Carmelite nuns cry foul over scene in 'Maid in Malacañang'

CARMELITE nuns in Mabolo, Cebu slammed the viral scene of controversial film "Maid in Malacañang" portraying late former president Corazon Aquino playing Mahjong with the sisters as the Marcos family was about to flee the country during the events of February 1986.

Sister Mary Melanie Costillas, Prioress of the Carmelite Monastery in Order of Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, wrote a statement published on Tuesday saying that no one responsible for the production of the movie came to them to gather information of what really happened.

"Any serious scriptwriter or movie director could have shown such elementary diligence before making such [a] movie. After all, many of those nuns in Carmelite Monastery of Cebu 1986 are still very much alive and mentally alert. Among them is Sr. Mary Aimee Ataviado, who was the superior at that time," noted Costillas.

She said the "attempt to distort history is reprehensible" and that depicting the nuns as playing mahjong with Aquino is "malicious".

"It would suggest that while the fate of the country was in peril, we could afford to leisurely play games. The truth was that we were then praying, fasting and making other forms of sacrifices for peace in this country and for the people's choice to prevail. While in our prayer, we were constantly in fear that the military would come to know of the whereabouts of Ms. Aquino and would soon be knocking at the monastery's door.

"We knew the dangers of allowing Ms. Cory Aquino to hide in the monastery. But we also prayerfully discerned that the risk was worth it, as our contribution to put an end to a dictatorial regime. Indeed, we were ready to defend her at all costs," the statement added.

The Carmelite Monastery also said the film would "trivialize whatever contribution we had to restore democracy".

"If these pictures would be taken as authentic representation of what really happened, they would put into doubt the trust that the people have placed in us. Lastly, we are praying for the unity of Filipinos. But this unity can only be built on truth and not on historical distortion," the statement ended.

"Maid in Malacañang," directed by Darryl Yap, is a fictionalized telling of the last 72 hours of the Marcos family in Malacañang during the 1986 EDSA Revolution, but nonetheless based on stories from the Marcos family.

Meanwhile, Giselle Sanchez, the actress who portrays Aquino in the movie, has defended the scene. In her newspaper column, which she reshared on social media, Sanchez said she was assured by Sen. Imee Marcos that "'yun daw ang sabi ng mga Kano (That is what the Americans told us)."

"My heart started pounding when I saw the line, 'Get them out of the Philippines' [in the script.]" In my mind, this was something I did not know, I haven't read, this was something new. And anything new will receive only two reactions, positive reactions and negative reactions. I had to physically prepare myself. I was one hundred percent sure I will be bashed for performing 'her character,'" Sanchez recalled.

"As an actress, will this be worth it? Before I fully accepted the role, I wanted to hear it from the creative producer of Maid in Malacañang, I wanted to know if what was written in my script was the truth. With what Senator Imee told me, I began to realize, all this time, what I have been reading in historical books and print media and watching and listening on television and radio during the eighties and nineties was the other camp's side of the story because they were the ones' sitting in the administration," she continued.

"Now that the coin has flipped, let's give a chance for the Marcoses to tell their side of the story, the way they know it. Isn't it just fair for us to look at both sides of the coin before we cast our judgements? Lastly Direk Daryl Yap would like to remind everybody that, "Maid in Malacañang is NOT a bio-pic. This is a story about a family."

Source: TheManila Times