Mahjong scene in movie ‘offends’ Carmelite nuns

Religious congregation Carmelite Sisters has condemned a viral scene from the movie trailer of “Maid in Malacañang” which allegedly depicts the late President Corazon Aquino playing mahjong with nuns during her visit to the Carmelite Monastery in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City at the height of the People Power Revolution in 1986.

Monsignor Joseph Tan, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Cebu, relayed to the media the message from the nuns, saying they were "offended" about not being initially consulted and were "a little bit hurt" about the portrayal.

Tan said that the nuns’ purported habit of playing the board game mahjong as portrayed in the movie does not reflect real life.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Sister Mary Melanin Costillas, the prioress of the Carmelite Monastery, clarified the inaccuracies of the scene, which particularly "alluded" to Aquino's encounter with the nuns on the night of February 22, 1986.

Contrary to the scene, what actually happened then, according to Costillas, was that they were praying, fasting, and making other forms of sacrifices for peace in the country.

"Theattempttodistorthistoryisreprehensible. Depicting the nuns as playing mahjong with Cory Aquino is malicious. It would suggest that while the fate of the country was peril, we could afford to leisurely play games," Costillas lamented.

Explaining further, Costillas said that the nuns were in constant fear of the military looking forAquino, who was then hiding at the monastery.

"We also prayerfully discerned that the risk was worth it, as our contribution to put an end to a dictatorial regime. Indeed, we were ready to defend her at all cost," Costillas added.

Costillas said that the stills from the movie, which have now circulated on the internet, would trivialize their contributions to restore democracy, noting that there is "more to the pictures than the trivialization."

The statement also mentioned that no one in the production of the movie approached the Carmelite Sisters or Sr. Mary Aimee Ataviado, who was the superior at that time, to inquire as to the circumstances of Aquino’s visit.

"Any serious scriptwriter or movie director could have shown such elementary diligence before making such movie. After all, many of those nuns in Carmelite Monastery of Cebu 1986 are still very much alive and mentally alert," Costillas said.

NOTHING WRONG

In response to the statement by the Carmelite Sisters, director and writer Darryl Yap posted on his official Facebook page, VinCentiments, that he did not need to confer with the sisters for the movie, for he did not particularly refer to them in the mahjong scene.

"Gaya po ng sinabi nila, hindi naman po nakabrown, at walang binanggit na 'Huy mga Carmelite Sisters, ano na?" Yap said.

Yap reasoned that there was nothing wrong with playing mahjong, referring to it as a leisure activity.

"I would like to invite the sisters to watch the film; if they are ostentatious about details, I don't think there is a need for this 'ouch' and 'involvement," he added