Star for All Seasons Vilma Santos was honored with the Hall of Fame award at the 27th Gawad PASADO on Saturday, Oct. 25, at Manila Tytana Colleges in Pasay City.
Santos was given the organization’s highest honor after she won her fifth Best Actress trophy for her role in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2024 entry ‘Uninvited.’
Her latest win joined her previous works recognized by the awarding body, which were ‘Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa?’ (1998), ‘Anak’ (2000) , ‘Dekada ’70’ (2002) , and ‘Everything About Her’ (2016).
In an interview with select members of the press prior to the awarding, Santos said that despite being in the industry for more than six decades, every award is still valuable to her.
‘Kahit sabihin mo na public servant ako ngayon, sa puso ko, artist pa rin ako, at ‘yung mga ganitong recognition na binibigay sa akin para sa mga pelikulang ginawa ko ay malaking bagay because nag-aattest ito na you did good,’ she said.
(Even though you say I’m a public servant now, in my heart, I’m still an artist, and the recognition I get for the films I’ve made means a lot because it attests that I did good.)
‘Mga educators ito, may sarili silang mga desisyon, ibig kong sabihin hindi ito ordinaryo na pwedeng sabihin ‘Sige, pili na lang tayo’; kahit paano may prestige, they’re educators, malaking bagay ‘yon,’ added Santos.
(These are educators, they have their own decisions; I mean it’s not ordinary to say ‘Okay, let’s just choose’; somehow there is prestige, they’re educators, that’s a big deal.)
The Star for All Seasons said that she believes she was able to stay long in the industry for all these years because she took care of her career in the ways that she can.
‘I did not take my career for granted. I think in a way naalagaan ko ‘to (I took care of it). For more than six decades, may point sa career ko na kailangan mag-take ka ng risk at hindi ako natakot (there was a time that I needed to take a risk, I did not get scared), I took the risk,’ she explained.
Despite already having the chance to play almost all the roles, Santos stated that she hasn’t played her dream role yet, which is a female Muslim or a mentally challenged person or a person with a disability.
‘I will be serving Batangas for three years pero sana kahit makaisang pelikula, ipapakiusap ko sa mga Batangueno. Namimiss ko rin, hinahanap ng katawan ko talaga,’ said the Batangas governor.
(I will be serving Batangas for three years, but I hope to make at least one movie. I will ask the Batangueños. I miss it, my body is really looking for it.)
Aside from Santos, actress Mylene Dizon took home the Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 2024 MMFF entry ‘Uninvited.’ Meanwhile, veteran actress Perla Bautista received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Gawad PASADO is a film organization of teachers from various private and public elementary and high schools, and colleges in the Philippines.