Stars arrive as Rudy Fernandez is laid to rest

MANILA, Philippines - Actor Rudy Fernandez, who succumbed to periampullary cancer last Saturday at the age of 56, was laid to rest at the Heritage Memorial Park on Thursday afternoon. Fernandez was survived by his three sons, actor Mark Anthony Fernandez, with former partner Alma Moreno; and two sons Ralph and Renz, with actress Lorna Tolentino. Present at the burial, aside from his family, were his friends Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr, Philip Salvador, Robin Padilla, Susan Roces, Tirso Cruz III, Edgar Mortiz, Jestoni Alarcon, among others. Former President Joseph Estrada was also present during the well-attended funeral. "This is a great loss to the movie industry. This is especially sad for us because he was not only a fellow actor but a true friend of the family, especially to my son Jinggoy," Estrada said. Radio dzBB's Tuesday Niu reported Fathers Sonny Ramirez and Larry Faraon led the four other priests in officiating the funeral mass. The report said Ramirez, in his homily, asked Rudy's family to be strong and said, quoting a Bible verse, that one has to be broken into pieces in order for God work in him and make him whole again. The same radio report said Fernandez' fans who were not allowed inside the Heritage Memorial Park were seen peeking on the fence to catch a last glimpse of their idol. Before his death, Fernandez had underwent chemotherapy sessions, radio-frequency-ablation treatment on the liver and even radiation. He also underwent a Rexin-G therapy. Daboy, as how Fernandez was fondly called by friends in the movie industry, was born on March 3, 1952, the son of film director Gregorio Fernandez. He started his active film career in 1970 while he was still a student at the University of Santo Tomas. Based on a profile posted on Wikipedia, Fernandez signed a contract with Sampaguita Pictures in 1970 and first featured in a movie "For Your Mama" (1970), then paired with Connie Angeles in "Sweet Matutina" (1976). Fernandez made his breakthrough as an action star with "Bitayin si Baby Ama" (1976). His viability as an action star was further enhanced with the box-office success of "Ang Leon, Ang Tigre at ang Alamid" (1979). Beginning with "Baby Ama," a biopic of a well-known Filipino criminal, Fernandez has specialized portraying true-to-life characters. One of his notable action films was "Markang Bungo" (Skull Mark) in 1992 , based on a true story where he portrayed the well-known Baguio City police officer Bobby Ortega. It was in this film that Fernandez' most popular Tagalog line, "Trabaho lang ito, walang personalan (It's work only, nothing personal)" was first heard. In 1995, the sequel "Iligpit si Bobby Ortega, Markang Bungo 2" (Execute Bobby Ortega, Skull Mark 2) was released. Aside from portraying a real police officer, he was cast in the lead roles for the biopics of Filipino politicians Vincent Crisologo and Panfilo Ping Lacson. Fernandez portrayed the life of Crisologo in a 1991 movie "Bingbong: The Vincent Crisologo Story". In an interview with GMA News when he went to the wake, Crisologo said that even after the movie, the friendship between him and Fernandez continued. In the film "Lagalag: The Eddie Fernandez Story," Rudy starred as Eddie Fernandez, a Filipino actor during the 1970s and the father of Pops Fernandez. Fernandez also starred in the GMA Network sitcom "Da Boy, en Da Girl," opposite Rosanna Roces. He also played a supporting role in other TV series in GMA like "Twin Hearts" and "Atlantika." He was also the host of the docu-drama "Kasangga." Fernandez won two FAMAS Best Actor awards for the action films "Batuigas...Pasukuin si Waway" in 1984 and "Victor Corpus" in 1988. He received the Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC) 2008 Ulirang Artista Lifetime Achievement Award at the 24th Star Awards for Movies. Also, he received the Film Academy of the Philippines FPJ Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2001, he ran for Quezon City under former President Joseph Estrada's Puwersa ng Masa but lost to Feliciano Belmonte Jr. - Amita Legaspi, GMANews.TV