Allyzza Kay Trinidad

RK Bagatsing on playing the bad guy and working with Gerald, Jessy in his comeback serye “Sins of the Father”

Article (news)

Liezel Dela Cruz

So far, so good for the team behind the newest Kapamilya teleserye &quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/sins-of-the-father" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sins of the Father</a>.&quot; Barely three weeks in, the show is already raking in rave reviews from viewers and pulling consistently strong viewership. Cast member RK Bagatsing couldn’t be more grateful, and he’s hoping audiences continue tuning in as the story’s only getting juicier, more gripping, and extra binge-worthy as it unfolds. Besides, the entire team deserves all the love it’s been getting. &quot;Grabe &#x27;yung amount of effort and hard work to create this show,&quot; RK shared during an episode of Kapamilya Chat. &quot;And just like everything na pinaghihirapan mo, nakakatuwa na tinatangkilik ng mga tao. At the end of the day, para sa kanila naman &#x27;to.&quot;“<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/sins-of-the-father" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sins of the Father</a>” also marks RK’s return to primetime television after spending the last few years focused on film work, and admittedly there’s pressure. RK confessed that he carries this pressure with every role, knowing how many talented actors are out there and how fierce the competition can get. It&#x27;s a kind of pressure he puts on himself.This time around, the weight feels heavier, too, in portraying Johnny Policarpio, the husband of Jessy Mendiola’s character and the sworn enemy of Gerald Anderson’s. Portraying a villain is no easy feat. It requires the ability to provoke strong emotion without overdoing it. And RK knows this well. A huge part of his preparation involved collaborating with the show’s directors and creatives, the very people who &quot;birthed&quot; his character, as he described it.&quot;Bilang a villain, a kontrabida, meron akong kailangang ma-hit na emotion at &#x27;yun &#x27;yung kailangang kainisan ang karakter mo. Kailangan kawawain ko &#x27;yung bida,&quot; he mused. Clearly, it’s working. RK shared that he’s already starting to receive a wave of “gigil” comments online, which only means Johnny Policarpio is doing his job as the newest bad guy on primetime. Just like RK, &quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/sins-of-the-father" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sins of the Father</a>&quot; also marks a teleserye comeback for his leading lady, Jessy, who took a break from acting to focus on her early years of married life and motherhood with husband Luis Manzano. On a side note, the cast members recently guested on “<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/rainbowrumble" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rainbow Rumble</a>,” the game show hosted by Luis himself. It was a fun and much-needed breather for the actors from their emotionally intense scenes on set.Talking more about his new on-screen partner, RK expressed nothing but admiration. &quot;I&#x27;m a fan kasi comeback project niya rin ito and it&#x27;s a very important for her.&quot; He also teased that they&#x27;re going to share a pretty intense dynamic and husband and wife in the story, &quot;Very intense ang mga eksena namin bilang mag-asawa, so &#x27;yun ang kailangan nilang abangan, kung paano &#x27;yung dynamics nila.&quot;Though it’s their first time working together, RK shared that it almost felt meant to be. Back when he was just starting out, RK would sometimes accompany his brother, actor Raymond Bagatsing, to tapings, and one of those shows happened to be &quot;Sabel,&quot; which starred a young Jessy. &quot;Doon pa lang napapanood ko na siya. Pero hindi ko akalain na fast forward today ay makakatrabaho ko siya in front of the camera,&quot; he shared. RK holds the same level of respect for Gerald Anderson, who he&#x27;s also working with for the first time in a series, though they’ve known each other thanks to basketball games they both play in. Still, seeing Gerald in action on set left a strong impression on him. &quot;There&#x27;s a reason why they are still in the industry, why they&#x27;re considered stars, why they are regarded as one of the best. Nakita ko &#x27;yun on set kay Gerald, not just on camera but behind the camera. He&#x27;s a very good actor but at the same time even better na katrabaho,&quot; he said of Gerald. It may be his first time sharing scenes with both Jessy and Gerald, but the rhythm between them has felt smooth from the get-go. He likens it to being dance partners perfectly in sync, with their directors serving as choreographers. That kind of chemistry doesn’t happen by accident, and he credits a big part of it to the genuine admiration he has for his co-stars.At its core, &quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/sins-of-the-father" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sins of the Father</a>&quot; is a series with a purpose. One of its main goals is to raise awareness about scams, which are sadly still very common today. Despite how widespread these cases are, a lot of people remain unaware of how scammers operate or what red flags to watch out for, and that’s where the show comes in. RK explained that this is the kind of series that can help people understand how scams work. &quot;Our writers are doing a very good job para i-explain &#x27;yung mga terms, &#x27;yung proseso, &#x27;yung mga ginagawa ng scammers para ma-hook &#x27;yung mga victims. Na-explain &#x27;yun sa show.&quot;Beyond the technical side, what makes the series even more compelling is the human connection between the characters. “Hindi pwedeng hindi mo mare-recognize &#x27;yung sarili mo sa isa sa mga &#x27;yan,” RK said. The story shows how ordinary people try to navigate life, hoping for a better future for themselves and their families, to which viewers can sure relate.When asked what advice he could give to avoid falling into a scam, RK put it simply, &quot;If it sounds too good, mag-ingat ka na.&quot; So far, he’s seeing how the show has become a platform for conversation as it encourages viewers  to also share their own experiences with scams, creating a kind of open forum where people can learn from each other. RK noted that some victims are too ashamed to share what they went through, but the series is somehow helping start those conversations. Another theme the narrative dives into is the idea of carrying the burden of a sin you didn’t commit, to which RK personally doesn’t agree with. For him, it’s one thing to be affected by someone else’s actions, but it’s another to take on guilt that was never yours to begin with.&quot;Pwede kang matuto sa mga ginawa niyang desisyon at ma-inspire ka to do the right thing sa sarili mong journey,&quot; he reflected. &quot;Pero hindi mo dapat akuin &#x27;yun kasi responsibilidad nila &#x27;yun. The only thing you can do is iwasan &#x27;yung path na &#x27;yun.&quot;It’s a message that feels especially relevant in a world where people often carry emotional baggage that isn’t theirs to begin with, another reason why &quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/sins-of-the-father" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sins of the Father</a>&quot; hits home for a lot of viewers.&quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/sins-of-the-father" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sins of the Father</a>&quot; also stars Shaina Magdayao, JC de Vera, Francine Diaz, Seth Fedelin, Lotlot de Leon, and Tirso Cruz III. Catch it weeknights, on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), TV5, and A2Z.

RK Bagatsing talks about his primetime comeback in "Sins of the Father."

RK Bagatsing talks about his primetime comeback in "Sins of the Father."