Matutina (Evelyn Santos Bontogon-Guerrero)

Matutina (Evelyn Santos Bontogon-Guerrero) is a television actor, voice talent, and radio drama director. She was born in Caloocan City on 10 July 1946. She is the daughter of Federico Villaruel Bontogon and Emilia Simpaoco Santos. She is married to businessman Henry Guerrero, with whom she has two children, including Shiela Mary Ann who is a commercial voice talent. She finished her primary and secondary education at Caloocan City High School, where she served as assistant editor and columnist of the campus school organ Ang Tinig (The Voice) in 1963.

Matutina earned her catchy moniker in the early 1970s from a TV ad campaign for a laundry soap tagged Matutina, Gaya-Gaya (Matutina, the Imitator), whose sales pitch claimed that the quality of the soap was imitated but never equaled by other brands. She then appeared in the sketch comedy television show Super Laff-In on ABS-CBN, patterned after the Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In TV show from the United States. Catching the attention of producer-director-scriptwriter Ading Fernando, he cast her as the shrill-voiced house help Matutina in the sitcom John en Marsha (John and Marsha) on the defunct Radio Philippines Network (RPN) Channel 9, 1973-90, the role for which she is best remembered. She also acted in the television drama Valiente (Valiant), 1996-97, created by TAPE Productions for GMA Channel 7, and hosted her own show At Your Serbis, Matutina (At Your Service, Matutina), 1983-84, on BBC Channel 2.

On radio, Matutina hosted personality programs, acted in soaps, and directed drama productions on Radio Veritas, 1975-83; Radio Mindanao Network, 1979-83; Rajah Broadcasting Corporation’s DZRJ, 1984-86; Nation Broadcasting Corporation’s DZAM, 1987-92; and ABS-CBN’s DZMM, 1966-72 and 1992-94.

In 1997, Matutina began dubbing for local audiences foreign films and television shows such as Penelope, Romeo and Juliet, Why Me, Yugioh, Passion, The X Family, Peter Pan and Wendy, Tim Thaler, Santa Apprentice, Zorro, Godzilla, Jumanji, Akuel and Gatchinpo, Inosente de Ti, Steal Hearts, and Butterfly Fly Fly. She was the first to dub and direct the dubbing of Mexican telenovelas, beginning with the first telenovela on local television, Marimar, 1996, on RPN Channel 9.