‘Sa Ngalan ng Tubo’ producers accuse Darryl Yap of using docu footage without permission

MANILA, Philippines – The Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research (EILER) called out director Darryl Yap for illegally using footage from their 2005 documentary Sa Ngalan ng Tubo for Yap’s upcoming film Martyr or Murderer.

In a joint statement released on Friday, February 24, EILER, Mayday Multimedia, Tudla Productions, and Pokus Gitnang Luson Multimedia Network said that Yap used clips from EILER’s documentary for MoM’s teaser without asking proper permission from the team. He also allegedly refused to cite them as producers and owners of the footages.

“We are very concerned about the disinformation being spread out. We stand firm: The Hacienda Luisita Massacre and the struggles of the agricultural workers, unionists, and peasants should not be used to intentionally hail Marcos as a hero. This is tantamount to spitting [on] the lives we have lost,” EILER said.

In a Facebook post, EILER proceeded to explain the history behind 2004’s Hacienda Luisita massacre, and how the eye-opening documentary still carries value almost two decades later.

EILER said that Yap’s usage of the documentary’s footage in MoM’s teaser lacked context and was intentionally done so to “highlight the sins of Cojuangco-Aquino” and to cover up the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s own sins during Martial Law.

“Hindi nagsakripisyo ng buhay ang mga martir ng Hacienda Luisita para lamang gamiting bala ng mga Marcos at Duterte laban sa mga Aquino at sa oposisyong tumututol sa kasalukuyang administrasyon,” EILER added.

(The Hacienda Luisita martyrs didn’t sacrifice their lives just to be used as ammo by the Marcoses and the Dutertes against the Aquinos and the opposition who are against the current administration.)

EILER then demanded for Yap to remove all footage from the teaser.

“November 16, 2004, seven people died at the picket lines of Hacienda Luisita, Philippines. Millworkers and farmworkers of the sugar refinery and plantation owned by one of the wealthiest and oldest landed families in the country went on strike. Their demands were met with a volley of bullets from police and military forces,” the synopsis of Sa Ngalan ng Tubo reads on YouTube.

“The story of Hacienda Luisita is the story of social injustice in the Philippines. The massacre demonstrates once again that the path to a better future means a life-and-death struggle for the toiling masses, as those who lord over society will never willingly surrender their wealth and power.”

As of this writing, Yap has not yet issued a statement. In August 2022, Yap teased the sequel film to the controversial Maid in Malacanang, titled Martyr or Murderer, which will be about about the late senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. – Rappler.com