These days, Bong Revilla's chinky eyes sparkle.

And he has every reason to feel ecstatic. His recent film, Ang Panday, is currently at the top spot in terms of box-office, plus he now wears the Best Actor crown of the 35^th Metro Manila Film Festival, which he regards as a Christmas bonus.

Before the film was released, Bong admitted to PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) that he was hoping for an acting plum. "Inambisyon ko yun...pinaghirapan ko rin yun," he said.

The action star added, "May chance daw ako. Sabi ni Phillip Salavador, 'Puwede kang manalo in this movie.' Sabi ko, 'Sigurado ka?' 'Believe me,' sabi niya. So, galing sa beteranong actor, multi-awardee—kumbaga, hall of famer—sabi ko, 'Tingnan natin...'"

Indeed, his efforts were recognized by the jurors.

PANDAY FORMULA. Panday is a fusion of Bong's learnings from his previous MMFF entries and one year of hard work.

He related, "From the beginning to end, nandun yung galamay ko. Every movie kasi I made, sure na talagang aalagaan ko 'yan. Sa umpisa pa lang, hihimasin ko na 'yan hanggang sa ma-mold natin ng magandang pelikula. 'Eto talaga yung inalagaan ko dahil ayokong mapahiya. Kung nasaan man si Ninong Ron ngayon, masasabi kong ang Panday, at least magawa ko ng maganda, hindi naman ako mapahiya sa kanya."

His "Ninong Ron" is none other than Fernando Poe Jr., who first popularized the character created by Carlo J. Caparas.

And what was his success formula? Retain something old, and add something new.

Bong said, "May pattern tayo sa mga Panday before, hindi tayo puwedeng lumayo doon. Pero marami tayong additional elements para mas mapaganda pa natin lalo yung pelikula. May social relevance din, love story, 'tapos pambata."

And with some push from GMA Films, the co-producer of Imus Productions, which is owned by the senator's family, the movie became a smash hit.

BEYOND PANDAY. After the project, Bong Revilla's battles will resume.

PEP asked about his thoughts on preventing movie piracy. The approach of the former chairman of Video Regulatory Board (replaced by Optical Media Board) is three-pronged: trace the source, destroy the business of the sellers, and catch even the patrons.

He explained at length: "We should work together. It's not only the producers, but also the viewers—sila din dapat, they [should] not tolerate yung pagbibili ng pirated.

"Ang dapat rin dito, yung sa enforcement side, talagang no let-up diyan. 'Pag inumpisahan mo 'yan ng raid, talagang all the way non-stop...Hindi pupuwedeng huhulihin mo ngayon 'tapos bukas, nandiyan na naman sila. Ako, during my time, pag ni-raid ko ngayon, halimbawa, oras ay ngayon umaga, lunch time, ire-raid kita ulit, gabi, ire-raid kita ulit. So three waves 'yan na talagang sasawa sila kaka-raid hanggang sa dumating sa point na hindi na sila magbebenta dahil nalulugi sila.

"That's the way to fight piracy, talagang all levels, sirain mo—yung source pati yung nagbebenta, lahat sila. Yung mga nag i-invest diyan, yun, hinuhuli rin dapat."

His other target is to continue uplifting the movie industry.

In August 2009, as Senator he filed the Amusement Tax Reduction Law, or Republic Act 9640, which "aims to reverse the local movie industry's slump by reducing the amusement taxes to a minimum of 10 percent on the gross receipts of the admission fees on theaters and cinemas."