CABANATUAN CITY—A group of tourism officers in Nueva Ecija want to turn the “Unang Sigaw ng Nueva Ecija”—the province’s own version of revolution against Spanish colonial rule over a century ago—into a movie similar to the Hollywood-produced “The Great Raid.”
The Association of Tourism Officers in Nueva Ecija (ATONE), made up of tourism officers in the 27 municipalities and five component cities of the province, have met with scriptwriters and historians for the planned movie.
The movie could star the Padillas, led by actor Robin Padilla and his brother Rommel, father of teen heartthrob Daniel Padilla.
Rommel Padilla is currently a senior provincial board member representing Nueva Ecija’s first district.
The Padillas hail from Cuyapo town where their mother, Eva Cariño, lives. The Padilla brothers previously ran for vice governor—Robin in the 1995 elections and Rommel in 2010—but lost.
Darmo Escuadro, ATONE president and San Jose City tourism officer, said they are also working closely with actor Jason Abalos, a native of Pantabangan town.
“There are many of those who want to help us put up the movie and hopefully, we can have the movie shoots in the first quarter of 2017,” Escuadro said, adding that what they intend to pursue is an independent film with a budget between P5 million to P8 million.
“This movie will not only highlight Nueva Ecija and its role in the revolution but also boost tourism in the province. We really want to make Nueva Ecija into a tourist haven,” he said.
“Unang Sigaw ng Nueva Ecija” refers to the revolt on Sept. 2, 1896 when Gen. Mariano Llanera and Gen. Pantaleon Valmonte led home-grown revolutionaries, armed only with 100 guns, bolos and pointed sticks in assaulting the Spanish garrison in San Isidro.
For its role in the revolution, the province earned its place in the Philippine flag as one of the eight rays of the sun, each ray representing a province that first revolted against the Spaniards.
If realized, the movie will be the second big movie about the province after “The Great Raid,” a 2005 war film about the daring, true-to-life rescue by Filipino soldiers of 500 American prisoners of war (POW) in Barangay Pangatian, Cabanatuan City on Jan. 30, 1945.
Directed by John Dahl, the movie starred Filipino actor Cesar Montano and Hollywood veterans Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Connie Nielsen, Marton Csokas, Joseph Fiennes and Motoki Kobayashi.
The $80-million film, adapted from two books, William Breuer’s “The Great Raid on Cabanatuan City” and Hampton Sides’ “Ghost Soldiers,” was shown in theaters across the United States on Aug. 12, 2005, three days before the 60th anniversary of V-J Day.
The Japanese held around 500 American prisoners who had survived the Bataan Death March in Pangatian and subjected them to brutal treatment and summary execution, as the Japanese view surrender as a disgrace. Many prisoners were also stricken with malaria.
The real-life efforts of Filipino guerrillas were highlighted in the film, including the late leader Eduardo Joson Sr., who led a blocking force at a bridge that delayed Japanese reinforcements.
It also featured the resistance work undertaken by nurse Margaret Utinsky, who smuggled medicine into the POW camps. The Japanese Kempeitai (military police) arrested her and sent her to a prison in Fort Santiago.
Utinsky was eventually released, but spent six weeks recovering from gangrene as a result of injuries sustained from beatings.