The Tale of Two UP Graduates

 Viewpoints and Mindset: We have a tale of two UP graduates who at their prime graduated with highest honors. I am talking about Stephen Karl Quizon and Giselle Sanchez. Both are actors and they are hitting the headlines recently because of their difference in opinion in how to live their life and how differing perspectives about the movie Maid In Malacanang made them poles apart.

Sky graduated summa cum laude from UP College of Arts and Letters Deaprtmrent of Speech Communication and Theater Arts in Diliman Quezon City. Giselle Sanchez on the other hand is a comedienne and graduated Magna Cum Laude earning her AB Braodcast Communication degree.

When Giselle made headlines recently because of her role as President Cory Aquino, how scare she was with the public reaction, Sky was mum about the situation but later today he did not mince a word when started sharing his piece. This is what Sky said:

"My career is on the line by speaking up.

A lot of you have been asking me why I've gone silent about the Maid in Malacanang conversation as I have been very strongly vocal about politics.

To answer the question quickly, you can read it in the title of the post. My career will potentially be put on the line if I speak up against it.

Some actors that I admire can be in a film that directly opposes the said film but still be able to star in a film produced by my management.

I don't have that kind of luxury. A lot of artists don't. I am not famous and I'm still making a name for myself in the industry.

But at the end of the day, my principles matter to me more than my career. I would LOVE to be in more movies but I would love it more if I could sleep well at night knowing that I stood for the right thing.

This film has been robbing me of my peace for weeks now.

Call it whatever you like -- family drama, art, a thought-provoking film, but it's nothing but plain and simple historical revisionism.

Anything that puts the name of the Marcoses in the light of empathy is historical distortion and revisionism.

Just by watching the trailer and hear Cesar Montano say "masama ba akong tao" is not ART. It's a ploy devised to persuade the people that the Marcoses' acts should be justified.

Because he was indeed a bad man, and a tyrant at that -- for abusing his power, for stealing money from his people, and many more things that are in fact WRITTEN in history.

Picture a rape victim and a rapist. With all evidences stacked against the rapist proving that they are indeed a rapist. Would you still want to hear their side? Let alone watch their movie about it?

"Oh wait, let's hear the side of the sexual perpetrator first, maybe he had a reason for raping the person."

All evidences point to the Marcoses being bad, at least in their father's regime. They caused the deaths of thousands, wrongfully imprisoned people, and oh, stolen BILLIONS from their own country and in return plunging us into an insurmountable amount of debt that you and me and our future children will still be paying for.

And not only have they yet to apologize but they also produced/made a film that distance themselves away from the scene of their crimes, puts them in a goody-two-shoes light, paints them as victims, and twists the factual narratives.

Art is meant to disturb and provoke but it is not meant to bend the truth and distort FACTS that are written in history.

We cannot simply distort the truth in the name of "ART", because that is not art at all. It's DECEPTION and white washing their evil doings.

The Aquinos have their fair share of wrongdoings and mishaps. We are all aware of that. We are not the fanatics that people are portraying us to be. We know their mistakes and we call them out for it. But we never bend what happened in the past.

It is true that history is written by the victors. The victors are the people -- triumphant over the tyrant, over the dictator, and over the thieves.

I condemn anything that goes against the truth.

More than an artist, I am first and foremost a Filipino.

This is my duty.

Maninindigan, lagi't lagi para sa bayan.