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Dear E.R. Ejercito, please take your uncle’s advice on this matter.
“In a phone interview, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said he does not want his nephew, former Laguna governor E.R. Ejercito (who also uses the screen name ‘Jeorge E.R. Estregan’), to do a movie about the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos slain in Mamasapano, Maguindanao,” reports Jose Rodel Clapano in The Philippine Star.
READ: E.R. Ejercito is going to make a film about the Mamasapano clash
Estrada was quoted as saying, “Why would he do that movie? As a movie actor, I don’t see any good reason to make it as a movie. It could be in bad taste.”
In fact, Estrada went as far as to say that “Ejercito’s plans to do a movie about the SAF 44 is ‘suicide’ for his career as a movie actor and politician, and as a Filipino.”
Estrada added, “It’s a waste of money and time. The tension is still very high. It will only generate animosity. There is nothing to be proud about the incident. I am very much against it.”
For the record, the report indicated that Estrada himself is a five-time best actor awardee in the prestigious FAMAS award-giving body, where he has been named to the Hall of Fame.
The encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan 25 left 44 members of the elite Philippine National Police (PNP) Special Action Force (SAF) dead. The PNP-SAF troopers had been out to capture Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias “Marwan” and Filipino bomb maker Abdul Basit Usman. Both men had bounties on their heads placed by the U.S. government: US$5 million for Marwan and US$1 million for Usman.
The operation turned bloody when members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said they had to fight back because the PNP-SAF had breached their territory. They alleged that they had not been informed about the operation to get Marwan and Usman. The hostile encounter lasted 11 hours. The MILF lost 18 of their fighters.
Both the government and the MILF are currently doing probes on the Mamsapano encounter to determine what went wrong, as the incident threatens the Bangsamoro peace deal.
Photo: Press release
