El Presidente (film)

El Presidente (English: The President;

Filipino: Ang Pangulo) is a 2012 historical
biopic film based on the life of General
Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of
the Philippine Republic. The film stars
Jeorge "E.R." Ejercito Estregan in the title
role, with Nora Aunor, Christopher de
Leon, Cristine Reyes, and Cesar Montano
(who played Andrés Bonifacio).[2]

The film was one of the official entries to

the 2012 Metro Manila Film Festival and
was released in theaters nationwide on
December 25, 2012.[3] Produced by
Scenema Concept International, CMB
Films and Viva Films, in cooperation with
the San Miguel Group of Companies,
Petron, Boy Scouts of the Philippines, Las
Casas Filipinas de Azucar, and the Film
Development Council of the Philippines,
it premiered on December 18, 2012 at the
SM Mall of Asia's SMX Convention
Center.
El Presidente (General Emilio Aguinaldo
and the First Philippine Republic)

Theatrical Movie Poster

Directed by Mark Meily

Written by Mark Meily

Based on "Memoirs of a
Revolution"
by Emilio Aguinaldo

Starring Jeorge "E.R." Ejercito

Estregan
Nora Aunor
 Christopher de Leon
Cristine Reyes
Cesar Montano
Music by Jessie Lasaten

Cinematography Carlo Mendoza

Edited by Jason Cahapay

Ryan Orduña
Production Scenema Concept
company
International
CMB Films
VIVA Films

Distributed by VIVA Films

Release date December 25, 2012

Running time 165 minutes

Country Philippines
Language Filipino
Spanish
English
Budget ₱130 million [1]

Box office P 22.6 million

Plot
The story is told in flashbacks as Emilio
Aguinaldo (E.R. Ejercito) thanks the U.S.
government for giving him the
opportunity to attend the full restoration
of Philippine independence on July 4,
1946.

The film begins with his capture by

Kapampangan and U.S. forces under
Frederick Funston's command in 1901,
then flashes back to 1886, when an old
woman gives Aguinaldo and his
childhood friend Candido Tirona (Ronnie
Lazaro) cryptic prophecies. Ten years
later, Aguinaldo is inducted into the
Katipunan by the Supremo, Andrés
Bonifacio, and later assumes leadership
of its Cavite chapter the Magdalo while
becoming mayor of Cavite El Viejo. When
trouble breaks out in Manila in late
August 1896, Aguinaldo tries to assure
the Spanish provincial government of
non-interference and covertly marshals
his forces despite a lack of weapons.
Learning that the Spanish mostly put
their forces in Manila, Aguinaldo finally
mobilizes his troops in Cavite and takes
on Spanish troops at Cavite El Viejo,
Imus, and Binakayan.

As the Katipunan rebels gain ground in

Cavite and several provinces, its Magdalo
and Magdiwang factions convene to
elect a provisional government. Bonifacio
oversees the Tejeros Convention, which
elects Aguinaldo as president, Mariano
Trías as vice-president, and himself as
interior minister. He storms out of the
convention when Daniel Tirona objects to
his position. Aguinaldo's brother Crispulo
informs him of his accession and
convinces him to leave his troops just as
he was seeking to defend against the
Spaniards at Pasong Santol. However
without reinforcement they were overrun
and Crispulo was killed. Meanwhile, an
embittered Bonifacio establishes his own
revolutionary government in Naic and
was later arrested during his act in the
village. Aguinaldo is concerned about
Bonifacio's actions and wanted him
exiled, but the War Council advises his
execution.

Several months later, Aguinaldo leaves

Cavite with most of his forces intact and
makes it to Biak-na-Bato in Bulacan,
where he signs the Pact of Biak-na-Bato
and heads for Hong Kong. There he
meets with U.S. officials who approach
him with offers of support and
recognition of a new Philippine republic
amidst the Spanish–American War.
Aguinaldo returns to the Philippines
winning his military victory under the
First Philippine Republic and formally
declares independence from Spain. As
the Malolos Congress convenes, Felipe
Agoncillo tries to represent the new
nation at the Treaty of Paris negotiations,
but gets stonewalled at every turn even
as U.S. forces gradually arrive in the
Philippines.

