Less than 24 hours before Mayor Antonio Halili was assassinated while having the flag ceremony at the newly constructed municipal town hall of Tanauan City, journalist and film director Caesar Soriano was able to interview the feisty politician.
The interview was supposedly geared towards Soriano’s plan of making a biopic about the life of the controversial mayor.
In the interview, the politician poured out his strong stand on fighting illegal drugs, the controversies surrounding his walk of shame “parade” campaign, his private life, and all his dreams and aspirations for his dear town.
But by a strange twist of faith, Mayor Halili was gunned down by an unknown assailant on that dreadful morning of July 1, 2018. But being a good friend that he is, Soriano still stands firmly to push through with the plan of making the movie.
Entitled The Last Interview: The Mayor Antonio Halili Story, the movie depicts about the colorful life of the departed mayor told in the point of view of Soriano who managed to have an in-depth interview with the slain politician.
“The message of the film is not political, it’s all about the good mayor’s accomplishments, his war against drugs, and the reality that we have today,” Soriano, the film’s director and producer said in a press conference on Tuesday.
“This movie is about the mayor’s determination and political will. There are public servants like him who offered his life in the still ongoing war against drugs, and someone must tell the story so people would know what’s behind the mayor’s actions and why he was respected in the city where usage of illegal drugs used to be rampant,” he continued.
Asked what motivated him to pursue with the late mayor’s story, Soriano said that when he was a reporter he was very fascinated and obsessed with the way Mayor Halili punished drug users and pushers in the city of Tanauan.
“I came to know that this mayor was accused of human rights violations. That started my vision of creating a film about him. I wanted to know why was he doing that, what motivated him, what was the reason, what was his driving force why he had to parade these drug pushers and users,” he added.
The Last Interview: The Mayor Antonio Halili Story, which started screening on May 22, stars John Estrada in the title role with Ara Mina, Michael Flores, and Phoebe Walker, playing his family members with JM Soriano, Martin Escudero, and Kate Alejandrino as members of the support cast.
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