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candidness with mr. ingat, john lloyd cruz

Passion for his chosen craft, coupled with careful choices, has helped propel John Lloyd Cruz into one of the most bankable actors the Philippine entertainment industry has seen in years. A review of a few of his works in the movies and on television brings back vivid memories of the characters he has portrayed: Popoy in One More Chance, Andrew in Dubai, Armando Solis in I Love Betty La Fea, Miggy in You Changed My Life, and who can forget Mateo in Imortal? In these roles, John Lloyd is non-existent, he morphs into who he plays. One does not get very far in this diverse and very interesting field without such skill, recognized even by award-giving bodies in the likes of FAMAS, PMPC, FAP, Urian, ENPRESS Golden Screen, as exemplary.

Of course, it helps too that he’s easy on the eyes, with boyish charm to boot. He isn’t YES! Magazine’s Most Beautiful Star 2011 for nothing. Box Office King, acting awards, modeling stints, and one of the most beautiful stars in the country… how does he?

How Does He?
He attributes this to good health, among others. And to be healthy, one needs to go through safe and careful regimens with everything that affects his physical and mental being. Something as seemingly small as a headache can already affect the outcome of his day, getting in the way of his career and personal life. Not good if that happens. He doesn’t take just any prescription for paracetamol though. John Lloyd is careful in his choices with meds, which is why he only takes Biogesic for headache and before the onslaught of fever and flu.

It wasn’t a very hard decision for Unilab to enlist him as the brand endorser for the Philippines’ No. 1 brand for headache, Biogesic Tablet and Biogesic for Kids. You can add Mr. Ingat to his titles, too. Neither was it hard for John Lloyd to agree to be the face of Biogesic. He has been a Biogesic user for years and swears by its safety and surety in relieving headaches. His “Ingat” line is well remembered, a constant friendly reminder to all of us to take care of ourselves always.

Celebrating 5 Ingat Years in Bacolod with Biogesic
For John Lloyd, when you truly believe in the brand you endorse, you don’t think about being bound by time, so it was a pleasant surprise to him and Unilab that their partnership had already reached a fruitful 5-year mark. To celebrate, Unilab and John Lloyd visited key cities and towns around the country to share the day with fans.

A few days ago, Team Biogesic was here in Bacolod City for the much awaited Fans Day at SM City Bacolod. Before that, Unilab and ABS CBN Bacolod organized a little meet-up with the blockbuster star at the premier L’Fisher Hotel {scrumptious selections, as always}. Invited media, bloggers and pharmacy reps got cozy and candid with John Lloyd at the presscon, and we got to know him more for he was very game in answering questions we threw at him.

A few Lloydie tales:

On upcoming movie and television stints: A third installment of A Very Special Love with Sarah Geronimo and another movie with Angel Locsin is in the works.

On his Ingat tagline: He loves that expression because it’s very Pinoy, something we always say to our friends and family.

On being a role model, especially to the youth: It’s important for stars to be careful in their decisions because fans look up to them. He believes that they have responsibilities and a big opportunity to shape the youth, which is why he is careful in the career decisions he makes.

On keeping himself healthy: He used to bike a lot, but he got too busy. And while he isn’t a regular gym goer, he does some core exercises.

On roles he has yet to try: He wants to portray as many characters as possible, in various levels of acting depth.

On what his role portrayals have taught him: He is very attached to the characters that he plays, he becomes them, he breathes them. When he is done with a project, it takes a while to shake off his character. Internalizing each role has helped him understand the complexity of an individual and the importance of friendship, love, tolerance…

On his message to the youth with regards to the social problems of today: He agrees the youth of today is very detached from the social problems going around them. They are more attuned to social media applications like Facebook and interactive games, which is sad. He thinks that they should at least be more aware of what’s going around, more emphatic of the issues an ordinary mamamayan goes through. For Lloydie, it keeps him grounded to know what’s happening in the country and around the world.

On balancing love and career (girlfriend Shaina Magdayao was not spared): Going strong and steady, he assures. “You don’t find time, you make time. If you say this day is for the lady, you make it happen for the lady.”

On the recent CCP art tussle: He acknowledges art in its various forms, being an insider of the industry of expression. However, he would rather keep mum about his opinion so as not to step on either side’s toes. {Wish he said what he was really thinking out loud.}

On frustration: Singing! Something that he is no good at, he claims. He rendered a sample after much prodding, though. A lame attempt at the Wonder Girls’ “Nobody But You”. {What? He himself said it was horrible.}

On causes: He has no charity foundation of his own he and Biogesic worked together on a notable advocacy campaign that he hopes will be continued: Ingat Pasada with Mike Enriquez was a friendly reminder to all drivers to take care of their health so that they can be safe on the road.

Adding to this, UNILAB Brand Manager, Nikki Godino, says that they hope to roll out their Ingat Pilipinas safety campaign on a nationwide scale. They are working with government agencies so that the transport sector can be educated on the importance of road safety. A survey they conducted reveals that around 80% of accidents are caused by human error. Examples: texting/ eating while driving, not using seatbelts, disregard for road rules (attitude), sickness or headache, etc. For drivers of our public utility vehicles (PUJs), it is all the more important to prioritize personal health because it is their livelihood and the lives of passengers are dependent on them too. This is the cause Biogesic wishes to spearhead.

To cap the event, it was an enjoyable luncheon with John Lloyd. I found him to be very mature in his manner of answering, proof that he is no brain-dead matinee idol. Nikki also shares that it wasn’t hard to choose John Lloyd as endorser. He is very maingat in his life decisions, just as Biogesic wants us to be maigat in ours. That’s good. No headaches = 100% work performance. Ingat!