War with the Americans breaks out in

February 1899, and General Antonio Luna
is appointed supreme commander of the
army. He is assassinated by disgruntled
troops three months ago, and the Filipino
forces are gradually routed by the
Americans. As a result, Aguinaldo flees
to the north of Luzon. General Gregorio
del Pilar volunteers to hold them off at
Tirad Pass and buy Aguinaldo time. His
loyal courier is later captured by the
Americans while getting some medicine
for his son. Now aware of Aguinaldo's
hideout, Funston plans his capture.

Having been made to accept the

American occupation over the
Philippines, Aguinaldo lives a quiet life,
which is marred by Hilaria's death in
1921. He meets and marries Agoncillo's
niece Maria in 1930. Over the next few
decades, the couple witness Philippine
history unfold once more as he is
defeated in the 1935 presidential
elections, Japanese occupation, and the
restoration of full independence. In 1962,
an elderly Aguinaldo and his wife
comfort each other over President
Diosdado Macapagal's decree to restore
the actual date of the Philippine
declaration of independence.

As Aguinaldo lies on his bed, the same

woman who gave him his prophecy
appears to him one more time.

Cast
Main cast

Jeorge "E.R." Ejercito Estregan as

General Emilio Aguinaldo
Nora Aunor as Maria Agoncillo
Christopher de Leon as General
Antonio Luna
Cesar Montano as Andrés Bonifacio
Cristine Reyes as Hilaria Aguinaldo
Alicia Mayer as Motherland

Supporting cast

Ronnie Lazaro as General. Candido

Tirona
Bayani Agbayani as General.
Baldomero Aguinaldo
Gerard Ejercito as General. Crispulo
Aguinaldo
Allan Paule as General. Tomás
Mascardo
Emilio Garcia as General. Pío del Pilar
Wendell Ramos as General. Mariano
Noriel
John Arcilla as General Mariano Trías
Mike Lloren as Vicente Riego de Dios
Ian de Leon as Captain Artemio Ricarte
Felix Roco as General Gregorio del
Pilar
Dindo Arroyo as General Macario
Sakay
Ricardo Cepeda as Col. Lucio de Vega
Lorenzo Mara as Dr. Dominador
Gomez
Carlos Morales as General Leon
Villafuerte
Alireza Libre as General. Edilberto
Evangelista
Richard Manabat as Ambrosio
Rianzares Bautista
Jericho Ejercito as young Emilio
Aguinaldo
Gary Estrada as Commander. Jose
Tagle
Allen Dizon as Commander. Simeón
Villa
Will Devaughn as Commander. Agapito
Bonzon
Crispin Pineda as José P. Elises
Hero Bautista as Major Lazaro
Macapagal
Andro Morgan as Major Eugenio
Yul Servo as Pedro Paterno
William Martinez as Dr. Santiago
Barcelona
Ronnie Quizon as Apolinario Mabini
Epi Quizon as José Clemente Zulueta
Alvin Anson as Felipe Agoncillo
Lou Veloso as Julian Felipe
Sid Lucero as Gaudioso
Sunshine Cruz as Gregoria de Jesús
Joko Diaz as Procopio Bonifacio
Rommel Montano as Ciriaco Bonifacio
Archie Adamos as Luis Aguado
Soliman Cruz as Maximo Inocencio
Roi Vinzon as Lazaro Segovia
Dennis Padilla as Tal Placido
John Regala as Padre Agustin
Baron Geisler as Lt. Chacon
Ian Veneracion as Gen. Ernesto Aguirre
Tony Mabesa as Gen. Echaluche
Troy Montero as Col. Frederick
Funston
James Paolleli as Gen. Arthur
MacArthur
Recto Cantimbulan as Padre Cenon
Villafranca
Joonee Gamboa as Ambassador
Felipe Buencamino
Mark Meily as Presidente ng Indang
Mav Lozano as Young Candido Tirona
Roldan Aquino as Maria Agoncillo's
father
Gloria Sevilla as Maria Agoncillo's
mother
Lariel Castro as Cecilio
Darry dela Cruz as Igorot
Elaine Lozano as Sor Gallego
Maita Ejercito as Marcela Agoncillo
Jhulia Ejercito as Lorenza Agoncillo
Jenny Javier as Delfina Herbosa de
Natividad
 Maylyn Enriquez as Felicidad Aguado
Melissa Yotoko as Consuelo Almiranez
Alicia Meyer as the Old Lady/Inang
Bayan(Mother Land)

