Allyzza Kay Trinidad

Charo Santos and Dingdong Dantes share their journey, training as military reservists

Article (news)

Liezel Dela Cruz

When “Only We Know” started production seven years ago, lead stars Charo Santos and Dingdong Dantes found some interesting similarities between them, so they bonded over more than just script pages. In between takes, the two icons often exchanged stories about their shared admiration for uniformed service. Today, both are proud reservists—Dingdong with the Philippine Navy, and Charo with the Philippine Air Force.At the time, Dingdong had already completed his Navy reservist training. Meanwhile, Charo, newly retired and exploring new paths, had long been curious about what it meant to serve. &quot;Gusto kong malaman &#x27;yung psyche ng isang sundalo. Paano ka nakakarating sa punto na kaya mong sabihin, &#x27;Kaya kong iwanan lahat kasama ng pamilya ko para sa bayan,&#x27;&quot; she said in an episode of Kapamilya Chat. She had long wanted to join the Air Force reservist program, but she knew she had to wait for the right moment. When the timing finally aligned, and after hearing stories from Dingdong and receiving his encouragement, she decided it was time to do it. &quot;Matagal ko nang plano. After my retirement, I have this friend who joined also the Philippine Air Force Reservists Program, he&#x27;s been convincing me kaya lang hindi pa dumadating &#x27;yung tamang panahon. But right after my filming, I was also encouraged by Dong kasi he was talking a lot about his experience as a Navy Reservist. Ayan, tinuloy ko,” she revealed. As for Dingdong, his connection to military life runs deep. &quot;Bata pa lang ako, na-expose na ako sa mga ganitong bagay kasi &#x27;yung grandfather ko nag-serve sa military, sa Philippine Constabulary. Kasama siya sa Bataan Death March hanggang naging Army siya,&quot; he shared. &quot;&#x27;Yung mga Tito ko, mga kapatid ng Daddy ko ay nasa service din. So, growing up, it began my fascination towards the uniformed men, how they carry themselves... I look up to them as parang mga heroes. Just like in any family, halimbawa, when you grow up in a family of doctors, or let&#x27;s say artists, engineers, may gano&#x27;ng paghanga kasi &#x27;yun ang ginagawa ng karamihan sa family. So nag-start sa gano&#x27;n. Sabi ko, &#x27;Sana one day magawa ko rin &#x27;yun.&#x27;&quot;And as he grew older, his &quot;fascination&quot; turned into a true understanding of what it means to be a soldier, encouraged by his father, who had always dreamed of seeing him at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA). &quot;&#x27;Yun ang pinu-push sa akin ng tatay ko. Ang dream niya talaga sa akin mag-PMA, and then from PMA, mag-Harvard [University], kasi may gano&#x27;ng progression &#x27;yun, eh. So gano&#x27;n ang wiring ko noon,&quot; recalled Dingdong. But life took a different course. He pursued a career in entertainment, putting his military dreams on pause. Still, the calling never faded. It wasn’t until he found out about the Philippine Naval Reserve Command training program that the dream found its second wind. &quot;Mabuti na lang may program para sa mga professionals o kahit non-professionals o kahit sino na pwedeng pumasok sa [Reservist Program], may qualifications naman &#x27;yan. So, when I found out about it, immediately, sabi ko, &#x27;Ito na &#x27;yun, mafu-fulfill ko pa rin &#x27;yung childhood dream ko.&#x27; Siyempre, right now, hindi na siya childhood dream but it&#x27;s now an obligation. It is a vocation and a mission, gano&#x27;n na siya ngayon,&quot; he said. That mission comes with hard-earned lessons, and grueling training. According to Charo, reservist training begins with lectures on military structure, strategy, and protocol. &quot;Sa Philippine Air Force Reservists Program, we have lectures, M-F-W from seven in the evening up to ten in the evening. Doon, they will introduce the different branches of the military tapos &#x27;yung mga how to make reports to the military... &#x27;yung mga how to handle different kinds of ambushes. Before you go into the drills and actual training in the field, you have to understand the rationale behind the military strategies.