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Liza Dino defends Robin Padilla amid 'Plane' controversy

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David Dizon, ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA -- The former chair of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) defended Friday Sen. Robin Padilla&#x27;s call to ban the Gerard Butler action movie &quot;Plane&quot; despite describing the film as a work of fiction. </p><p>Liza Dino Seguerra, ex-FDCP chairperson, said she received word about the &quot;Plane&quot; controversy as well as another movie &quot;Shotgun Wedding&quot; starring Jennifer Lopez, both of which mentioned the Philippines. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Gerard Butler in " src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/overseas/01/15/plane.jpg"/><figcaption>Gerard Butler in &#x27;Plane&#x27;</figcaption></figure></div><p>&quot;Plane&quot; tells the story of pilot Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler) who must save his passengers from bandits after their plane crashes in Jolo. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/01/15/23/review-gerard-butler-battles-jolo-rebels-in-plane">Movie review: Gerard Butler battles Jolo rebels in &#x27;Plane&#x27;</a></li></ul><p>Padilla earlier denounced &quot;Plane&quot; after one of its characters described Jolo as being &quot;run by separatists and militia.&quot; and the &quot;Filipino armies weren&#x27;t there anymore.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Napakasakit po... Nakikiusap po tayo sa ating MTRCB na sana po sa mga ganitong ganap kumakatok tayo sa opisina nila, &#x27;di po dapat ito pinapalabas sa Pilipinas. Dito po dapat sa ating bansa pinagbabawal ito at kino-condemn po natin ito,&quot; the senator said. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Sen. Robinhood Padilla. Bibo Nueva España, Senate PRIB handout" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/entertainment/02/17/20221213-padilla-robinhood-senate-prib-2.jpg"/><figcaption>Sen. Robinhood Padilla. <em>Bibo Nueva España, Senate PRIB handout</em></figcaption></figure></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-fKbi9yLisE?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>Dino Seguerra noted that under the rules of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), a movie can be shown in local theaters &quot;as long as it is not inciting rebellion or is a national threat.&quot; </p><p>&quot;We don&#x27;t impose strict censorship because that will curtail the creativity of our filmmakers in being imaginative,&quot; she said.</p><p>However, she said the MTRCB can step in if the movie was shot in the country and given government incentives. </p><p>&quot;If we gave incentives and they shot the movie here, we have the right to say &#x27;Ay hindi pwede &#x27;yung lines. You&#x27;re shooting in our country and benefiting from our funds, you might want to revisit that line and look for other ways na nandun pa rin ang point.&#x27;&quot; </p><p>Although the story of &quot;Plane&quot; is set in Jolo, the movie was shot in Puerto Rico, according to various media reports.</p><p>Dino Seguerra said that as a viewer, one could watch &quot;Plane&quot; as fiction but noted that she understands why Padilla reacted in such a manner. </p><p>&quot;It is already a given that when you say fiction, narrative features, it is an imagined circumstance, an imagined narrative by the director unless [we are talking of a] documentary,&quot; she said in the TeleRadyo interview. </p><p>But she said that as a senator and a Muslim, Padilla could have been offended by the movie based on his experience and present position in government. </p><p>&quot;Naiiintindihan ko ang sentimyento ng ating (I understand the sentiments of our) senador. Of course, you always want to portray the Philippines in a positive light. Of course, we want to highlight the beauty of the Philippines. As much as possible, ganun ang gusto nating mangyari (that is what we want to happen).&quot; </p><p>&quot;We should understand din where the senator is coming from because he is a Muslim and baka &#x27;yun ang portrayal doon (maybe that is how it was portrayed). Hindi natin pwedeng i-generalize na ganoon ang experience ng lahat. (We cannot generalize everyone&#x27;s experience.) For me, if I watch it, I&#x27;ll take it as a story.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Personally kung ako ang makakapanood noon, as a viewer alam ko na nanonood ako ng fiction e. Hindi rin natin pwedeng sabihan na, we cannot impose our experience sa experience ng iba. That&#x27;s why it&#x27;s film. It is a very personal experience. Once you put it out there, it is open to different assessment or experience ng mga iba&#x27;t ibang taong nanonood.&quot; </p><p>&quot;Maaaring sa nanood noon personal siyang naapektuhan sa personal na aspeto na iyon dahil may experience siya na nasaktan siya and that&#x27;s OK because that&#x27;s really what film is about.&quot;<br/> </p>

The former chair of the Film Development Council of the Philippines defended Friday Sen. Robin Padilla's call to ban the Gerard Butler action movie 'Plane' despite describing the film as a work of fiction. 

Liza Dino defends Robin Padilla amid 'Plane' controversy

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Liza Dino defends Robin Padilla amid 'Plane' controversy

David Dizon,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 17, 2023 01:02 PM PHT

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