Additional cast

Jess Evardone as Severino de las Alas

Bearwin Meily as Benjamin San Luis
Emmanuelle Ejercito as Gregorio
Jocson
Brenton Metken as Rousenville
Wildman
Stra Zalkowski as General Greene
Oliver Borlen as Théophile Delcassé
Allan Pérez as Governor-General
Ramón Blanco
Ces Aldabe as Mariano Álvarez
Don Umali as Daniel Tirona
Arkin da Silva as Ariston Villanueva
Mario Capalad as Santiago Álvarez
Arian Labios as Pedro Girón
Jojo Gallego as Jose del Rosario
Eddie del Mar as Jacinto Lumbre
Romeo Edgar Ambrogar as Emiliano
Riego de Dios
Sonny Alcantara as Pío Valenzuela
Jomar Daynt as Col. Pedro Lipana
Jun Nayra as Mariano Riego de Diós
Rogelio Aldo Yadao as Col. Paco
Román
Perry Dizon as Capt. Pedro Janolino
 Eric Perez as Padre Fidel de Bias
Johnny Barnes as Felipe Calderón
Roger Clarico as Legarda
Ace Mangamon as Flavio
Leah Villalon as older Lorenza
Agoncillo

Development
A 350-page script emerged in 1998, with
the proposed film meant for the
Philippines' Independence Centennial,
but no production was made.

Ejercito said Meily was chosen to direct

the film due to his knowledge of
Aguinaldo, experience in large
productions, and personal belief in him.[4]
Meily's appointment was made despite
swearing never to helm a historical film
again, after working on Baler in 2008.[5]
Ejercito's second choice for director was
Mario O'Hara; the latter died before
Ejercito made him an offer, on June 26,
2012. Ejercito ruled out picking Tikoy
Aguiluz because a falling-out between
them during the editing of his last film,
Manila Kingpin.[5]

Despite the existence of the 1998 script,

Meily opted to create an entirely different
script instead.[5] He wanted to hire
screenwriters at Ejercito's request, but
volunteered to write it himself when no
writers joined the project. Meily claims he
tried to make the film as factually
accurate as possible, and he describes
the finished product as "95 percent"
accurate to what really happened.[5]
Historians were on set to ensure full
accuracy.[6]

Ejercito described the film as much

harder to make than Manila Kingpin
because it "deals directly with our
country's history." Over 50 professional
actors and actresses were cast for the
movie. He also described the "set,
costumes, locations, and logistics" as
"staggering by all Philippine cinema
standards."[4] He also claimed that it was
the biggest and most expensive Filipino
film ever, as the film was made on a
budget of Php130 million.[7] Shooting
took place over 43 days at select
locations in Cavite, Laguna, and
Bulacan.[8]

