Pedro Penduko is a Filipino fictional comic book character created by National Artist for Literature Francisco V. Coching. The character, who is styled as a folk hero, debuted in the magazine Liwayway in 1954. In his numerous incarnations, Pedro Penduko is an ordinary human being with no superpowers. He is, however, resourceful and quick-witted in battling evil forces. He is aided by a magical amulet (known as Mutya in the television series). He is first introduced in the 1994 and 2000 films as a descendant of a family of legendary heroes but is a coward. In the television version however, Pedro is the son of a mortal and a lambana (fairy) whose adventure begins as he starts searching for his lost father. He then encounters extraordinary creatures unique in Philippine folklore. Filipino actor Efren Reyes Sr. was the first to play the role in a film. The second and iconic portrayal of Pedro Penduko was that of Ramon Zamora. The popular version of the character in the 90s was played by Janno Gibbs, who appeared in two Pedro Penduko films. Actor Matt Evans was cast as Penduko for a season of the television series Komiks. Komiks Presents: Da Adventures of Pedro Penduko was supposed to last only for a season but because of good ratings it was extended for two more seasons. The third and last season was retitled Komiks Presents: Si Pedro Penduko at ang mga Engkantao. Evans is credited for giving Penduko a curly-haired image, which had already become a trademark of the character.

Fictional character biography

Pedro has the hunchbacked Terio as a companion, a water buffalo as his trusty steed, a lucky bulletproof vest 'anting-anting' that his grandfather gave him that has writing on it that is purported to be an apotropaic magical amulet, and most notably Pedro has no hygiene skills, as his mother is quick to point out. Despite having poor hygenie, a dirty appearance, and offensive odor, Pedro still is involved in several romantic triangles, Terio loves Amparo, Amapro loves Pedro, Pedro loves Marina, and Amparo is a rich girl with a sinful family. Marina is a girl also. Tulisan Tirong enters, kidnaps, and threatens with a gun. Pedro fights a crocodile, and cries tearfully, in the end he has learned to live with his poor hygenie, which by 1950s Filipino standards are very bad, and in no way whatsoever are a reflection on the standards of modern Philippines. Pedro encounters mermaids and mythological spiders, and many magical things on his journey, and even visiting a wizard does not fix his poor hygenie. Pedro fights a crocodile. There are some references to communism, but Pedro is easygoing.

2016 version

A more modern version of Pedro Penduko was created by Regene Estolatan and Jerome Jagonia and published by Epik Studios on January 1, 2016. The updated version featured a Filipino-American named Peter Harris who was the son of a babaylan. He returned to the Philippines in order to track down his heritage and defeat a kapre named Apo Dautan who had been terrorizing a local town. The graphic novel entitled Pedro Penduko: The Legend Begins was the first Filipino komiks to be featured in New York Comic Con. Epik Studios would go on to produce a feature-length Penduko film in 2023 starring Matteo Guidicelli.

In other media

Films

The character became more popular when it was adapted into the big screen where he made several excursions: James Reid was supposed to play the titular role in "Penduko" but bowed out after a spinal injury.

Television

Matt Evans and Ramon Zamora both appeared as episode guests in an episode in John and Shirley, in which Matt Evans plays Pedro Penduko and Ramon Zamora as the earlier's grandfather Peter.

Alliances

Enemies

Villains in film

Mythical creatures encountered by Pedro Penduko on television