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Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Celebrities devider MOVIEGOER: Bela when in doubt

MOVIEGOER: Bela when in doubt

Published Aug 28, 2026 12:06 pm  |  Updated Aug 28, 2026 05:08 pm
Bela Padilla with the cast and director of 'Life After You'
Bela Padilla with the cast and director of 'Life After You'
During times when she doubted herself, drama actress Bela Padilla said she always found inspiration watching Maricel Soriano and remembering her words of wisdom.
While observing the veteran actress on set, Bela is reminded “of how much I love doing what I do.”
Bela and Maricel are playing two very different women bound together by an orphaned girl in the upcoming Viva drama film “Life After You,” opening September 9.
At the film’s media launch August 19 at Gateway Cinema in Araneta Center, Bela got even more fired up when Maricel confessed that even after 55 years as an actress, she has remained enthusiastic about her work.
“I still love what I’m doing,” Maricel stated. At this point in her life, Maricel has reached the jump-off age of her more senior movie mothers, Nida Blanca and Charito Solis. She has actually stepped into the type of roles the two women used to portray.
The important thing, she said, is to still find excitement in working.
“Life After You” is written and directed by Marla Ancheta, who directed the 2022 Netflix drama “Doll House.” It tells the story of two women who have contradicting ways of raising a child who is suddenly assigned to the both of them.
Bela recalled that her very first film, Bahay Kubo (2007) was with Maricel Soriano, where she did a cameo.
“I was in awe of her. Every time they called her to set, she was ready to perform.
She was always “in the zone” whenever she faced the cameras, a thorough professional. There’s strength in numbers.
***
Veteran singers Richard Reynoso, Rannie Raymundo, and Chad Borja, are finding this out themselves as their group, OPM Hitmen, enters its second decade.
For one, performing together has allowed their careers a new lease on life. As a group or as individuals, OPM Hitmen has done wonders for their careers. An extender of sorts.
Recently, a new leaf has just turned for the Hitmen when they signed a management contract with EchoJam.
Veteran singers Richard Reynoso, Rannie Raymundo, and Chad Borja
Veteran singers Richard Reynoso, Rannie Raymundo, and Chad Borja
The production house, headed by Juan Angelo Arenas, formally signed the OPM Hitmen on Aug. 8 in Quezon City. The partnership is expected to bring them more concerts and other live projects.
Arenas is banking on the experience and expertise of the family-owned Echo Jam Entertainment Productions in producing and marketing concerts and other live events in and out of the country.
EchoJam, through its founder Mhae Sarenas, is behind "Memories," Reynoso’s 40th anniversary concert at Teatrino in Greenhills on September 26. That’s just the start of a series of shows the company is lining up for the singer as well as for the Hitmen.
EchoJam made a mark after mounting successful concerts starring Nonoy Zuñiga, Marco Sison, Rey Valera, among others.
The OPM Hitmen started in 2012 when Reynoso and Raymundo were invited to do a production number for a TV show. They then thought of bringing Borja into the act to form The Hitmen.
Some of the songs associated with the Hitmen are "Ikaw Lang," "Paminsan-Minsan," and "Why Can't It Be".

Related Tags

Bela Padilla Maricel Soriano Life After You OPM Hitmen Nestor Cuartero
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