&quot;&quot;And then we have drills every weekend, that&#x27;s when we do our marching, everything physical.” They were trained not just to follow commands, but to lead them as well, “Tapos Tagalog pa, dapat ilalakas mo boses mo, napakahirap. Mate-test talaga ang &#x27;yong physical endurance.” When asked about the experience of leading commands despite the naturally soft-spoken voice she&#x27;s known for, she added, &quot;You have to step up to the plate. You are the one leading the platoon or a squad, so you have to make your soldiers follow you. And in the military, the first thing they teach you is obedience, no one questions the orders of your commander, &#x27;yun ang unang una.&quot;One of the most intense parts of training, according to Charo, was learning how to fire a gun. “Mahirap, hindi madali!” she enthused. “Kasi, when firing a gun, meron kang nakahiga, nakadapa sa lupa, merong naka-kneel, merong nakatindig.” These all look easy from an outsider’s perspective, but once you’re actually in the field, under the heat or the rain, it’s a completely different story. That’s why Charo has nothing but deep respect for the men and women who endure such conditions every day, “Sobra &#x27;yung paghanga ko [sa mga sundalo] after my three-month training.&quot;Dingdong added that the camaraderie you build with your comrades will always stay in your heart. It’s one of the most meaningful things he carried with him after training. &quot;Ang hindi ko makakalimutan do&#x27;n ay &#x27;yung naging bonding ko sa mga ka-batch ko, &#x27;yung mga nakasama ko. Kasi noong time na pumasok ako in 2006, mga doctors &#x27;yung mga kasabayan ko. Hanggang ngayon, magkaibigan pa rin kami. Nando&#x27;n pa rin na nagtutulungan kasi, imagine, kung magkasama kayo sa hirap, parang by default, may brotherhood na nabuo, so forever na &#x27;yun magse-stay,” he mused. That experience made him reflect even more deeply on the kind of bond real soldiers form with one another. He said that kind of closeness is something else entirely. It runs deeper than friendship and becomes a promise to protect one another, no matter what.Charo noted, &quot;At saka pantay-pantay kayo. Lahat kayo sundalo.&quot; But reservist life goes beyond drills and duty. Both Charo and Dingdong emphasized the importance of service in any form. &quot;Marami naman tayong ways on how to serve. By becoming a good citizen, we&#x27;re already serving,&quot; Dingdong said. &quot;Baka kasi hindi ito &#x27;yung option ng ibang tao, but it&#x27;s also good for them to know that this is available. Kapag ikaw ay interesado, pwede ka ring maging Reservist. Ang mga Reservist, sila, o kami, &#x27;yung backup ng ating mga organic soldiers. We fill in the positions of the ones who are there now in case na magkaroon ng any kaguluhan. Sila &#x27;yung nasa frontline tapos kami &#x27;yung pupuno ng mga bakante &#x27;pag kinakailangan.&quot;&quot;And as Reservists, we also volunteer our services, &#x27;yan ang isa sa pinakamahalaga. Halimbawa, us being in the entertainment industry, we also volunteer our knowledge, our wisdom on certain things na may kinalaman doon sa communications, perhaps, in the whole organization. Halimbawa, kung doktor ka at pumasok ka sa Reservists, you now become a military doctor, dumadagdag ka ngayon sa pool of doctors ng Armed Forces of the Philippines. It works in both ways,” he explained. Charo added, &quot;We assist them during times of disasters and calamity tapos we join medical missions, dental missions. We also help in the upliftment of the community.&quot;As they work together on &quot;Only We Know,&quot; Charo and Dingdong have found an unexpected common ground beyond acting. And maybe their shared sense of duty and respect for service may very well be one of the threads that helped weave the chemistry moviegoers are about to witness.“Only We Know” is showing exclusively in cinemas worldwide beginning in the Philippines on June 11, 2025.

Charo Santos and Dingdong Dantes discover a deeper connection through uniformed service.

Charo Santos and Dingdong Dantes discover a deeper connection through uniformed service.