Man with a good heart

Ricky Davao was the most charming actor to ever inhabit the world of local show business. His being a charmer actually served him in good stead as he navigated the complexities of Philippine entertainment.

Born Frederick Charles Abiera Dabao on 30 May 1961, his mestizo good looks came as result of his Iberian-Arabic ancestry. His paternal grandmother was a Wahib, a name common in Middle Eastern countries.

Ricky’s father was the actor Charlie Davao (born Carlos Dabao), an Ilonggo who went to Manila to take up commerce in the University of the East, but ended up being a character actor for Sampaguita Pictures. The mother of Ricky was the former Emma Marie Abiera, a piano teacher. (Former teen star Anna Abiera was a cousin.)

To family members, Ricky was Ricky Boy when he behaved well at home. But when he had to dispense of his boundless energy and was being super playful, he was Ricky-tick to them.

In prep, he was enrolled at the St. Theresa’s College, Manila where Dina Bonnevie was a classmate. Several batches higher was Margie Moran.

Charlie Davao was a good provider. After Eddie Garcia, he became Sampaguita Pictures’ resident good-looking villain. When he turned freelance, he gained more fame — this time as an action star. Charlie was the lead actor in Code Name: Apollo. He also had a hit series called Zoom, Zoom Apollo on television.

Joys and pains

Life was happy at the Dabao home (in Makati). There were two other children then aside from Ricky: Bing, the eldest, and Emmalyn, who was nicknamed Mylene. She came after Ricky. One day, tragedy struck.

It was supposed to be just one of those uneventful days: the kids as usual were being prepared for school. Mylene, who was around four, was being playful and kept running around holding a bottle of Coke. All of a sudden, she tripped and fell face down. The Coca-Cola bottle broke and shattered into pieces. It could have been a minor accident, except shards of the broken glass pierced through her neck — hitting several arteries in the process. Everyone was around — all horrified — to witness her tragically die.

The Dabao family tried to get on with life after the tragedy. But who were they kidding? Charlie and Emma were utterly devastated with the death of Mylene. Their pain, thankfully, was alleviated somehow with the arrival of a new baby, Marianella.

Sadly, another painful chapter took place when Ricky was about nine years old. His mother became ill and got sicker by the day. It was with deep sorrow that Ricky recalled those dark moments, including the hospital episode when his mother breathed her last. Emma succumbed to TB meningitis.

Two years later, Charlie started dating again. When Ricky was 12, his father married Mary Grace Inigo, the sister of Cecile Inigo, who became famous as Philippine cinema’s Dabiana.

Though strict — having been reared in the old school ways — Grace was a loving stepmother to Ricky and his siblings. When she and Charlie, in fact, had their first child together, Grace welcomed the idea of their daughter being nicknamed Mylene — to honor the memory of the poor girl who died in that freak accident.

The second Mylene though eventually became Mymy since it reeked of more affection. Mymy later joined showbiz and became known as Mymy Davao. Mymy didn’t stay long in the acting profession. She now lives in the US and is married to an American.

The Charlie-Grace union also produced Charlon Davao, who played Gloria Diaz’s nephew in Eh, Kasi Babae. Charlon got into a teenage marriage with Maidu Morato, the daughter of actor and radio anchor Jimmy Morato, who died 17 December 2024. Charlon’s son, Anthony Davao, is now a Vivamax actor.

Done it all

In spite of the blended family arrangement, Ricky adjusted well to the circumstances of his young life. During his prepubescent years, Ricky sported long hair and had nice legs that had yet to grow hair. He always laughed at the memory of often being mistaken for one of Charlie’s daughters when guests dropped by at their home in Philamlife subdivision in Quezon City.

But when he reached his teens, he became a head-turner. He would hang around with Bing and the brothers Eigenmann, Michael de Mesa and Mark Gil. The four lookers would promenade at either Farmer’s Market in Cubao or in Greenhills and never failed to get wolf-whistles from the female crowd.

Ricky could have been a teenage sensation. When he was 13, German Moreno chanced upon him playing pelota with his father in the ABS-CBN compound. Ricky, however, decided to finish school first — at Don Bosco for his secondary education and at Mapua where he finished Industrial Management Engineering.

When he decided to embrace showbiz, he became a dancer first — a member of the Vicor Crowd. Movies and television came later. Early in his career, he was given the lead role in the TV series Kidlat. The seed money that he used to purchase what became his forever home (in the Scout area) actually came from his talent fee from that television show.

Ricky was one actor who had done it all: Drama, comedy, musical, action, sex (he had no qualms about dropping his pants) and even gay movies — with Fuccbois as his most daring. He was also able to shift with much ease from lead to supporting and from nice guy characters to villain roles.

His list of acting accolades is long: He has two Urian trophies (for Saranggola and Ipaglaban Mo, the Movie) and several more wins from other award-giving bodies. Ricky was also one actor who got praised for his every performance — either on TV or in the movies. In time, he also began directing soap operas and drama anthologies.

Enviable balance

As for his personal life, he married Jackie Lou Blanco with whom he had three children: Kenneth, Rikki Mae and Arabella. It was a happy marriage — at least, while it lasted. Cracks eventually found their way into the union — until they decided to sleep in separate bedrooms. When that still didn’t work, they chose to live apart — with the children having their own sleeping quarters in both parents’ homes.

As an actor, he was able to maintain an enviable balance between two opposing worlds in showbiz. While he was the toast of the snooty film critics, he remained a darling of the whimsical entertainment press. Everyone loved Ricky. He was there at every showbiz party — singing his heart away once the hired organist started playing.

But aside from being loved, Ricky, more importantly, was respected not only by media men, but also by his co-workers in the business.

When he started feeling unwell last year, everyone knew how bad his health condition was (he had lymphoma). But everybody shut up and respected his privacy. Even the press chose friendship over what could have been a big scoop.

Fellow actors who were allowed to visit him at St. Luke’s Global saw how his cheerful spirit remained even if he went bald due to chemo. A bigger tragedy for him was when he lost his voice. But no problem. He still communicated with friends using sign language.

Last 27 April, he was finally brought home. There was nothing science could do for him anymore. On 1 May 2025, Ricky said goodbye. He spent close to five months in the hospital. He missed out on a lot of things, including the December filmfest, which he always patronized. Ricky would have enjoyed watching Green Bones.

Those who saw this winning entry should be familiar with the plot of the movie. As depicted by the film, green bones are found in the cremated remains of good people.

Now, should it still come as a surprise that green bones were actually discovered after Ricky’s cremation? This writer is skeptical about the “green bones” theory. There should be a scientific explanation to this. But in the case of Ricky Davao, what they say about green bones must be true. For who can contest the fact that Ricky was among the kindest people in this world?

Everyone in the showbiz industry will surely come forward to attest to Ricky Davao’s good heart.