As far as Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel is concerned, the public support that the movie "Maid in Malacañang" is enjoying is merely "manufactured".
The neophyte solon made this claim Thursday morning, Aug. 4, during the weekly press conference of the Makabayan bloc.
Manuel based his claim on information that tickets to the movie were being bought en masse, just to be given away in order to entice movie-goers.
"Dagdag ko na lang din po, may mga na-disclose din naman na (unretrievable) na tinawagan daw sila ni Senator Imee Marcos para bumili ng tickets, pakyawin yung tickets para ma-ensure yung sales. Tapos ipapamahagi para may manood (Just to add, it has been disclosed...that Senator Imee Marcos called them and told them to buy all the tickets to ensure the sale. These would then be given away so that people would watch it)," he said.
Senator Marcos is a member of the First Family, being the elder sister of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
"Kaya ang konklusyon po natin dyan, ang suporta para sa movie na ito, yung Maid in Malacañang, eh parang suporta para sa kanilang pamilya. Ito po ay manufactured, nabibili, at batay sa kasinungalingan (So our conclusion here is, the support for the movie Maid in Malacañang is like the support for their family. This is manufactured, can be bought with money, and based on lies)," Manuel said.
Directed by Darryl Yap, the movie tells a somewhat comedic account of the last 72 hours of the Marcoses in Malacañang before they fled the country in 1986 amid the EDSA People Power Revolution.
It opened in theaters on Wednesday, Aug. 3.