Lawyer Jose Malvar Villegas, Jr., Roy Daza, and Melchor Mel Chavez pose for a photo opportunity showing the conceptualized photo of the Battle of Balangiga during the press conference of the movie Malvar.
Villegas, is the grandson of National Hero Gen. Miguel Carpio Malvar and head of JMV Film Production, which produces the biopic, the true-to-life story of Gen. Malvar, the Supreme Commander of the Filipino Republic Revolutionary Force during the 1899-1902 Philippine-American War, with Sen. Manny Pacquiao playing the title role.
The film gets the support of Kaanak ng mga Bayani ng Himagsikan Pilipino, 1896 (KAANAK, 1896), the official organization of the descendants of the National Heroes recognized by the National Historical Commission and co-founded by Villegas in 1989.
Daza is the grandson of Col. Eugenio Daza, Filipino Unit Commander of the world famous Battle of Balangiga in 1901.
Chavez, on the other hand, is the descendant of Gen. Malvar on the Carpio side. He is the Director-General of the KKK (Katipunan Kontra-Krimen at Korapsyon) and head of the committee for the inclusion of the Visayas and Mindanaoan Revolutionary Hero in Malvar.
According to producer, one of the film’s highlights is the recent return of the three Balangiga Bells by the American government through the help of Pres. Rodrigo R. Duterte.