Cesar Montano
Montano in 2017
Chief Operating Officer of theTourism Promotions Board
In office December 6, 2016 – May 21, 2018
President	Rodrigo Duterte
Personal details
Born	Cesar Demontaño Manhilot (1962-08-01)August 1, 1962 (age 63) Santa Ana, Manila, Philippines
Political party	Independent (2017–present)
Other political affiliations	Liberal (2009–2017) Lakas–Kampi (until 2009)
Spouses	Marilyn Polinga ​ (died 1992)​ Sunshine Cruz ​ ​ (m. 2000; ann. 2018)​
Children	10 (includingDiego)[1]
Alma mater	Lyceum of the Philippines Philippine Public Safety College
Occupation	Actor film producer film director

Cesar Demontaño Manhilot (Tagalog:[ˈsɛsaɾmɔnˈtɐnɔ])^[2] (born August 1, 1962) is aFilipinoactor,film producer,film director and aspiring politician.

Montano started inshow business as acommercial model.^[3] He portrayed roles in numerous B movies, before playing major roles in severalaction films, along with a successful television career, with his most notable television role being in the sitcomKaya ni Mister, Kaya ni Misis. One of his best-known roles is his portrayal of the titular patriotJosé Rizal in the filmJosé Rizal (1998). He starred in thewar filmThe Great Raid (2005), his first Hollywood film.

Montano has won numerous acting awards inPanaghoy sa Suba ("The Call of the River"),José Rizal,Muro Ami ("Reef Hunters") andBagong Buwan ("New Moon").

Aside fromacting, Montano also embarked on a singing career, with the release of his music albumSubok lang orJust try in 2000. He has also ventured intofilm production as well asdirecting, withPanaghoy sa Suba as his directorial film debut.

In May 2007, he unsuccessfully ran forSenate under the coalitionTEAM Unity (TU).GMA News reported that he lost about P40 million worth of endorsement for running in public office. Montano also lost the 2010 Gubernatorial race in his home province ofBohol.

On July 13, 2010, Montano officially became a contract artist ofGMA Network after signing a two-year exclusive contract with the said network.^[4] In 2012, he leftGMA Network forTV5'sArtista Academy.

In 2016, Montano was running as the 2nd nominee of Aangat Tayo party-list in the 2016 national elections, but subsequently lost. In the same year, he was appointed by Tourism SecretaryWanda Corazon Teo as the Chief Operation Officer of the Tourism Promotions Board.^[5]

Montano, known by his nickname Buboy, was born and raised inSanta Ana,Manila,Philippines. His paternal side traces its roots to the Manhilots ofBaclayon, a town inBohol.^{[citation needed]}

Montano became interested in acting while studying in college. He acted in stage productions at theUniversity of the Philippines and joined acting workshops in between. Among his notable plays isEsteromenggoles. He also worked as astuntman early in his career.^[6][7]

He auditioned forIshmael Bernal'sStudent Body underRegal Films, in which he became among the top 3 leading men. Unfortunately, the project didn't push through. He was later discovered by Robbie Tan, who made him a talent of the now-defunctSeiko Films. He initially bagged supporting roles in action films and leading men roles in drama films.^[7] In 1990, he starred in his first two moviesKasalanan ang Buhayin Ka andMachete. After leaving Seiko in mid-1992, he starred in several films underViva Films and its subsidiary Neo Films.

Montano is known for his collaboration with the late Toto Natividad, who directed his moviesLeonardo Delos Reyes: Alyas Waway (1993),Utol (1996),Biláng na ang Araw mo (1996),Pusakal (1997),Sanggano (1997),Kasangga Kahit Kelan (1998),Warfreak (1998), andType Kita Walang Kokontra (1999).

He played national heroJosé Rizal in the historical biopicJosé Rizal in 1998. In 1999 filmMuro Ami, he played Fredo, the boss of child laborers in theillegal fishing industry.^[8] The film won thirteen awards at the 1999Metro Manila Film Festival.^[8]

Montano's early directions were an episode ofMikee in 1995, in which he starred in, and the 1998 filmWarfreak, in which he co-directed with Natividad and starred as the titular character. In 1999, Montano marked his directorial debut withBullet, in which he co-wrote and starred as the titular character, an autistic person with a special skill in marksmanship. The same goes for the 2001 filmMananabas, where he stars as the leader of a lost command.^[9]

Montano produced, directed and starred in the 2004 filmPanaghoy sa Suba, which was his entry to the 2004Metro Manila Film Festival. It is set duringWorld War II, and the story takes place mostly along theLoboc River inBohol.^[10] It was filmed mostly in theVisayan language with an almost exclusivelyVisayan cast.^[11] It was given an "A" rating by the Cinema Evaluation Board or CEB of the Film Development Council of the Philippines, which described the film as "a poetic, sometimes even magical, current of silent struggle and survival".^[12]

