‘Lolong’ stars Shaira Diaz, Arra San Agustin discuss importance of tackling environmental issues

Shaira and Arra are playing the roles of Elsie and Bella, respectively, the leading ladies of Ruru. (File Photo: Arra San Agustin/Facebook)

After years of preparation, the action-adventure series “Lolong” finally aired on the Kapuso network last Monday, July 4.

The show’s title might ring a bell to some. They probably read or heard about it in the news as it has the same name as the world’s largest saltwater crocodile in captivity who died in the Philippines in 2013. 

Although crocodiles are part of the series, it is not about Lolong’s story.

Directed by Rommel Penesa and Conrado Peru, the show not only highlights the story of friendship between Lolong, played by Ruru Madrid, and a giant crocodile named Dakila, but it also touches on some environmental issues such as climate change, global warming, and animal extinction.

During GMA Pinoy TV’s Funcon for the series, “Lolong” stars Shaira Diaz and Arra San Agustin shared their thoughts with Philippine Canadian Inquirer (PCI) on how important it is to tackle these issues nowadays.

For Shaira, it is “very timely” to discuss these topics, especially with the youth.

“Baka ‘di sila aware sa mga changes, sa global warming, ‘yung pagpapahalaga sa kalikasan, so I think it’s very important and nakakatuwa kasi na-tackle namin ‘yon sa Lolong (They might not be aware of the changes, global warming, and how to take care of nature, so I think it’s very important and I’m glad that we are able to tackle that in Lolong),” she said.

The actress shared that she had learned a lot of lessons during the show’s filming, particularly about crocodiles.

“Alam natin na parang may nagawang image tayo na parang ‘pag buwaya, automatic mangangain na ‘yan ng tao pero hindi naman talaga. So parang dito sa Lolong, pinakita natin na dapat pinoprotektahan natin ‘yung mga hayop, kasi kung wala ka namang gagawin, kung wala kang ginagawa [na masama], hindi ka nila aatakihin (We know that we made an image of crocodiles where we think that they will automatically eat humans but that is not actually true. Here in Lolong, we showed that we should be protecting animals because if you are not doing anything [that will harm them], they won’t attack you),” she explained.

“Pinoprotektahan lang nila ‘yung habitat nila, ‘yung tirahan nila and pinoprotektahan lang din nila ‘yung sarili nila (They are just protecting their habitat and themselves),” she continued.

Arra agreed with Shaira. For her part, Arra said that it is good that the show focuses both on the environment and animals.

“Dapat lang na matuto tayong mag-co-exist with the animals kasi hindi naman natin pagmamay-ari ‘yung mundo, may mga iba ring nakatira dito na dapat nating pangalagaan (We should learn how to co-exist with the animals because we don’t own the world, there are others that are also living here that we need to take care of),” the actress stressed.

She also mentioned how other people forget to take care of the animals, leading to endangerment and extinction of some species.

“Sana kahit papano ‘tong show na ‘to makatulong lalo na sa mga bata, para ma-shape up din ‘yung pag-iisip nila na pangalagaan ‘yung kalikasan at mga hayop (Hopefully this show will help, especially the children, so that they can shape their minds to take care of the environment and animals),” Arra continued.

Shaira and Arra are playing the roles of Elsie and Bella, respectively, the leading ladies of Ruru.

Asked what the audience should watch out for in their character, Shaira said there are a lot, mentioning a scene where she climbed a tree in the series as her character is someone who has many things to fight for. As to what those are, she said viewers should watch out for that. 

“Kahit alam niyang pwede siyang mapahamak basta nagawa niya ‘yung trabaho niya, ‘yung pinaniniwalaan niya na gusto niyang protektahan ‘yung kalikasan, ‘yung mga hayop, gagawin niya (Even though she knows she can be in danger, she will still do her job, that she wants to protect nature and the animals).”

“Para na rin maging parang eye-opener din sa mga kabataan natin na kahit ‘yung mga simpleng bagay na ganon eh makakatulong pa rin kahit papaano (It can be an eye-opener to our youth that even simple things can still help).”

Meanwhile, Arra’s character, Bella, has a “quest” that has yet to be unfolded.

“Parang meron kasi siyang hidden agenda na hindi ko pwedeng sabihin so abangan niyo na lang ‘yon kasi ‘yung parang love story, ano ba ’to? Love triangle—love square namin, hindi talaga siya predictable (She has a hidden agenda that I can’t tell so look forward to that because our love story, what is this called? Love triangle—our love square is unpredictable),” she said.

Also part of the cast members of “Lolong” are Christopher de Leon, Ian de Leon, Jean Garcia, Malou de Guzman, Mikoy Morales, Rochelle Pangilinan, Bembol Roco, Paul Salas, and Maui Taylor, among others.

The show airs weeknights on GMA Telebabad and can be watched via GMA Pinoy TV by overseas viewers.