Lapid as Leon Guerrero

On the July 23, 2012 episode of the ABS-CBN TV series Lorenzo's Time, the lead character Enzo idolizes the actor Lito Lapid so much he was given a VHS copy of the movie Ang Pagbabalik ni Leon Guerrero for home viewing.

Enzo then attempted to visit his idol at his office in the Senate. (Note: Lito Lapid was re-elected to the Senate of the Philippines in 2010 for another six-year term. Enzo met Jinggoy Estrada instead).

The scene made me smile because I just watched the film a few days before.

Now, who is Leon Guerrero?  The words 'Ang pagbabalik' means 'The return' in English, and this search for knowledge led me to the Video 48 blog.  I found out that the character was the Filipino version of The Lone Ranger, initially appearing in the 1968 movie Leon Guerrero: Laban sa 7 Kilabot.  It starred Jess Lapid, Sr., who incidentally was the uncle of Lito Lapid.

In Ang Pagbabalik ni Leon Guerrero, Lito Lapid plays the dual role of Manuel and Leon.  Manuel is a meek-mannered man who hails from the town of Santa Fe.  The children tease him for his cowardice, while his father always beat him.  Manuel eventually assumed the identity of Leon Guerrero to protect the townspeople from bandits.  Following are some scenes from the Lotus Films production:

Manuel being convinced by an elderly townsman to assume the identity of Leon Guerrero