At the presscon for “Burgos” (held at the new Relish resto which is not ideal for presscons since it’s so cramp and has bad sound system), we ask Direk Joel if his treatment of “Burgos” will be similar to that of “Dukot”, also about desaparecidos, which is constructed like a thriller with scenes of protest rallies.
“No, ‘Burgos’ will be a quiet film,” he says. “It will show the struggles of a family searching for the truth, about the anguish of a mother and her agonizing journey looking for her missing son. Hindi ito political kundi more personal, more internal.”
Mrs. Edith Burgos, wife of the late newspaperman Joe Burgos (who we’ve known since the early 70s since we’re a counsellor in the Operation Brotherhood campings he held for out of school youth then and we later wrote for his tabloid, “Ang Masa”), says she used to be “mahiyain”. “But now, natalo na yon ng desire ko na mahanap ang anak ko.” Her son Jonas Burgos was abducted by the military while having lunch at Hapag Kainan at Ever Gotesco Commonwealth on April 28, 2007. “Witnesses say binitbit siya ng apat na lalaki, parang baboy. Six years na siyang wala but I continue to hope na makikita ko uli siya, baka nandiyan lang siya.”
Her faith in God has become stronger. “Kasi nakikita ko talaga ang kamay ng Diyos na kumikilos, pati sa paglantad ng mga ebidensiya tungkol sa pagdukot sa kanya, pati na rin sa paggawa ng pelikulang ito about our search for him na tiyak na makakatulong para sa pamilya ng iba pang mga desaparecido.”
Also in the cast are Rocco Nacino as Jonas, Ina Feleo as his wife, Tirso Cruz III as Joe Burgos, Allen Dizon, Dimples Romana and Kerbie Zamora as the three siblings of Jonas.
