MANILA, Philippines — The Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. did buy and give away tickets for a movie on the 1986 People Power Revolution from the perspective of the Marcoses, but said this was not done for partisan politics.
Photos of tickets to "Maid in Malacañang" that were supposedly bought in bulk and given to schools for distribution spread on social media over the weekend. According to reports, Xavier School in San Juan sent the tickets back.
"On the issue of the tickets to the movie 'Maid in Malacañang', we purchased and shared the purchased tickets because a significant part of the proceeds will be used for charity projects, particularly, feeding the poor under the Nutribun Feeding Program," Dr. Henry Lim Bon Liong, federation president, said in a release.
Nutribun is a type of bread given away at government feeding programs from the 1970s as part of a USAID campaign against malnutrition. Nostalgia for the Nutribun and the Marcos dictatorship in general have helped propel Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the presidency.
Lim Bon Liong said the FFCCCII does not participate in partisan politics and is a "non-political business federation focused mainly on advocating sustainable, inclusive economic development and other business issues." He added that the federation "has always been non-political, but fully supportive of the country's duly-elected government leaders."
He pointed out that the federation has also supported cultural projects like concerts, movie premiers and art exhibits "spearheaded by respected leaders with socio-civic or philanthropic objectives" in the past.
An Inquirer report quotes Chinese-Filipino civic leader Teresita Ang-See as saying business groups had been approached to buy millions of pesos worth of tickets to the movie for distribution to schools. She said that this was "tantamount to asking these educational institutions to promote outright lies, falsehoods and historical distortion."
Production company VinCentiments has denied the allegations. — Jonathan de Santos