Politics got into the life of director, writer and producer Lino Cayetano since it’s in his blood. Yet, he also returned to doing something that he’s always inclined to do and resumed his career in show business.

After he stepped down last June from his political duties in Taguig, where he served as mayor and congressman, Cayetano is back to working behind the cameras. He wants to take a break from politics and does not see himself returning soon.

“There’s a certain kind of fulfillment you get in serving other people,” Cayetano admitted. “I had the opportunity to become mayor in the middle of a pandemic.”

He produced Vivamax’s eight-part sexy thriller, “Secrets of a Nympho,” set in a fictional town of San Lucas, actually shot in Pampanga. The series now streams on Vivamax.

“This is a big project with a big cast, so working on ‘Secrets of a Nympho’ was exciting and refreshing,” Cayetano told ABS-CBN News. “We draw so much energy from the cast. The collaboration with them was different.”

Cayetano is fortunate to work with a very collaborative team of actors and production people in “Secrets of a Nympho.”

At the helm are writers-directors Philip King and Shugo Praico. Viva’s sexy actresses Rhen Escaño, Ayanna Misola and Milana Ikemoto lead the cast, with Jiad Arroyo, Arron Villaflor, Josef Elizalde, Gold Aceron and Stephanie Raz.

“We kind of played with the title at the start and removed the O to make it nymph,” Cayetano said. “We played with the theme. We shot all eight episodes and finished them.

“I did the actual writing, but creation was by director Philip King. He was the showrunner for the project. For the development, Shugo and I were always involved. We only produce what we write. We work in collaboration with the actors.”

After “Bagman,” Arjo Atayde’s award-winning series in 2019, Cayetano produced the suspense thriller, “Nananahimik ang Gabi,” with Ian Veneracion and Heaven Peralejo for this year’s MMFF (Metro Manila Film Festival).

“Bagman” won in the International Academy Awards in 2020. “We are actually going there this December,” Cayetano disclosed. “When they saw ‘Secrets of a Nympho,’ they got interested also.

“Viva opened doors for this genre. That was also the time the best in the industry came to be known. Many directors whom we admired back in the nineties, they made their mark at that time.

“Excited kami because we were able to explore new characters. The next step is an international co-production with Viva. So the world will see how great these young artists are. That’s the direction we want to take.

“We were able to witness, when ka-level lang natin ang ibang mga kapitbahay natin sa production at ngayon kilala na sila sa buong mundo at panahon na natin.”

It is really good to see Cayetano again doing what he really loves. “Sometimes, we underestimate how important our industry is. How much inspiration we give to other people.

“Viva just celebrated 41 years of inspiring people. How many people were given jobs? How many stories inspired people? My learning and journey, we have our respective calling. It’s such a blessing to be able to serve.”

“Storytelling is so important. Our industry is so important. Maybe more than being politicians, if we do our work the right way, we are able to really inspire and uplift our nation in different ways.

“I am hopeful and excited about the direction of our industry. Working with these young people, it just tells me the future is bright. Sana tuloy-tuloy ang kapit niyo at suporta.

“The future is bright. I know we’re only beginning and we’re excited. I’m happy developing talent in the industry. I love working with Shugo Praico. Watch out for him and Phillip King. With Viva we’re so excited.

“Napaka-ikli ng buhay. Napaka-bilis ng panahon. ‘Yung PA [production assistant] ngayon, EP [executive producer] na bukas or boss na ngayon. ‘Yung assistant director kahapon, batikang director na ngayon. ‘Yung bagong artista kahapon, bida na ngayon

“We really cultivated and nurtured relationships over the last 10 years. Our bosses before – Sir Deo Endrinal and Tita Cory Vidanes – when we said goodbye then, hindi sila nagtampo. Instead, they even supported us. They gave us one of our biggest projects, ‘yung ‘Bagman.’

“Si Boss Vic naman, I almost transferred then from ABS-CBN to Viva. Pero hindi natuloy ‘yun. I ended up doing projects for ABS-CBN. But Boss Val [del Rosario] didn’t take it against me. We knew one day we would work together.”

Cayetano noted the time of the network wars is over at this point. “The industry is a family,” he stressed. “We are bigger than one network. Our family now, we need to bond together because we are going to show the world how wonderful our actors and our stories are.

“Viva has worked with all networks ever since. They all respect Boss Vic [del Rsario]. I am so happy to read GMA and ABS-CBN are doing a collaboration. TV5 is working with ABS-CBN. Viva is launching big shows in all the different networks.

“We have to bond together as one family. We push the entertainment industry forward.”

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