Albie Casiño, 30, who has been with the Viva conglomerate since 2022, now headlines Vivamax's first film this February, "Salawahan," where he is teamed up with the company's leading sexpot, the half-Korean Angeli Khang.

"Salawahan," which is not a remake of the late National Artist (for Film) Ishmael Bernal's 1979 film of the same title, is directed by Jeffrey Hidalgo, the singer-actor who is now more interested in helming films than singing and acting.

In the media huddle held recently at Viva Cafe in Cubao, QC, Khang was no-show. But a cheery Casiño was there, along with fellow cast members Chloe Jenna and Van Allen Ong and a equally pepped-up Hidalgo. 

Casiño readily announced that he didn't think twice about disrobing in his scenes with Khang, since he has already built up his body for showing off in Vivamax projects. Toward the end of the event, he untucked his long-sleeved shirt and showed off his abs.

The actor has been doing Vivamax movies since 2022, starting with Moonlight Butterfly, which paired him with Christine Bermas under Joel Lamangan's direction.

In Salawahan, which starts streaming on Vivamax on 2 February, Casiño and Ong portray brothers, both of whom would fall prey to the charms of one woman (Khang).

Hidalgo, too, has been happily directing Vivamax films, and even appeared in one in 2022, in which one scene had him disrobing, too. The movie was "Sugar Baby," topbilled by Christine Bermas.

The ex-member of the youth vocal quartet Smokey Mountain directed Ligaw na Bulaklak (but an original, despite the cliche title) for Vivamax in 2022 with a script by Dennis Marasigan, now vice president and artistic director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.