Release
El Presidente, along with seven other
Metro Manila Film Festival entries, was
released on December 25, 2012 in 54
theaters,[9] although it was premiered on
December 18, 2012, at the SMX
Convention Center at the SM Mall of
Asia.[6] It went on to gross PhP4.2 million
in Metro Manila, the sixth most among
MMFF films. After the film festival ended,
the Metro Manila Development Authority
did not release the total box office gross
of the film as it was not in the top four
highest grossing films. Ejercito
complained that the film's low box office
gross was due to rigged theater
distribution, as more popular films were
released in as many as 130 theaters.
While all eight film festival entries were
released in the same number of theaters
in Metro Manila via drawing lots, theaters
in the province could decide whichever
movies to show.[9]

Critical reception
The movie garnered mostly positive
reviews from critics. The Philippines'
Cinema Evaluation Board graded the film
an A, and it has been endorsed by the
government's Department of Education,
the Commission on Higher Education,
and the Film Development Council of the
Philippines.[6]

In a review, Phillip Cu-Unjieng of the

Philippine Star said it "vividly recaptures"
one of the Philippines' most turbulent
periods in history by exposing the
infighting among the Katipunan's
members and how Aguinaldo wanted to
resolve them. He noted that the film's
quality makes it almost stand out as
much as Richard Attenborough's Gandhi,
Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, and Martin
Scorsese's The Aviator.[10] Philibert Ortiz-
Dy of ClickTheCity.com, on the other
hand, gave the film two and a half stars
out of five, describing El Presidente as
"deeply flawed as an entertainment, but
there's a lot in it to like." While he did note
the film was ambitious, he also stated
that the "lack of focus hurts it in the end",
due to its large scope.[11]

Rommel R. Llanes of the Philippine

Entertainment Portal especially praised
the performances of Montano and de
Leon as Bonifacio and Luna, respectively.
However, he also stated that Ejercito
occasionally felt like Asiong Salonga, the
main character of his previous film,
Manila Kingpin.[12] Maridol Rañoa-
Bismark, writing for Yahoo! Philippines,
highly praised the film for "its
breathtaking cinematography, well-
choreographed fight scenes, haunting
music and brilliant acting", but mostly for
it being about the "triumph of good over
evil."[13]

Columnist and radio show host Jessica

Zafra, however, was critical of the
movie's treatment. She said the depiction
of Bonifacio's death raised questions
about its authenticity. She added that the
film itself "does Emilio Aguinaldo a
disservice by portraying him as a victim
of circumstance" and even highlighted
the "amnesia" prevalent among
contemporary Filipinos.[14]

The movie garnered the most awards at

the 2012 Metro Manila Film Festival,
winning the plums for Second Best
Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Cesar
Montano), Youth Choice Award, Best
Float, Best Sound, Best Musical Score,
and Best Make-up.[15]

Awards and recognition

Year Award-Giving Body Category Recipient Result

Second Best Picture El Presidente Won

Best Actor E.R. Ejercito Nominated

Best Supporting
Cesar Montano Won
Actor

Best Supporting Baron Geisler and

Nominated
Actor Christopher De Leon

Best Musical Score Jessie Lazatin Won

Metro Manila Film
2012 Best Sound Albert Michael
Festival[16] Won
Recording Idioma

Best Original Theme Apl.de.ap and Jamir

Won
Song Garcia

Warren Munar, Benny

Best Make-up Batoctoy and Virginia Won
Apolinario

Best Float El Presidente Won

 Year Award-Giving Body Category Recipient Result

Best Picture El Presidente Won

Best Director Mark Meily Won

Best Actor E.R. Ejercito Won

Best Actress Cristine Reyes Nominated

Best Supporting
Cesar Montano Won
Actor

Best Screenplay Mark Meily Won

Best Cinematography Carlo Mendoza Won

Filipino Academy of
Best Production Danny Red and Joel
2013 Movie Arts and Sciences Won
Design Bilbao
Awards
Jason Cahapay and
Best Editing Won
Ryan Orduña

