Arrest: Pat. Rizal Alih – Zamboanga Massacre

Arrest: Pat. Rizal Alih – Zamboanga Massacre (marketed as Arrest: Patrolman Risal Alih – Zamboanga Massacre) is a 1989 Filipino action film directed by comic book writer Carlo J. Caparas and written by Caparas and Tony Mortel. It stars Ramon Revilla as the titular patrolman, alongside Vilma Santos, Eddie Garcia, Marianne Dela Riva, Paquito Diaz, Raoul Aragonn, Baldo Marro, Charlie Davao, and Rosemarie Gil. Based on the Camp Cawa-Cawa siege in January 1989,[2] the film was written and shot within the span of two months, receiving criticism from the chief of the Civil Relations Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines who faulted it as "premature" and potentially inappropriate. Zamboanga Massacre was released by The Golden Lions Productions on March 8, 1989. Caparas considers Zamboanga Massacre to be among the films of which he is the proudest.

Arrest: Pat. Rizal Alih – Zamboanga Massacre
Directed byCarlo J. Caparas
Written by
  • Carlo J. Caparas
  • Tony Mortel
Starring
Music byDemet Velasquez
CinematographyRamon Marcelino
Edited byRene Tala
Production
company
The Golden Lions Productions[1]
Release date
  • March 8, 1989 (1989-03-08)
CountryPhilippines
LanguageFilipino

The real Alih only became aware of the film's existence in 2011 while in prison at Camp Crame, and the year after filed a libel complaint against Caparas and his wife, executive producer Donna Villa, for maligning his reputation. The case was ultimately dismissed by the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office as the prescription period for filing charges has already expired.

Plot

In 1984, Zamboanga City Mayor Cesar Climaco is murdered, and patrolman Rizal Alih is detained for his suspected involvement in the crime.[3] In January 1989, Alih and his men take over Camp Cawa-Cawa, the military base where they were held, and hold Brigadier General Eduardo Batalla and Colonel Romeo Abendan hostage. After several shooting confrontations with the Philippine military, Alih ultimately beheads Gen. Batalla, and successfully escapes from the military base.[3][4]

Cast

Production

The Golden Lions Production acquired the adaptation rights to the Camp Cawa-Cawa siege in January 1989, the same month that the incident occurred.[8] The film's working title was Batalla-Alih Encounter: Zamboanga Massacre.[9] According to director and co-writer Carlo J. Caparas in 2009, he was already shooting the film even as the siege was ongoing, as he wanted the scenes to be "really fresh".[10]

Casting

In January 1989, director Carlo J. Caparas cast Vilma Santos, the highest-paid film actress in the Philippines at the time,[11] for the role of Rizal Alih's wife, after Santos had to decline a role in Caparas' previous film Celestina Sanchez, Alyas Bubbles – Enforcer: Ativan Gang (commonly shortened to Bubbles).[9] Her scenes were allegedly shot in only one day.[12]

Controversy

Honesto Isleta, chief of the Civil Relations Service, Armed Forces of the Philippines (CRSAFP), criticized the film's production in late January 1989 for being "premature", as the Philippine military presumed that the actual Rizal Alih could still be alive. In addition, Isleta stated that Ramon Revilla, an established action star, would be inappropriate portraying Alih as the protagonist of the story. However, Isleta would admit that the military could not halt the film's production, so they would instead refuse to lease its equipment and firearms to the film crew.[13]

Santanina Rasul, a Philippines senator who was part of the unsuccessful negotiations for releasing General Batalla, appealed to the filmmakers to have a balanced depiction of Alih in the film.[5] Manuel Morato, chairman of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), later stated that though his agency could not impede the film's production, it would closely supervise it so as to avoid the glorification of Alih in the work.[8]

Release

Zamboanga Massacre was graded "A" by the MTRCB, indicating a "Very Good" quality.[1][14] The film was released by The Golden Lions Productions on March 8, 1989.[1] Caparas later considered the film to be among the directorial works which he is most proud, alongside Pieta, Kahit Ako'y Lupa, and Bubbles.[10]

Reaction of Rizal Alih and lawsuit

In November 2011, while the former renegade policeman Rizal Alih was serving his prison sentence at Camp Crame, he found out about the existence of Zamboanga Massacre for the first time from a prison officer who mentioned it to him.[4][15] Alih later watched the film from the officer's laptop, and felt "so shocked, speechless and angry" that he could not finish the viewing; the film depicted him as having beheaded General Batalla, which he stated as "utterly baseless, malicious and a downright lie perpetrated in order to make the movie such a big hit".[4]

