Prayers for Eddie Garcia: National Artist

By the time this blog gets published, Eddie Garcia would be lying in state at the Heritage Park. Now, why am I writing a few words about “Manoy.” Well, he is one of the few actors that I respect and admire. He is a legend who continued to practice his artistry and craft even into his 90s. Wikipedia says, “Manoy” garnered a total of 43 wins and 38 nominations from notable award-giving bodies. He won six FAMAS trophies for Best Supporting Actor, five for Best Actor and five for Best Director. And the only Filipino to win Asian Film Award Best Actor His roots are from Bicol, specifically, Sorsogon. Very little is known or written about his family. I believe that he has valued his privacy. Didn’t even know he had a son, until I saw a news segment about his wake over at CNN Philippines.

Photo by Mau Mauricio from People Asia Magazine. The accident could really have been avoided had the network put into place extra safety measures, specially, if there are senior citizens working around the set. And that includes both cast and crew. News about Eddie Garcia being rushed to the hospital in a taxi cab looks bad. An ambulance on stand-by at the set would have probably saved his life? Those cables locked and taped, or placed under rubber. I do hope that industry leaders would put into place appropriate measures and regulations to prevent accidents on the set. “Manoy” death brings me to recall the death of Vic Morrow while filming the movie, “Twilight Zone, The Movie” back in July 1982. He and two child actors, seven-year-old Myca Dinh Le, and six-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen, died due to a helicopter crash. Surely, he would be missed. He died last June 20, 2019, at the age of 90, 12 days after the accident. He deserves to be “National Artist.”