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'Filipino Mr. Bean' brings joy to kids and a message of hope this Christmas

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Anjo Bagaoisan, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/life/12/25/roger1.jpg"/><figcaption>Mr. Bean impersonator Roger Ocampo.<em> Anjo Bagaoisan, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA—Roger Ocampo, 60, has the look from head to toe. Brown slacks, tweed jacket and a red tie. Plus the right comb of hair and the right facial expression. </p><p>And he&#x27;s got Teddy, that button-eyed bear who can never be separated from its owner. It even moves through a makeshift mechanism installed by Roger. </p><p>Both look and toy combine into Roger&#x27;s take on the British comedic legend, Mr. Bean. It&#x27;s one he&#x27;s been at for a decade. </p><p>And while Bean&#x27;s real-life actor Rowan Atkinson has not done any tours in the Philippines, Roger channels him to deliver laughs to Filipino kids, especially at Christmastime. </p><p>But behind his performance is a message that goes beyond the season. </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">WATCH: A mechanically dancing &quot;Teddy&quot; moves to the &quot;Mr. Bean&quot; theme with its owner, look-alike Roger Ocampo. He says he put in the mechanism inside the stuffed toy so it could join his routine as the British comic. <a href="https://t.co/oqJfa6Upt8">pic.twitter.com/oqJfa6Upt8</a></p>— Anjo Bagaoisan (ᜀᜈ᜔ᜇᜒᜌᜓ ᜊᜄᜏᜒᜐᜈ᜔) (@anjo_bagaoisan) <a href="https://twitter.com/anjo_bagaoisan/status/1209740001006604289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2019</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><div><strong>&#x27;JUST IMITATE HIM&#x27; </strong></div><p>It all started, Roger said, when his workmates at the state-owned Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) noticed his resemblance to Mr. Bean. </p><p>Millennials and older ones know Mr. Bean from his live action series, while younger generations are familiar with him through the animated Disney spin-off. </p><p>&quot;May nagbiro sa akin na nilagyan ako ng nunal. &#x27;Gayahin mo na lang&#x27;, kako. Pinag-aralan ko. Kasi kahit hindi pa ako Mr. Bean, talagang matulungin ako sa bata,&quot; he said. </p><p>(Someone joked that all I needed was to place a &#x27;mole&#x27; on my face. They told me to just imitate him, so I studied his work. And even before I became Mr. Bean, I was really helpful with children.)</p><p>Roger even has on standby the musical scoring of both Bean series—the choir-led &quot;Ecce Homo&quot; intro of the live action version—and the ragtime piano-inspired theme from the animation. They&#x27;re played from a portable speaker he attaches to his belt during performances. </p><p>A former seaman and taxi driver, he could have joined a TV look-alike contest and made money from his talent. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/life/12/25/roger2.jpg"/><figcaption>Roger with Aeta children at an outreach in Angeles, Pampanga.  <em>Roger Ocampo</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Instead, as Mr. Bean, Roger has entertained sick, out-of-school and street children in hospitals and shelters in Metro Manila and elsewhere. </p><p>Often, he is invited by private groups and even law enforcers to join community outreach activities, where he leads the giving of presents to children. </p><p>This has even taken him to the mountains, such as when he performed for indigenous Aeta children in Pampanga province. </p><p>He said he joins the gigs without asking for a talent fee. </p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m doing it for the glory of God. Ang ipinapakilala ko rito ay kagandahang-loob ng Diyos na nariyan siya para ibigay ang mga pangangailangan ng mga kabataang ito. Bigyan lang sila ng simpleng ngiti, sila ay anghel na sa mata ng Diyos.&quot;</p><p>(I&#x27;m introducing them to God&#x27;s grace, which is there to give these children what they need. We make them smile, since they are angels in God&#x27;s eyes.)</p><div><strong>&#x27;THANK YOU, JESUS&#x27; </strong></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">On Christmas Eve, Roger and his family also give presents to children in their neighborhood (Video courtesy of Roger Ocampo) <a href="https://t.co/OT834v85pO">pic.twitter.com/OT834v85pO</a></p>— Anjo Bagaoisan (ᜀᜈ᜔ᜇᜒᜌᜓ ᜊᜄᜏᜒᜐᜈ᜔) (@anjo_bagaoisan) <a href="https://twitter.com/anjo_bagaoisan/status/1209740442146750469?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2019</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>Hours before the clock strikes 12 on Christmas eve, Roger and his family gather the children from their own neighborhood in General Trias, Cavite to give them gifts too. </p><p>There are games and dances for around 80 kids who showed up. </p><p>He said they had to do the activity at their subdivision&#x27;s covered court since there wasn&#x27;t enough space outside their house. </p><p>While the children he performs to love his routine, Roger said his own two kids, a boy aged 17 and a girl aged 10, have grown to accept it as a part of their life. </p><p>After the gifts are distributed, Roger calls the children together to say the words &quot;Thank you, Jesus&quot;. </p><p>&quot;[I explain to the kids], those gifts right here [are] not from Mr. Bean, it&#x27;s from God. So you have to thank Jesus, for Jesus is giving these gifts.&quot; </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">During the Christmas season, the outreaches also include gift-giving. There he tells the children the gifts do not come from Mr. Bean or from Santa Claus, but from Jesus. <a href="https://t.co/AjArPkG15t">pic.twitter.com/AjArPkG15t</a></p>— Anjo Bagaoisan (ᜀᜈ᜔ᜇᜒᜌᜓ ᜊᜄᜏᜒᜐᜈ᜔) (@anjo_bagaoisan) <a href="https://twitter.com/anjo_bagaoisan/status/1209740137619320832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2019</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>Their small family saves what they can so they can buy the presents, he said. </p><p>It can be a challenge, especially during the 3 years he lost his job at PAGCOR after he was charged with stealing money. But he won the case up to the Supreme Court, resulting in his reinstatement in 2018. </p><p>He said, during that difficult time, they had to sell street food to make ends meet, but he said their needs were met. </p><p>Roger remembers this when he continues to make youngsters smile. </p><p>&quot;God said, &#x27;Hindi ko kayo bibigyan ng suliranin sa inyong balikat na hindi niyo kayang pasanin&#x27;. Ang Diyos ang nangako nito. </p><p>&quot;Lahat tayo dumadaan diyan sa suliranin sa buhay, but never forget God, because ang sabi ng Panginoon, &#x27;Ask anything in Jesus&#x27;s name and I will give you everything you need&#x27;.</p><p>&quot;Huwag mawalan ng pag-asa na kayo&#x27;y tutulungan, kayo&#x27;y babangon muli. &#x27;Yan ay mga pagsubok lamang.&quot; </p><p>(God said, &#x27;I will not give you trials more than you can handle&#x27;. God promised that. </p><p>(We all go through problems in life, but we must not forget God, because he said, &#x27;Ask anything in Jesus&#x27;s name and I will give everything you need&#x27;.</p><p>(Do not lose hope that you will find help, that you will recover. Those are just trials.)</p><p>It&#x27;s an everyday lesson that, he says, is not just for children, but more so for adults who need to be children at heart.</p>

<p>Roger Ocampo, dubbed the "Filipino Mr. Bean," brings joy to children in hospitals and shelters. </p>

Roger Ocampo, dubbed the "Filipino Mr. Bean," brings joy to children in hospitals and shelters.

'Filipino Mr. Bean' brings joy to kids and a message of hope this Christmas

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'Filipino Mr. Bean' brings joy to kids and a message of hope this Christmas

Anjo Bagaoisan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 25, 2019 10:35 PM PHT

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Mr. Bean

Roger Ocampo

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