RAMON REVILLA
Government positions held: Customs Officer, Senator
Previous employment: Action Star

Ramon Revilla could have joined Joseph Estrada in the 1987 Senate had he used his screen name and not his real name, Jose Bautista. Because he failed to have his movie name accredited, the Commission on Elections threw out the votes meant for Ramon Revilla. This experience taught aspiring showbiz politicians that come election day, voters will write down the name they know and remember, bogus though it may be.

Revilla gained fame for playing do-gooders whose amulets gave them a cloak of invincibility. Unlike the others, he did not start his political career in local government, although he held the position of senior intelligence officer of the Bureau of Customs from 1965 to 1972.

Little is known of how he fared as Customs intelligence officer but a later scandal betrayed hints of how he must have performed. In his early days at the Senate, Revilla was accused of skipping taxes and customs duties for the importation of gamecocks. Revilla is a known cockfighting aficionado and has been running a cockfighting arena in his hometown of Imus, Cavite.

Apart from his involvement in a few scandals, such as the recent debacle over his failure to return an official Pajero he borrowed eight years ago from the Department of Public Works and Highways, and his legislative support for the movie industry, Revilla the senator is known as nothing more than a silent benchwarmer. Although he had little to show for his first six years in office, Revilla, like Sotto, was elected for a second six-year Senate term in 1998.

Revilla took the cue from Estrada and tried to build his own dynasty in Cavite, with help from the ruling party Lakas. In 1995, the party fielded the senator's actor-son Ramon Jr., otherwise known as Bong, to be vice governor to former National Bureau of Investigation Chief Epimaco Velasco who ran for governor. The tandem beat longtime Cavite strongman Governor Juanito Remulla.

In 1998, Bong Revilla ran for the top provincial post and won, but his fortunes changed three years later when he failed to get reelected. His wife, actress Lani Mercado, also lost her bid to become mayor of Bacoor town. His brother Edwin, a.k.a. Strike, however, is now member of the provincial board. A few months ago, Bong Revilla himself was appointed head of the Videogram Regulatory Board where he carries out a real-life role hunting down video pirates.

LITO LAPID
Government positions held: Vice Governor, Governor
Previous employment: Action Star

Lito Lapid and Rey Malonzo belong to a younger generation of action stars who probably idolized Joseph Estrada. What the two actors also have in common is that they pursued their political careers under parties opposing that of Estrada's, eventually earning them the ire of the senior ex-star. Lapid and Malonzo both played antiheroes to the Estrada presidency, much like the villains Estrada used to conquer in his movies.

Lapid first entered politics as vice governor of Pampanga in 1992. He moved up to governor in 1995, a post to which he was re-elected twice. In the 1998 presidential elections, he was blamed for Estrada's resounding defeat in the province, something that Lapid eventually paid for.

Under the Estrada presidency, the Ombudsman filed three graft charges against Lapid: the illegal collection of taxes from lahar quarrying, the alleged illegal purchase of real estate in San Fernando town, and Lapid's alleged failure to account for over P2 million in cash advances. In November 1999, the Ombudsman meted Lapid a one-year suspension for the lahar quarrying case. Lapid took the case to the appellate court, but his appeal was thrown out.

Lapid endeared himself to Estrada's successor, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo — who comes from the same province. The governor, after all, had appeared in two movies with Arroyo's son Juan Miguel (Mikey) and taken him in as vice-gubernatorial candidate in the 2001 local elections. During the Edsa 3 uprising of May 2001, Arroyo allowed Lapid to exact sweet revenge on Estrada by giving him the authority to post bail for, and take custody of, arrested Estrada loyalists.

Lapid hopes to build his own dynasty in Pampanga. He is grooming his son Mark to be an action star-turned-politician like him. The elder Lapid even directed Mark in one action movie. In 2001, Mark Lapid won a seat as barangay captain in their hometown of Porac and went on to head the influential provincial association of barangay captains. Lapid the governor hopes this will be his son's stepping stone for higher political office in Pampanga.

REY MALONZO
Government positions held: Mayor
Previous employment: Action Star

Unlike other political actors who belonged to the elite of show business, Rey Malonzo has no acting award to boast of, although he made a name appearing in a slew of mostly forgettable martial arts movies playing essentially the same types of roles that made Joseph Estrada famous.

In 1995, Malonzo ran for mayor of Kalookan, defeating Macario 'Boy'Asistio, a member of the moneyed and well-entrenched political family that has ruled the city for decades. The Asistios never forgave him for that. In 1996, barangay captains loyal to the Asistios filed a recall petition against Malonzo and demanded new elections, saying the mayor had lost the trust and confidence of his constituents for allegedly misusing funds meant for the city's teachers. A recall election was held and Malonzo won, allowing him to continue ruling Kalookan City.

But Malonzo's woes only worsened after he was reelected in the 1998 polls, the same elections that brought Estrada, a close friend of the Asistios, to Malacañang. In March 1999, the Office of the President ordered the suspension of Malonzo and several other Kalookan City officials for graft, for realigning P39 million of the city budget. Malonzo was suspended for 20 days.

In 2001, Malonzo won a third term, this time against former congressman Luis 'Baby' Asistio, whose family continued to make things difficult for the mayor. Luis Asistio filed a protest against Malonzo for declaring himself winner even before the Commission on Elections had issued its proclamation. Because of the case, Malonzo had to wait four months before assuming his seat.

Malonzo continues to generate controversy. Earlier this year, he wanted the historic Bonifacio Monument in Balintawak transferred to the city of Manila to decongest his side of the metropolis. This earned him the ire of historians and politicians. More recently, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee investigated past and present Kalookan city officials, Malonzo included, for selling city property to the Gotesco family at a price disadvantageous to government.

In a recent interview, Malonzo was quoted as saying he was planning to run for the Senate in 2004.

JOEY MARQUEZ
Government positions held: Mayor
Previous employment: Pro basketball player, Comedian

Joey Marquez had a short-lived career as a professional basketball player. He shifted to show business where doors were opened for him, being the son of movie director Artemio Marquez and brother of beauty queen-actress Melanie Marquez.

Marquez started out carving a niche for himself as an action star-comedian appearing in movies, although he would later stick to just making people laugh, on television. Marquez entered politics around the same time as Lito Lapid, running first for vice mayor of the predominantly middle class town of Parañaque — and winning. He became mayor in 1995.

One of the earliest controversies involving Marquez the mayor was the holding of the Michael Jackson concert in Parañaque. Sometime in 1997, the Ombudsman decided to file charges against Marquez for allowing — through a hastily approved town council resolution — the concert organizers to pay amusement taxes of only two percent of gross receipts, when internal revenue rules mandated 30 percent.

A few years later, the Commission on Audit recommended the filing of graft charges against Marquez and other city officials before the Ombudsman, this time for malversation of city funds amounting to more than P600 million.

Marquez gained notoriety earlier this year for carrying on an affair with former presidential daughter and TV personality Kris Aquino even before his marriage to actress Alma Moreno was annulled. He denied allegations he intended to use the affair for a purported senatorial candidacy in 2004.