Alfred Vargas: today's Andres Bonifacio.

A hero lies in all of us, or so a popular song says. And for Alfred Vargas, who plays the title character in the Cinemalaya 2010 entry “Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio,” he sees within him a revolutionary hero like Ka Andres.

“I’ve been thinking about it…Andres Bonifacio and me. During Andres Bonifacio’s time, it was the revolution against the colonizers, the foreign oppressors.

“Today, we are also under a revolution—a revolution against poverty. So for me, ‘yong mga natulungan ko along the way, maliit man o malaki, for me that’s like being Andres Bonifacio of today...but the fight is for poverty,” he told Bulletin Entertainment during the film’s press interview last July 7 at Baang Coffee, Tomas Morato.

The first-time councilor of Quezon City aims to channel his inner hero through his government post. While he feels “overwhelmed with the amount of work and the amount of responsibility that I will take,” he says, “it’s very exciting.”

More so, he is determined to prove skeptics wrong that celebrities are incapable of officially serving the public.

“I have yet to prove myself to critics. Marami ‘yan e, ‘yong nagsasabing ‘artista lang ‘yan. ‘Yong iba pa nga gusto pang pagbawalan ‘yong mga artista to practice their profession while in the position. So for me, I’m just new in the government, and through the years, I will prove and prove and I’ll try my best to prove them wrong,” the award-winning actor said.

In preparation for the job, Vargas took a crash course in governance a few weeks ago (together with some fellow celeb-politicians) and has already drafted some ordinances and resolutions catering to the poor.

Albeit public service is Vargas’ priority at the moment, he maintained that he is not saying goodbye to showbiz, which is his first love.

“Paglilitis” serves as his comeback, and soon, it will be followed by a teleserye in his home studio, GMA-7.

Vargas is grateful that his constituents in Quezon City are supportive of his career decisions.

“Actually, they’re very eager to see me back on TV and movies,” he revealed. “Meron din akong mga fans na nami-miss...‘yong performance ko, kasi ‘yon daw ‘yong nagpapaligaya sa kanila. So you’ll see me around definitely in better roles, in more hand-picked roles.”

In that regard, Vargas said he didn’t audition to get the part of Andres in the Mario O’Hara-directed film. He was the premiere director’s first choice. “So the moment I learned about it, 'yes' kaagad ako, with no condition,” he enthused.

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board’s (MTRCB) Best Actor for 2010 (for the indie film “Colorum”) said he is not expecting another award for his portrayal of the “Ama ng Himagsikan” because “the project itself is already a reward.”

“’Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio’ will immortalize Alfred Vargas in the sense that history students will watch us, in the same way that they watched ‘Jose Rizal,’ played by Cesar Montano…” he said.

“Paglilitis” may well be one of today’s most historically relevant Filipino films in that it presents the trial and execution of the national hero. For the script, Vargas said they used the original transcript of the trial, thereby making an accurate retelling of the historical event.

“It’s actually a glimpse of how politicking began in Philippine government history. Andres Bonifacio came out to be a victim of politics. He died in the hands of fellow Filipinos,” he related.

Not only can the audience empathize with the underrated hero who is Andres, they will also be enlightened about Emilio Aguinaldo’s true intentions—that contrary to the long-held belief that he ordered Andres' execution, he was really against it.

Vargas is apparently very proud of the film, however, “’Yon lang ang comment ko; malaki ako sa movie," pertaining to the 20 pounds he gained during the previous campaign.

“Ang style ko kasi noong campaign, talagang sumasama ako sa tao…‘pag may mga fiesta, kasi that’s how you’ll know your constituents. Kain lang ng kain, tapos kuwentuhan. Kasi doon ko nalalaman kung ano ‘yong kailangan nila, ‘yong gusto nila, ‘yong mga problema…” he related.

The hunk-actor decided to extend his showbiz hiatus to shed the pounds. Just a few weeks and Vargas said he’s good to go back on TV. What pushes him all the more is that he needs to save up—for the engagement ring he’ll give his 22-year-old Filipina-Italian girlfriend of two years, Yasmine Espiritu.

Also starring Lance Raymundo, Danielle Castaño, Kristoffer King, and Janvier Daily, “Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio” is Direk Mario’s entry for the “Director’s Showcase” category of the Cinemalaya Film Festival. Screening of all the featured films will run from July 9 to 18 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.