Panaghoy sa Suba won multiple awards. It collected Second Best Picture (toMano Po III: My Love), Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Musical Score and the Gatpuno Villegas Cultural Award at the Metro Manila Film Festival, 2004;^[13] and Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress at Gawad Suri Awards, Manila, 2005.^[14] Aside from garnering 16 awards and 11 nominations including 5 from, it was also given an endorsement by theUNESCO.^[11] It was named Best Picture at the International Festival of Independent Films held inBrussels,Belgium. Montano was also chosen Best Director.^[15] In addition, Montano also won Best Actor inPanaghoy sa Suba in the Golden Screen Awards.^[16]Panaghoy sa Suba was invited as an exhibition in theTous les cinémas du Monde (Movies of the World) at theCannes Film Festival in 2005.^[17][18] It has also been invited for exhibition in other international film festivals inBerlin,Toronto,Tokyo,Korea and in theCzech Republic's Karlo Vary Film Festival.^[18]

In 2002, American film director and screenwriterJohn Dahl cast Montano inThe Great Raid after taking notice of Montano's performance in the movieMuro Ami as well as an extensive open call audition and series of callbacks in Manila. He playedJuan Pajota in the Miramax Film set inCabanatuan,Nueva Ecija, Philippines, in 1945 during World War II. The film was shot mostly in Australia and partly in China.^[19]

Montano was cast in another U.S. film,Another Deep Breath, scheduled to start shooting in theSan Francisco Bay Area in March 2005.^[20] Funding was never secured so the production never started shooting.^{[citation needed]}

From 1981 to 1982, Montano was a regular performer at Hotel Mirador.^[7]

On January 1, 2000, Montano released his first music solo album entitled "Subok Lang" (Just Try) under Star Records.^[21] On nine of the album's ten songs he is accompanied only by anacoustic guitar. He sings a duet on the second version "Kailan Ko Lang Sinabi" (When I Just Told You) with his wife, Sunshine Cruz, who is also a Filipino actress and recording artist.Subok lang went on to become Platinum record.^[22]

Montano ran for a senate position underLakas in the2007 elections and lost.^[23] On May 19, 2009, he was appointed by then-presidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo as her Presidential Special Envoy for Film and Digital Cinema, a newly created position accorded ambassador rank and given diplomatic status by theDepartment of Foreign Affairs.^[24][25] He then again attempted to be involved in politics on October 13, 2009, when he filed his candidacy for governor in his home provinceBohol underLiberal Party. He lost the 2010 local election for the governor position against incumbent representative-turned-governorEdgar Chatto.^[26]

Montano is fluent in bothTagalog andCebuano, and speaks his ancestralBoholano dialect. He is the fifth of seven children born to a lawyer father and mother that belonged to theSeventh-day Adventist Church. Montano describes his father as a strict disciplinarian, and his mother imposing her religion's prohibitions against pork and movies.^[22] He attended Santa Ana Elementary School and Mariano Marcos Memorial High School, both inSanta Ana, Manila.^{[citation needed]} He completed his bachelor's degree in Mass Communication atLyceum of the Philippines University inIntramuros, Manila in 2009. He later obtained his master's degree in Public Safety Administration atPhilippine Public Safety College in 2023.^[27]

Montano was first married to Marilyn Polinga, a fellowBoholano he met at a local Seventh-day Adventist church. Montano then worshipped at theBread of Life Ministries International evangelical church inQuezon City, before becoming a congregant atChrist's Commission Fellowship inMandaluyong together with his second wife,Sunshine Cruz, and his children. Polinga, with whom he has two children, died in 1993. Their second child, Christian Angelo Manhilot, died at the age of 23 on March 26, 2010, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at their house in Quezon City.^[28]

His son with actress Teresa Loyzaga,Carlos Diego Loyzaga, lived with his mother inAustralia, and has returned to the Philippines as an exclusive contract actor withABS-CBN.^[29][30][31]

Montano marriedSunshine Cruz on September 14, 2000, in aChristian wedding.^[32] They have three daughters, Angelina Isabelle, Samantha Angeline and Angel Francheska.^[33] He filed forannulment of marriage with Cruz, which was finally granted on September 18, 2018.^[34] Aside from his farm inPandi,Bulacan,^[35][36] Montano also owns an Italian restaurant located in Quezon City.^[37]

Montano also had a relationship withMiss Philippines Earth 2009Sandra Seifert. The two had a son named Corinth Ian or Coco.^[38] He's currently in a relationship with his domestic partner Socorro "Kath" Angeles, to whom he had 3 children, Liam, Samuel and Kristen.

As of June 2023, Montano has three grandchildren: two from his eldest daughter Angela and one from sonDiego.^[39]

Cesar Montano has rejoined the Seventh-day Adventist Church.^[40][41][42]

• Cesar Montano atIMDb
• Cesar Montano in BIKTIMA Manila Times

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