While Gerard Butler’s action-thriller, Plane, is a certified hit, some Philippine senators don’t exactly feel the same as they have slammed the blockbuster for the negative portrayal of the Philippines in the movie.
ICYDK, Plane is about a commercial pilot named Brodie Torrance, played by Butler, whose plane crashes into the town of Jolo in Sulu, Mindanao, and its passengers are held hostage by extremists.
The movie’s description reads, “Brodie Torrance saves his passengers from a lightning strike by making a risky landing on a war-torn island – only to find that surviving the landing was just the beginning. When most of the passengers are taken hostage by dangerous rebels, the only person Torrance can count on for help is Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter), an accused murderer who was being transported by the FBI. In order to rescue the passengers, Torrance will need Gaspare’s help, and will learn there’s more to Gaspare than meets the eye.”
Sen. Robin Padilla, himself a former action star before his foray into politics, urged the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to ban the film’s showing in the country.
Padilla noted how the film’s narrative says that Philippine authorities have been scared off by the rebels on the island.
“[The movie even said] ‘They went down somewhere in the Jolo island cluster. It’s run by separatists and militias. The Filipino armies were not there anymore,” the senator said.
Padilla’s urging prompted Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri to suggest passing a resolution condemning the film over its portrayal of the Philippines.
Sen. Bato dela Rosa, who hails from Davao in Mindanao, also criticized the movie, and said he was “very much disgusted” over how his home province was portrayed.
“According to Gerard Butler, they crash landed somewhere in Davao in Southern Philippines before they were able to determine their exact location, which was Jolo. It really painted a bad image of our country. You won’t find a place in Davao where you would find rebels who just chop heads off without apparent reason, beheading foreigners,” he said.
The extremist militant network Abu Sayyaf, known for inciting terror attacks across the country, has been known to operate in the Sulu archipelago. According to the International Crisis Group, the group’s influence has declined in the area after the military’s successful elimination of its leaders and combatants.
