MANILA, Philippines – The Directors’ Guild of the Philippines, Inc. (DGPI) has called out organizers of the 2025 Puregold CinePanalo Film Festivals for choosing to “suppress the truth” after the festival organizers pulled out Baby Ruth Villarama’s Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea.
Food Delivery is a documentary film on Filipino fisherfolk’s struggle because of the Chinese Coast Guard.
“Rather than celebrating the courage of our filmmakers in exposing these critical realities, the festival has instead chosen to suppress the truth — seemingly to avoid disfavor from powerful foreign interests,” the DGPI said in a statement on Saturday, March 22.
“This is not just an attack on one film but an alarming indication of how freedom of expression is being eroded in our society.”
It noted a rising trend: other documentary films that show a glimpse of the country’s truths saw a similar fate.
This includes JL Burgos’ Alipato at Muog, which follows his search for his desaparacido brother, Jonas Burgos, and Lost Sabungeros — Bryan Brazil’s documentary on the case of cockfighting aficionados who have been missing since 2021.
“These actions reveal a growing pattern of intimidation that seeks to prevent Filipinos from engaging with narratives that expose injustice and challenge prevailing power structures,” the group said.
Food Delivery was supposed to hit local theaters on March 14 and was lined to be one of the eight feature films to headline the CinePanalo Film Festival.
It was pulled out at the last minute. Villarama noted that it felt like censorship as the “decision seemed to be driven by external pressures.” The director was not in the meeting where the decision had been made.
Legwork for the film started around July 2024. Villarama’s team worked with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Department of National Defense, the Philippine Coast Guard, and Malacañang to tell the fishermen’s story.
Filipino fisherfolk had previously reported how Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea has made it difficult for them to earn a living.
Villarama said that “it’s clear that both political and economic pressures influenced the festival’s decision to pull [out] the film.”
Film festival director Chris Cahilig refused to provide further comment beyond the joint statement issued with Villarama.
“We urge film institutions, festivals, and the greater public to protect our democratic rights and uphold the principles of free expression,” the DGPI said. “Let us not allow fear and censorship to dictate which stories can and cannot be told.” – Rappler.com
