“Maria Clara at Ibarra” lead David Licauco responded after social media users dug up his rants about studying national hero Jose Rizal in school before.
The 28-year-old Kapuso actor was tagged by series head writer Suzette Doctolero on Twitter, who told him that his old posts about his Jose Rizal subject were gaining traction.
“@davidlicauco lols, ayan, napasok ka tuloy sa nobela gaya ni Bb. Klay. Nahalungkat nila,” she wrote on Thursday with three rolling-on-the-floor laughing emojis.
Suzette also included a screengrab of David’s tweets in her post.
@davidlicauco lols ayan napasok ka tuloy sa nobela gaya ni Bb Klay. Nahalungkat nila. 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/2dbnN1Zkyc
— Suzette Doctolero (@SuziDoctolero) February 16, 2023
“Omg (two laughing-with-tears emojis)Â hahahahaha,” David responded.
“Hahahaha ang cute kaya! Hahahaha,” the head writer exclaimed in return.
On Aug. 28, 2013, David tweeted the following: “Hassle joseriz.. What do we care about Jose Rizal’s girls and vices!!”
“Joseriz” is short for Jose Rizal.
Hassle joseriz.. What do we care about jose rizal's girls and vices!!
— David Licauco (@davidlicauco) August 28, 2013
The next day, the actor tweeted the following: “Studying Jose Rizal’s life for tom’s [tomorrow’s] finals.”
“Ano makukuha ko dito -_-,” David added.
studying jose rizal's life for tom's finals. Ano makukuha ko dito -_-
— David Licauco (@davidlicauco) August 29, 2013
It was the exact sentiment of his character’s love interest in the hit portal fantasy series, Klay Infantes. She is being portrayed by award-winning actress Barbie Forteza.
Meanwhile, students learn about Rizal’s life and his works in school.
This was made possible through Republic Act 1425 or the Rizal Law which mandates educational institutions to teach about his life and literary works, particularly his novels “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo.”
In “Maria Clara at Ibarra,” Barbie’s character is introduced as a Generation Z nursing student who doesn’t care about her history class.
In the pilot episode, Klay gets chided by her professor for not making an effort to study the subject.
She responds by saying that she has too many problems in life to care about Rizal.
“Every day, my life is a constant struggle here in our miserable country,” Klay said.
She added that learning about history would not help with her underpaying job or a life that consistently tries to bring her down.
Klay then gets transported into the world of Rizal’s novel where she meets the popular characters of Crisostomo Ibarra and Maria Clara and learns more about the Philippines’ history.
She also meets Fidel de los Reyes, David’s character, who is described as a playboy businessman and Ibarra’s friend.
He is not in the novels, but in the latest episode of the series, Klay shared her theories about his identity.
“Maria Clara at Ibarra” airs on GMA Network after news broadcasting show “24 Oras” every weekday.
