John Arcilla became emotional as he reacted to the record-breaking streak of FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano (FPJAP).
Even if FPJAP had a digital migration due to the shutdown of ABS-CBN, the long-running series still managed to rise in terms of popularity and online viewership.
In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Arcilla tearfully explained that he became more motivated to work despite his fear of the coronavirus.
“Lalo kang gaganahan na ibigay ‘yung commitment mo, despite the fact that we are all very afraid… We’re really like in a battlefield because of the coronavirus,” he said.
FPJAP recently broke its own live viewership record on Kapamilya Online Live on YouTube for eight consecutive nights.
The show drew a new peak of 154,039 live concurrent viewers, smashing the show’s own YouTube record for an eight consecutive night and eleventh overall.
FPJAP had a taping bubble which means that the actors and crew staff would shoot the scenes of the series in a lock-in setting. They are supposed to adhere to the strict protocols of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Arcilla recalled how the lock-in set-up was hard for them but mentioned that it was a necessary precaution to be safe from the virus.
He particularly mentioned Toto Natividad, a former director of “Ang Probinsyano” in its first few years, who died in April.
“Natatakot ka, kasi nakikita mo ‘yung nangyayari sa labas,” he said.
He then said that the commitment he showed in his work is priceless saying, “‘Yung commitment mo sa trabaho, hindi nababayaran ng simpleng talent fee, kasi you know you’re not just doing it for yourself because you want the Filipino people to somehow be given some kind of relief.”
FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano airs weeknights on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, TV5, CineMo, Kapamilya Online Live on ABS-CBN Entertainment’s YouTube channel and Facebook page, iWantTFC, WeTV, and iflix.