A year later, Alih filed a libel complaint against director Caparas and his wife, executive producer Donna Villa, arguing that the filmmakers prioritized making "a huge profit at the expense of maligning my name and reputation".[4] The case was dismissed by the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office, however, as the prescription period for filing charges had lapsed after more than two decades since the film's release.[15] Alih later died in prison on August 14, 2015.[16]

gollark: For some reason there was just a 1-hour-to-death CB ice in the AP.
gollark: Running an autorefresher on the eggs helps with hatching them, but they get sick and annoying.
gollark: They just sit there, mocking me by randomly getting sick while simultaneously not hatching.
gollark: Zyumorphs are so annoying.
gollark: Two CB NDs, separately.

References
  1. "Grand Opening Today". Manila Standard. Kagitingan Publications Inc. March 8, 1989. p. 25. Retrieved June 21, 2020. Their Encounter Was a Crossroad... a Tragic Destiny ...One Man Met His Dead End... The Other... His Death!
  2. Soriano, Antero; Macapagal, Antonio (January 6, 1989). "General taken hostage in Zamboanga". Manila Standard. Manila Standard News, Inc. p. 2. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  3. Libo-on, Eddie O. (March 4, 1989). "Fast-paced action film". Manila Standard. Kagitingan Publications, Inc. p. 14. Retrieved June 21, 2020. Other memorable sequences are the death-defying escape of Rizal Alih from Camp Cawa-Cawa,... the siege on the mosque, the murder of Mayor Cesar Climaco (Alih being a suspect), the murder of Gen. Batalla, ... etc.
  4. Philippine Daily Inquirer; San Diego, Bayani (August 24, 2012). "Rizal Alih sues Carlo J, wife over 'beheading' scene in 1991 [sic] film". Inquirer News. INQUIRER.net. Retrieved June 22, 2020. Alih, 67, said the movie depicted him as having beheaded Gen. Eduardo Batalla during the siege.
  5. Resurrecion, Lyn F. (January 28, 1989). "Rasul appeals for balanced treatment". Manila Standard. Manila Standard News, Inc. p. 15. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  6. Adobas, Dennis (March 11, 1989). "What's with Sharon and Tonton". Manila Standard. Kagitingan Publications, Inc. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  7. "Soon to Open". Manila Standard. Kagitingan Publications, Inc. February 26, 1989. p. 15. Retrieved June 21, 2020. A Thundering Film destined to be the Most Explosive, Most Expensive Movie of the Decade!
  8. "'We can't stop filming of 'Alih-Batalla' movie' – Morato". Manila Standard. Manila Standard News, Inc. PNA. January 28, 1989. p. 15. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  9. Mendoza, Meg (January 29, 1989). "Highs and lows". Manila Standard. Manila Standard News, Inc. p. 14. Retrieved June 21, 2020. PEOPLE are wondering how on earth [sic] were Donna Villa and Carlo J. Caparas able to convince Vilma Santos to portray the role of Rizal Alih's wife in Golden Lion Films' next movie, Batalla-Alih Encounter: Zamboanga Massacre?
  10. Dychiu, Stephanie (August 26, 2009). "The Revenge of Carlo J. Caparas (God Help Us)". GMA News Online. Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa: GMA Network. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  11. Arevalo, Ike (November 27, 1988). "Brighter times for moviepeople with bigger grosses at the till". Manila Standard. Manila Standard News, Inc. p. 22. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  12. Adobas, Dennis (March 9, 1989). "Snooky not really in the State?". Manila Standard (in English and Filipino). Kagitingan Publications, Inc. p. 27. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  13. Soriano, Antero F. (January 28, 1989). "Military opposes 'Alih-Batalla' movie". Manila Standard. Manila Standard News, Inc. p. 15. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  14. "MTRCB Film Classification and Ratings Guide". Manila Standard. Manila Standard News, Inc. January 5, 1989. p. 16. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  15. Mateo, Janvic (March 22, 2013). "Jailed cop appeals junking of libel case vs Caparas". Philstar.com. Manila, Philippines: Philstar Global Corp. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  16. Sison, Bebot Jr.; Felipe, Cecille Suerte (August 15, 2015). "Rebel cop Rizal Alih dies in jail at 77". Philstar.com. Manila, Philippines: Philstar Global Corp. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
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