The Filipino youth and community in San Diego demand that AMC Plaza Bonita, Regal Rancho Del Rey, and Regal Edwards Mira Mesa cease the screenings of the misinforming and historical revisionist film Maid in Malacañang. Maid in Malacañang tells a sympathetic and distorted story about the 72 hours before the Marcos family was exiled from the Philippines during the People Power Revolution in 1986, which overthrew the fascist dictator, Ferdinand Marcos.

Filipinos, both in the Philippines and in the U.S., have condemned the film since its release. It has even elicited a strongly-worded response from the Cebuano Carmelite Nuns (1) who were improperly portrayed in the film. It is also important to note that Maid in Malacañang was heavily funded by the Marcos family and co-produced by Imee Marcos, the dictator’s eldest daughter and a current Philippine senator. These theaters are actively contributing to the historical revisionism of Philippine history by screening and supporting this heavily biased and manipulative film.

These continued screenings of Maid in Malacañang only amplify the existing online claims that the Marcos regime was the “golden era,” when it was really one of the darkest in Southeast Asian history, as many critics allege. Marcos was responsible for the death, torture, and incarceration of over 100,000 Filipinos, however the film aims to repair the Marcos family’s reputation by portraying them as victims of a revolution that started because of their actions, all while dramatizing the violence of the People Power Revolution. 

If these theaters truly want to create safe spaces for viewers to enjoy movies, we believe that removing the propagandistic film Maid in Malacañang would be their best course of action, so that no one else will fall victim to its disinformation and hidden agenda. We hope that these theaters choose to honor true Philippine history, not the version told by a brutal dictator’s family in an effort to clear the Marcos name; and we hope that they choose to be on the right side of history by removing this film from their theaters.

We urge the Filipino community to join us in our fight against historical revisionism and the Marcos family propaganda by boycotting the movie, educating your family and friends, and signing and sharing this petition.

We also encourage you to join us in planning events to commemorate the Martial Law 50th Anniversary in September where we will share the accurate history of the Filipino people as told by the Filipino people themselves. Message Anakbayan San Diego or Malaya Movement San Diego for more information!