MANILA'S FINEST' MARKS PIOLO PASCUAL'S THIRD STRAIGHT MMFF PROJECT

PIOLO PASCUAL FELT "PRIVILEGED" to take on yet another meaty role in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2025 official entry, "Manila's Finest." The crime drama film is helmed by Rae Red and written by Moira Lang, Sherad Sanchez and Michiko Yamamoto.

- CHARMIE JOY PAGULONG

The veteran actor plays Lt. Homer Magtibay, a seasoned cop, in the movie produced by MQuest Ventures and Cignal.

Set in 1969, the story follows a band of Manila policemen struggling to preserve their integrity and loyalties as creeping state control signals a nation about to change.

"Manila's Finest" is Piolo's third straight MMFF participation following "Mallari" and "GomBurZa" in 2023 and "The Kingdom" in 2024.

In every acting project he takes on, Piolo makes sure to come in "fresh" and "raw" to better portray his characters.

"When I came on board for 'Mallari,' I didn't know what I was getting myself into given the three roles that I had to portray. I came in as a student and I came out learning a lot of things with the characters I had to portray," he told The STAR during the look test and table reading at the Meralco Lighthouse in Ortigas.

"And going into the next project which is 'The Kingdom,' I had to do a lot of action scenes. And of course, (it was with) Vic Sotto. So, I always come in as a newbie. I don't go (to) the set with my techniques or everything that I've learned because I always like to collaborate with my director. I love to collaborate with my co-artists."