MANILA, Philippines -- It's confirmed: Comedian Vice Ganda will be working with his friend Coco Martin in the hit hit fantasy series "Juan dela Cruz."
Vice Ganda confirmed on Wednesday that he will play the character of Santana, the queen of tikbalangs, which are creatures that are supposed to be half-man, half-horse.
"Hindi ba na-associate na siya sa mga diwata? Tapos ako ay may galit sa mga diwata," he said."Siguro mayroong (fight scene) kasi lalabas sa akin yung latigo, ihahampas niya sa akin. Itong teleserye ngayon bago ito sa akin, ngayon ko lang ito ginawa."
It wasn't clear, however, if Santana will be Juan's enemy or ally.
Vice Ganda began taping for the primetime series on Wednesday night.
The comedian, however, stressed that he will not be a regular in the series because of his busy schedule. Apart from the noontime show "It's Showtime" and the weekly show "Gandang Gabi Vice," Vice Ganda is also working on the movie "Girl Boy Bakla Tomboy" for this year's Metro Manila Film Festival.
"Gusto ko din (maging regular) pero hindi ko kaya ang teleserye, hindi kaya ang pa-morningan siyempre wala na akong rampa noon," he said.
"Ayaw ko 'yung natatapos ang isang buong araw na sinabi ko sa sarili ko na nag-trabaho lang ako at wala akong good time. Nagi-guilty na ako. Ano perahan na lang ng perahan? Dapat balanse. Kailangan bago ako bumalik sa bahay eh nakagawa ako ng isang bagay na di ko ginawa dahil sa pera at sa trabaho. kailangan naka-chika kami ng kaibigan ko, naka-rampa kami kasi kinabukasan ay magta-trabaho ka ulit. Balance of everything," he explained.
Vice Ganda's appearance on the show comes after he and Martin patched things up during the comedian's concert last May. Their rift started when Martin declined Vice Ganda’s request to appear on his weekly show “Gandang Gabi Vice” because of his busy schedule only to see Martin being interviewed on “Bandila.”
Coco reacts
For his part, Martin said he is thrilled to work with his good friend.
“Na-excite agad ako nung sinabi sa akin na papasok si Vice sa ‘Juan dela Cruz’ kasi first time namin na magkakasama sa isang teleserye at matagal na rin kaming hindi nagkakatrabaho sa isang project,” said Coco, who last worked with Vice in the independent film “Noy.”
Coco assured that TV viewers will enjoy watching “Juan dela Cruz” more with the addition of Vice Ganda’s character in the series.
“Bilib ako sa talento ni Vice. Hindi lang bilang komedyante, kundi bilang isang artista. Alam kong ibibigay niya ang 100% niya para mapasaya ang mga manonood.”he shared.
The new character will be revealed on Monday, July 8, which will also see the debut of a new weapon apart from the "bakal na krus."
