In an interview for the Metro Manila Film Fest movie Suarez: The Healing Priest, lead actor John Arcilla confessed that he was tempted to back out from the film because of the controversy surrounding the person he was playing—Fr. Fernando Suarez.
The actor, who is also a believer of faith healing, admitted that he did not know of the controversy about Fr. Suarez until he stumbled upon it while researching for the project.
“…nung I was actually waiting for the script, I was actually looking for mga reading materials tungkol sa kanya, tsaka yung mga videos nya, saka ko lang nakita yung controversies. In fact, gustung-gusto ko magback-out,” the actor said.
The issue that Arcilla was referring to was the allegations that Fr. Suarez sexually abused minors and used his position as a priest to make money and many more. He was accused of being ambitious and claimed that he planned to construct a P1 billion ‘mega shrine’ to Mother Mary in Alfonso, Cavite. As a result of this ‘discovery’, San Miguel Corp (SMC) made haste to recover the 33-hectare land donated to the priest. SMC also discovered that the priest had been living a rich lifestyle as he stayed and dined in 5-star hotels and wore expensive clothing and that his business transactions were ‘undocumented’.
The feat that made the healing priest famous was when he supposedly brought back to life a woman who had been dead for 8 hours. A complaint arose when Bulacan Bishop Jose Oliveros accused Suarez of not following a Vatican rule when it comes to healing activities.
Arcilla continued, “Sabi ko ayoko maging mouthpiece ng isang tao to justify himself. Sabi ko baka maging mouthpiece lang ako eh ayoko naman ng ganun.”
“So inask ko yung team na makipag-usap kay Father para magkaroon kami ng story conference. And I just want to listen to him. Sabi ko i-set aside ko muna yung doubt ko. Sabi ko kailangan ko munang makausap si Father. Gusto ko sya magkwento. And I don’t want to ask him personally and directly about the controversy. Gusto ko sya lang ang magsasalita kasi medyo awkward yun eh. And then after that meeting, sabi ko magdedecide ako kung itutuloy ko na magpull out or tutuloy ko bang tanggapin.”
He realized that the late Father was a very simple person. He decided outright that he’ll continue doing the project since he saw that Fr. Suarez never tried to justify himself nor refute the allegations thrown at him.
“But then, when I arrived dun sa venue, very positive yung atmosphere. Tapos I just saw him there, a very simple person. And he’s not trying to justify himself when he’s telling stories. He’s not trying to defend himself, walang ganon eh. Napaka-positive nung air. Sobrang positive nung air. Sabi ko, hindi ko makita yung controversy na nabasa ko. Ang nakikita ay isang simpleng tao na hindi nya jinujustify yung sarili niya. So inembrace ko yung project. Sabi ko, tuloy ko na lang kasi parang hindi naman totoo yung mga nabasa ko, so yun,” he said.
Fr. Suarez passed away late February this year due to a heart attack.
Catch Suarez: The Healing Priest on December 25 starring John Arcilla, Jairus Aquino, and Alice Dixson, directed by Joven Tan. It is also an official entry for the Metro Manila Film Fest which will also be having its first digital streaming of this year’s entries.
