If you think that Joseph “Erap” Estrada was our country’s first actor-president, then you haven’t browsed that much on the colorful history of our film industry.
During the 1957 general elections, actor Regidor de la Rosa y Lim, popularly known by his screen name ROGELIO DE LA ROSA, capitalized on his fame and ran for a senate seat under the Partido Liberal. He was fourth in rank, garnering 33.6% of the total votes cast. In fact, he was only one of two Liberal senatorial candidates who made it to the winners’ circle; the other six belonged to Partido Nacionalista. The other Liberal who made it was Ambrosio Padilla, a former basketball player. 😂
De la Rosa and the other winners were given a mandate of six years. During his brief stint in the Senate, he engaged in issues regarding fisheries and agriculture. And since he came from the film industry, he co-authored a bill which led to the creation of the MTRCB.
But four years later, in 1961, de la Rosa decided to run for president as an independent candidate. He was up against two contenders: incumbent President Carlos García (Nacionalista) and Diosdado Macapagal (Liberal) who was his late sister Purita’s widow. His massive popularity during campaign sorties almost made him a shoo-in for the presidency. However, in a move that shocked everyone, de la Rosa suddenly withdrew his candidacy. He had several reasons: translating those massive audiences into actual votes was a different matter as he deemed the politics of his day as “really dirty”. Also, he got fed up with some of his campaign leaders who kept on asking him for money. He also withdrew in favor of his former brother-in-law, then already married to Evangelina Macaraeg (the mother of future president Gloria Macapagal de Arroyo), so as not to divide votes that might catapult reelectionist García to another term. De la Rosa’s move was a success — Macapagal won the presidential contest.
De la Rosa was born exactly 105 years ago today. 🥳 His first acting stint was with his future-brother-in law, Macapagal, in high school zarzuelas in their hometown of Lubao, Pampanga. He made it to the movies when his uncle, director José Nepomuceno, cast him opposite Fil-Am beauty Carmen del Rosario in the 1932 film “Ligaw na Bulaklak“. It was his uncle who gave him his now legendary screen name. His career went on a meteoric rise from then on, even becoming the country’s highest paid actor just a decade before he tried his luck in politics.
De la Rosa died of a heart attack in 1986, several months after the EDSA Revolution. Below is a video clip from the 1955 classic “Ang Tangi Kong Pag-Ibig“, with Carmen Rosales as his leading lady.
TRIVIA: All the characters mentioned here, with the exception of former President Erap, were native Spanish speakers. 😉
EL FILIPINISMO 