Sunday Beauty Queen star held at NAIA

MANILA, Philippines - Domestic helper MJ Jacobo, one of the main stars of the critically-acclaimed film documentary Sunday Beauty Queen (SBQ), was on her way to Jakarta, Indonesia on May 3 to help promote her film about the plight of Pinay maids in Hong Kong and how they transform themselves to claim their lost dignity when she was stopped for questioning by a “hostile” Filipino immigration officer at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 “just because her passport indicates she’s an OFW (overseas Filipino worker).”

Jacobo was part of the SBQ delegation (led by director Babyruth Villarama-Gutierrez, producer Chuck Gutierrez and artist-activist Mae “Juana Change” Paner) flying to Jakarta for the Good Pitch Southeast Asia Forum, a platform for documentary filmmakers to pitch their work and gather funds and support from leading changemakers from various fields. 

“The harassment of MJ Jacobo at the airport is the very reason why Sunday Beauty Queen must be seen by the world,” a visibly upset Paner told The STAR upon landing at the Indonesian capital.

?Paner, who was part of the selection committee of the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), where SBQ eventually won Best Picture, said Jacobo’s explanation that she’s one of the actors in the film was outrightly dismissed by the immigration officer, who ordered Jacobo to proceed to a room where other people are being held for extra scrutiny. She was not even given a chance to show her invitation letter for the May 4 event held at the prestigious Goethe Institute, Paner added.

“What happened was indeed an eye-opener,” said Paner. “You’re in the Philippines and just because they saw in your record that you’re a domestic worker, people can look down on you. How I wish these people manning the airport could see this film for themselves so they could at least give these domestic workers some respect they deserve for all their sacrifices and contributions.”

Jacobo was more forgiving, however. The General Santos City-born aspiring actress, who looks up to Miss Universe runner-up Shamcey Supsup and actresses Vilma Santos, Nora Aunor and Maja Salvador as role models, said she’s so overwhelmed by all the blessings she’s been getting lately — from having a supportive family and a compassionate employer to starring in the SBQ documentary that to led to her traveling and meeting people that matter ? that she could no longer find anger in her heart. 

“He (immigration officer) questioned me about my work and I told him I’m in the cast of Sunday Beauty Queen,” a smiling Jacobo told The STAR. “Then he asked again what I was doing and I told him ‘I’m an actress,’ to which he didn’t believe. He asked, ‘What are you doing in Jakarta?’ I told him I will pitch for our film. Then he asked, ‘Are you a pastor?’ (The officer obviously mistook pitch for preach). He then asked if I had an invitation letter, but when I handed him the letter he wouldn’t accept it and said it would be a long discussion. He gave me a form and instructed me to proceed to an adjacent room for interview.”

As Jacobo was about to walk towards the room, Paner rushed to her side and explained to a supervising officer about Jacobo’s credentials and travel purposes. The supervising officer, Jacobo said, asked her to go back to the previous officer and tell him there was no need for further questioning. But the officer again wouldn’t listen to Jacobo until the supervisor himself approached the officer inside the cubicle and explained everything.

Jacobo said if not for the intervention of Paner, who was recognized by the supervisors from her TV and stage work particularly as Juana Change, she could have been held longer and perhaps missed the Singapore Airlines flight.

The hostile officer offered an apology. “He said, ‘Sorry Ma’am, hindi ko kasi alam (I didn’t know),’” Jacobo noted.

“I have no hard feelings because I have not committed any wrongdoing,” Jacobo emphasized. “I was ready to defend myself. I know my rights and I just have to assert those rights. But I’m happy everything ended peacefully and the immigration officer said he’s sorry. I really appreciated it.”

“I have always traveled as a domestic worker and never as a tourist,” Jacobo pointed out. “I guess that’s the reason why they stopped me.”

“So if you’re an OFW, you no longer have the right to travel or visit other countries?” SBQ director Villarama-Gutierrez wrote in disgust on Facebook. “So sad this is indeed happening and in our own country at that. Thankful Mae Paner is with MJ.”

Jacobo said she just wanted to “enjoy the moment” especially visiting places, including campuses across the Philippines, and talk about the powerful documentary that is aimed at changing the way domestic workers are viewed in and out of the Philippines.

“The students are so passionate and their reactions to SBQ are unbelievable,” she shared. “My favorite is UP Los Baños. They welcomed me with open arms and they were applauding and cheering before and after the screening. They treated me like a real star and even asked me to pose for pictures with them.”

“My experience with Sunday Beauty Queen is priceless,” said Jacobo, who hopes of becoming a full-fledged actress (with Ian Veneracion as her dream leading man) if given a chance. “I can always go back to being a domestic worker if acting is not my destiny. But I will enjoy the moment while it lasts.”

Sunday Beauty Queen was one of only four powerful documentaries in the Southeast Asian region invited to pitch their project for monetary and all kinds of assistance from leading agencies worldwide in order to finish the film and create impact. Jacobo, along with the director and producer and another co-star, Leo Selomenio, got the loudest applause and cheers during their campaign for the film at Goethe Institute Jakarta. 

“Good Pitch is like connecting good films to good people,” said Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, a Filipina broadcast journalist and documentarian, who is a member of the Southeast Asia team. “But more than raising funds, what is important to these passionate filmmakers is raising impact for their film and the issues it raises to forge real change.”

SBQ is the only one completed among the four documentaries, but it needs major funding for its global promotion and impact goals, Alikpala said.

Aside from the Philippines’ SBQ that aims to create better employment condition for migrant workers, other documentaries invited were Audio Perpetua (by director Ivy Baldoza and producer Melanie Entuna), also from the Philippines, with a goal to better educate the people on how to include the visually-impaired in the working community and empower them; Singapore’s Intuition (by director Shuling Yong and producer Lisa Teh), with an intent to challenge teenagers deemed “unteachable” by society to rekindle their natural love for learning; and Indonesia’s  Song For My Children (by Shalahuddin Siregar and Ingrid Irawati Atmosukarto) about an elderly choir group that uses the power of music to pass down a forgotten history and reconcile with a nation’s dark past.

Among the Filipino leaders invited to take part in the forum were Sen. Sonny Angara, Rep. Bernadette Herrera of Bagong Henerasyon Partylist; Hong Kong labor attaché Jalilo dela Torre, Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) chairperson Liza Diño, MTRCB chairperson Rachel Arenas and Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Maria Lumena Isleta.

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At the official residence of Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Maria Lumen Isleta (second row, third from right), who hosted a dinner for the Philippine delegation to the Good Pitch Southeast Asia Forum

sted by In-Docs and JIA Foundation, Good Pitch Southeast Asia is presented by the Ford Foundation, the Sundance Institute and the Britdoc Foundation.