“Aloy Norona: Up CLose and Personal with Father Thomas”

               Among my eleven co-priests in the monastery, Aloy Norona is the actor whom I had worked with the longest time. He is my contemporary when I first joined the tv and movie industry as a bit player in 1999. We had worked together on several projects. We were together in the ABS-CBN’s top-rated show “Pangako Sa Yo”, had worked on several projects with GMA Channel 7, appeared together in the TV shows of the government-owned TV channels and even for Japanese movies that were filmed here.  Before 2008 ended, we appeared together with Ruben Gonzaga in ABS-CBN’s Komiks presents “Dragonna”. As an optimistic person, I always pray for new projects and expect that it will be granted. While working for Dragonna, I had a strange feeling that my prayer for a new project that would cast me for regular role would soon be granted by God. I sensed that it was very imminent that Aloy, Ruben and myself will soon be working together in a big project.  I don’t know, but I had that feeling during the taping of Dragonna in a fire station in Binondo where Aloy played the Chief Fire Officer, Ruben played as a police and I played as the chief of Police. And indeed a few weeks later, we were casted as priests in “May Bukas Pa”. Sometimes, I want to believe that I could foresee future events!

                Aloy used to be a Philippine Airlines steward up to the time that it was privatized. I enjoyed listening to Aloy’s story about his exploits as a PAL steward especially the exciting hijacking drama of a PAL plane where he participated in neutralizing the hijackers.

                After he left the good-paying exciting job as a PAL flight steward, Aloy together with his wife who is also a good actress joined the showbiz. Aside from appearing in TV shows and movies, the husband and wife team with the full support of their children have a theatre company regularly staging plays with students as the target market. Their Phil Arts Advertising and Promotions Inc. ties up with SM moviehouses as the venue for the plays. The Department of Education has endorsed the plays of Aloy’s theatre company. For the coming elections, Aloy has come up with a visual advertising product intended for the politicians political campaign. It is a van with a plasma tv monitor on its sides that broadcasts political advertisements.

                Aloy is also what I consider as a approtech (appropriate technology) man. This I say because of what he shared bout using old car batteries and he devised a method to recharge these and use its energy to give light during brown outs.

                But definitely, first and foremost, Aloy is an actor. As Father Thomas, his character as assigned by Director Jerome is the opposite to my “grumpy”  character, Father Thomas is the smiling type. The assigned character is “peanuts” for Aloy who in real life is the “happy type”, he is always smiling on and off screen!

                One time, Aloy brought his entire family on the set. Gemma – his beautiful wife and the rest of their children. We all envy on how wonderful Aloy’s family is.  Aloy’s family is a living example how a united family can put its own family business.Good luck Aloy and keep on flying high!