Actor Robin Padilla shared a teaser of the upcoming biopic of senatorial aspirant Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa where he will play the role of the former police chief.
Padilla posted the trailer of the film titled “Bato: The Gen. Ronald dela Rosa Story” on Instagram on December 27 with the caption “Ito na ang hinihintay ninyong aksyon!”
The trailer featured Padilla in an action scene with the words “Know the story of the man behind the headlines.”
Award-winning filmmaker Adolfo Alix Jr. is set to direct the movie, which will premier this year.
‘The man behind the headlines’
Dela Rosa previously expressed in an interview with Manila Standard that he wants Padilla to portray him and singer-actress Sharon Cuneta to play the role of his wife.
“I’m a fan of Robin and my wife is huge fan of Sharon,” he said. He also wished for Anne Curtis-Smith to play the younger version of his wife.
The plot would focus more on his life struggles that helped shape him as a person, rather than a love story.
“I want to the movie to inspire people especially the youth… na kahit galing ka sa mahirap, you could be somebody,” Dela Rosa said.
Dela Rosa, a long-time ally of President Rodrigo Duterte, led the Philippine National Police in carrying out the government’s bloody drug war through its operations called “Oplan Tokhang.”
This had been heavily criticized by local and international rights groups for causing the deaths thousands of Filipinos, most of them living among the urban poor.
The PNP had also been questioned for the alleged rogue officers among its ranks.
Duterte personally handpicked him to lead the 180,000-strong police force in 2016. Before this, Dela Rosa was the police chief in Davao City back when the chief executive was still the city’s mayor.
In May 2018, Dela Rosa retired from the police service and got appointed as the head of the Bureau of Corrections.
He resigned from the post in October after filing his certificate of candidacy.
Concerns among critics
While it’s not yet stated when the movie will be released, some people perceive it as a form of election propaganda. Calls to boycott it have also started online.
Republic Act No. 9006 or the Fair Elections Act prohibits the creation of a movie or documentary portraying the life or biography of a candidate and released in a public forum during the campaign period.
The Commission on Elections designated the start of the campaign period for candidates seeking national posts on February 12 while those running for local seats on March 29. —Artwork by Uela Altar-Badayos