- Tonton Gutierrez expresses his disapproval of people putting the blame on others after Eddie Garcia’s death
- He has some advice in light of the matter
- The “Eddie Garcia Act” has been filed in the Congress
Tonton Gutierrez was one of the co-actors of Eddie Garcia on the shelved series Rosang Agimat. Gutierrez revealed that he felt bad for the veteran actor’s tragic on-set accident and death.
“The day I found out about it, I felt really, really bad because alam niyo Tito Eddie is one of the persons in showbiz that I really, really respect. In the first place, sabi ko nga siya ‘yung unang director na nakapagbigay sa akin ng award yung Saan Nagtatago ang Pag-ibig?”
Garcia helmed a 1987 film titled Saan Nagtatago ang Pag-ibig? which starred Gutierrez, Vilma Santos, Gloria Romero, and Cherie Gil.
“Yung closeness ko sa kanya,’yung pasasalamat ko sa kanya is beyond, yung abot-abot sa langit,” Gutierrez said.
He also clarified that he was not present at the time Garcia figured in the accident.
“No I wasn’t there. Nabalitaan ko lang through our executive producer because kausap ko siya that afternoon na nagkaroon nga ng problema, si Tito Eddie naaksidente”
He said that it was also improper to continue shooting Rosang Agimat after the unfortunate accident.
“No, we felt it was improper for the project to continue pa na wala na si Tito Eddie. For respect for him, hindi na dapat talaga ituloy yung project.”
Gutierrez also expressed his disapproval of people who are putting the blame on others regarding the accident. He also left some advice in light of Garcia’s death.
“It was an accident, no one wanted it in the first place. Kahit namang sinong tao,walang gustong maaksidente or…Kumbaga nangyari na eh,’di na tayo magturuan. Walang may gusto na mangyari ‘yun.S o just let it be. Huwag na magturuan nangyari na eh, tapos na.K umbaga kailangan ng medics sa shoot, kailangan may medics, yun na lang ang gawin. Kumbaga learn from the experience,” he said.
Garcia passed away last June 20 at the age of 90 after suffering a severe neck fracture. He was left comatose after he tripped on a wire and injured his neck during the Rosang Agimat taping. The country mourned for the loss of the multi-awarded actor.
In commemoration of his contributions, his stepson, 1-PACMAN party-list Rep. Michael Romero. filed the House Bill 191 known as the Actors Occupational Safety and Health Standard Bill or the “Eddie Garcia Act” last July.
The bill requires “safety and medical personnel should be deployed in all workplaces and areas of actors during working hours.”
The bill also provides for mandatory personnel and production insurance coverage.
In a statement released on August 13, Tuesday, GMA Network Inc. said that it is “fully” cooperating with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on the ongoing investigation of Garcia’s on-set accident and said that they did not receive any order from the department about the matter.
“This is to inform the Exchange that the Company has been fully cooperating in the investigation of the DOLE. However, as of this writing, we have not received any order or resolution from DOLE regarding the aforementioned matter,” the statement said.
DOLE said that GMA Network may face fines of at least P100,000 if the investigation proved there were violations of Occupational Safety and Health Law in the accident.
