CONDEMNATION of the controversial scene in the film "Maid in Malacañang" has continued to snowball, as the Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (CMSP) and Senator Nancy Binay on Friday, August 5, joined individuals in denouncing the scene showing the late President Corazon Aquino playing mahjong with a group of nuns.
"We are profoundly disturbed and deeply concerned with how the film 'Maid in Malacañang' put the Discalced Carmelite Nuns (OCD) in Cebu City in a bad light," said the CMSP.
"A malicious attack on the integrity of the nuns is an affront to all consecrated women and harms the unity of the Church at large," it added.
The association of religious men and women said such a portrayal is unacceptable, especially in consideration of the possible effects to the younger generation.
"Harm has already been done for it has misrepresented the truth and has a potential of misleading viewers, particularly our young people, who have not experienced the horrors of martial law," said CMSP.
Because of this, the religious group called on everyone to not interpret and view the movie as a factual depiction of the events in 1986.
"We enjoin the moviegoers to consider this film as largely fiction and not a factual narrative of the historical events relevant to the non-violent Edsa People Power Revolution of 1986," it said.
The CMSP also urged the public to always pursue the truth in everything they do, in accordance to Christian morals and ethics.
"To tell the truth, to stand for the truth, and to defend the truth is a moral imperative in a society where fake news, disinformation, misinformation, and peddling of lies become normal and natural," said CMSP.
Binay echoed the group’s sentiment, saying “the path to healing a nation begins at truth-telling.”
She said in a Twitter post Friday, August 5, that “imaginary events can never be history. Historical trueness will always prevail over historical fiction.”
She also used the hashtags #NeverForget and #TruthShallAlwaysPrevail in her Twitter post.
The movie "Maid in Malacañang" attempts to explain the side of the Marcos family at the time of the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution.
In one of its trailers, "Aquino" can be seen playing mahjong with the nuns inside their Cebu monastery, after it was established that the popular revolt in Edsa already broke out in Metro Manila.
Historical accounts, though, indicate that Aquino was in the Carmelite monastery to seek refuge and pray amid the political turmoil.
The Carmelite nuns have already condemned the scene by calling it a "reprehensible" attempt to distort history.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Commission on Social Action, Justice, and Peace Vice Chair Bishop Gerardo Alminaza earlier called for a boycott of the film, which he described as “shameless.”
“The producer, scriptwriter, director and those promoting this movie should publicly apologize to the Carmelite nuns, to President Cory Aquino’s family and to the Filipino people,” Alminaza said. (HDT/LMY/SunStar Philippines)