Veteran actor Phillip Salvador wished the critics of President Rodrigo Duterte dead ahead of the State of the Nation Address on Monday, July 22.
Salvador’s harsh words dismayed of some of his fans who saw the video of when he arrived with fellow actor Robin Padilla at the Batasang Pambansa.
In a chance interview with reporters on the red carpet, Salvador initially praised the president and then denounced those who are critical of him.
“Ginagawa naman ng Pangulo natin ang lahat para sa ikabubuti ng bansa, para sa ikabubuti ng bawat Pilipino pero binabatikos pa rin siya,” he said.
“Sa inyo pong lahat na bumabatikos: mamatay kayong lahat. Salamat po,” he added.
Salvador was known for his tough-talking personality in Philippine cinema.
Twitter user @jombitskee suggested that Salvador’s views do not reflect those of his characters in films he helped make popular.
“This is not the Jimmy Cordero (“Orapronobis”) and Turing (“Kapit sa Patalim”) I know. Shame on you, Phillip Salvador. How dare you curse and say ‘mamatay kayong lahat”’to all the [protesters] outside Batasan?” the user said.
“Your ex-lover (not Kris Aquino) Lino Brocka would turn in his grave,” he added.
Maygad. This is not the Jimmy Cordero (“Orapronobis”) & Turing (“Kapit sa Patalim”) I know. Shame on you, Philip Salvador. How dare you curse and say “mamatay kayong lahat” to all the ralliers outside Batasan?
Your ex-lover (not Kris Aquino) Lino Brocka would turn in his grave. https://t.co/uRj1YpMgKn
— jombits (@jombitskee) July 22, 2019
Another user on Facebook similarly lamented that Salvador’s social awareness is only limited onscreen.
“Hangang-hanga kaming mga lumaki nuong 70s sa mga pelikula ni Mr. Salvador. Karamihan ng mga movies n’ya lalo na ang mga dinirihe ni Lino Brocka ay may social relevance. Pero hanggang dun lang pala yun. Umarte lang pala talaga s’ya. Magaling lang pala talagang artista,” user Bong Cee commented.
Salvador is known as a protégé of Brocka in the 1970s and starred in many of the late director’s movies such as “Ang Tatay Kong Nanay” (1978), “Jaguar” (1979) and “Bayan Ko: Kapit sa Patalim” (1985).
Brocka’s “Jaguar” became the first Filipino movie to enter the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France.
Salvador’s performance in “Bayan Ko: Kapit sa Patalim” won him his first Best Actor award at the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards, or FAMAS. He also won two more in the movies “Masahol pa sa hayop” (1993) and “Bobby Barbers: Parak” (1997).
Salvador was often seen alongside winning senatorial candidate Bong Go on the campaign trail earlier this year.
Protesters during SONA 2019
Organizers of the demonstrations on Monday said that there were at least 25,000 people who joined the demonstrations this year.
This did not surpass the crowd of 40,000 demonstrators in 2018, which was considered the largest protest against the Duterte administration so far.
Despite a large number of protesters, this year’s SONA is generally peaceful according to the police.
“Mass actions carried out by cause-oriented groups and some government organizations have been conducted peacefully,” the police organization said in a statement. — Video by Philstar.com/James Relativo