Albert Michael
Best Sound Idioma and Addiss Won
Tabong

Marizen Yaneza,
Best Original Theme
Jessie Lasaten, and Won
Song
Maita Ejercito

Best Story El Presidente Won

Year Award-Giving Body Category Recipient Result

Best Picture El Presidente Won

Best Director Mark Meily Nominated

Best
Carlo Mendoza Won
Cinematography

Film Academy of the Best Production

2013 Danny Red and Joel Bilbao Won
Philippines Design

Jason Cahapay and Ryan

Best Editing Nominated
Orduña

Best Music Jessie Lasaten Won

Best Sound Albert Michael Idioma Won

 Award-
Year Giving Category Recipient Result
Body

Best Performance by an
Actor in a Supporting Cesar Montano Nominated
Role
Golden
Best Production Design Danny Red and Joel Bilbao Nominated
2013 Screen
Best Musical Score Jessie Lasaten Nominated
Awards
Aking Inang Bayan by Marizen
Best Original Song Yaneza, Jessie Lasaten and Maita Nominated
Ejercito

References
1. ER Ejercito on El Presidente's P130M
budget: "Ito na yata ang pinakamalaki at
pinakamagastos na pelikulang Pilipino.”
2. "Nora Aunor starts filming El
Presidente" . Retrieved 2012-06-19.
3. "2012 MMFF Official Entries: Official
Website:" . Archived from the original on
2012-09-27. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
4. Dolly Anne Carvajal (December 11,
2012). "E.R. hopes 'El Presidente' will
replicate success of 'Asiong' " . Philippine
Daily Inquirer. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
5. Edwin P. Sallan (December 26, 2012).
"With 'El Presidente', Mark Meily depicts
Aguinaldo-Bonifacio conflict in accurate
detail" . AksyonTV. Retrieved January 1,
2012.
6. Jecelyn V. Macahindog (December 7,
2012). "Gov. ER Truly Proud Of 'El
Presidente' " . Manila Bulletin. Archived
from the original on December 10, 2012.
Retrieved January 14, 2013.
7. Ruben Marasigan (November 19, 2012).
"ER Ejercito on El Presidente's P130M
budget: "Ito na yata ang pinakamalaki at
pinakamagastos na pelikulang Pilipino."
(This maybe the biggest and most
expensive Philippine film yet" . Philippine
Entertainment Portal. Retrieved
January 14, 2012.
8. Edwin P. Sallan (December 26, 2012).
"With 'El Presidente', Mark Meilly depicts
Aguinaldo-Bonifacio conflict in accurate
detail, page 2" . AksyonTV. Retrieved
January 14, 2013.
9. Jeffrey O. Valisno (January 10, 2013).
"Award and box office controversies:
business as usual at the Metro Manila
Film Fest" . BusinessWorld. Retrieved
January 14, 2013.
10. Phillip Cu-Unjieng (December 27,
2012). "Aguinaldo and his story in 'El
Presidente' " . ABS-CBN. Retrieved
January 14, 2013.
11. Philibert Ortiz-Dy (December 27,
2012). "The Largeness of Life" .
ClickTheCity.com. Retrieved January 14,
2013.
12. Rommel R. Llanes (December 27,
2013). "MMFF REVIEW: El Presidente: The
Emilio Aguinaldo Story and the First
Philippine Republic" . Philippine
Entertainment Portal. Retrieved
January 14, 2013.
13. Maridol Rañoa-Bismark (December
27, 2012). "Lest we forget: An 'El
Presidente' review" . Yahoo!. Retrieved
January 14, 2013.
14. Jessica Zafra (January 4, 2013).
"Metro Manila Film Festival 2012
Moviethon: Day 7: Bonifacio was NOT a
traitor" . AksyonTV. Retrieved January 14,
2013.
15. Chuck Smith (December 27, 2012).
"8th Metro Manila Film Festival winners" .
Yahoo!. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
16. "Metro Manila Film Festival:2012" .
IMDB. Retrieved 2014-04-09.

External links
El Presidente on IMDb
Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=El_Presidente_(film)&oldid=848244808"

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