Directors say arrest of filmmaker Jade Castro ‘shocking, funny at first’

MANILA, Philippines — The arrest of filmmaker Jade Castro and his companions for allegedly burning a passenger minibus in Catanauan, Quezon Province, last month is shocking, bizarre, and even funny at first, according to members of the Directors Guild of the Philippines Inc. (DGPI).

During the hearing of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety on Monday, directors of DGPI vouched for the professional character of Castro, whom they described as a respectable figure in the film industry.

“This case is really bizarre, because anybody who looks at the facts of the case — ako mahilig ako sa mga crime stories pag tinignan nakakatawa pano ginawa yung pagaresto sa kanila. Sino aakyat sa bus na hindi niya muna susuotin yung bonnet at biglang nag bonnet? ‘Di ba parang sino pinapaniwala mo nyan?” Erik Matti, a filmmaker who is currently working with Castro, asked.

(I love crime stories, and if we look at how they were arrested, it’s funny. Who enters a bus without wearing a full face mask and wears it there? Who would believe that story?)

“Parang joke eh, eventually naging bangungot pero nakakatawa nung una.‘Ha napagkamalan kayo? [CURSES] They were far away from the area, we were thinking of mistaken identity or there is an additional investigation,” he added.

(It’s like a joke that eventually became a nightmare; it’s funny we couldn’t believe it — we even asked him, really, you get accused? [CURSES] They were far away from the area, we were thinking that it was a mistaken identity or maybe there was an additional investigation.)

Paulo Villaluna, a film director, said that esteemed members of DGPI even vetted Castro before he became part of the guild.

“To be a member of DGPI is not easy; in fact, it’s not an application; it’s an invitation. To be a member, you need to be vetted by nine prominent directors, and even if only one of these directors says no, the membership will be immediately nullified,” Paulo Villaluna, a film director, shared.

“In fact, when we first heard about it, we thought it was a joke; we were literally shocked […] I can confirm with the committee that Jade is innocent; he’s not even capable of carrying a gun so much more than burning a bus. So it’s kinda incredible this whole thing,” Villaluna added.

‘Gentle soul’

On the other hand, directors Keith Sicat and Ice Idanan said Castro is a “gentle soul” and even helped young filmmakers gain more experience to hone their craft.

“I’ve known Jade for well over a decade and even worked with him on a number of projects; he’s an extremely affable person. I’ve never even seen him lose his temper. This is a very uncharacteristic kind of crime he’s accused of. He’s a gentle soul, and this kind of accusation is shocking,” Sicat said.

“He is very generous, and these [allegations] are so out of character. I’ve witnessed how he believed in young filmmakers […] when we first heard the news, we couldn’t imagine that this happened to him,” Idanan stressed.

Based on previous reports, police said witnesses claimed that Castro and his three companions were pinpointed as the armed persons — pretending to be passengers — who stopped and later torched the minibus in Barangay Dahican before fleeing from the crime scene.

The film director and his companions were subsequently arrested at a beach resort in Mulanay, the neighboring town of Catanauan.

According to authorities, Castro and his companions, currently detained in the Catanauan police jail, were positively identified by the bus driver and passengers.

In their defense, a public information officer of Mulanay claimed that when the minibus was burning, two of the suspects were inside an eatery in the town proper.