MANIFESTATION ON THE RESOLUTION COMMENDING "REWIND" MOVIE
Senator Joel Villanueva
Monday, 19 February 2024

Mr. President:

I would like to associate myself with the Sponsorship speech of Senator Robinhood Padilla and we thank him for his genuine love for the film industry especially in commending this very famous, popular and thought-provoking movie, Rewind.

May I also congratulate all the artists and the entire production team of the movie Rewind, which is now officially the highest-grossing Filipino film of all time. I watched the movie with my Senate staff. At gaya po ng sabi ko kay Mr. Dingdong Dantes at Ms. Marian Rivera, meron po akong resibo. Kasama ko po yung aking mga staff na nanood po niyan. Masasabi ko po na bumabaha ng luha sa loob ng sinehan. Luhang masaya sapagkat it speaks about comfort. It was a beautiful story of love, loss of a family, friend or a loved one and most importantly, faith.

Ipinapaalala po ng mga eksena sa pelikula na walang rewind button ang buhay kaya sikapin nating ipadama araw-araw ang pagmamahal at pagpapahalaga sa ating pamilya at sa kapwa. Mr. President, you know very well what I've gone through when I lost my mom and my sister in a span of two months. Sabi din ni Lods sa movie, "Ang pagkawala niya ang naging inspirasyon mo. 'Di ka magiging ikaw kung hindi siya maagang nawala sayo"--there is a purpose for everything, magtiwala tayo sa katapatan ng Diyos sa araw-araw. At gaya po ng book of Lamentations 3:22-23, the Bible says: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

We also congratulate the artists and production staff of all the other films in the 49thMetro Manila Film Festival. They all received great reviews and brought millions of Filipinos back to the cinemas. Ang panonood sa sinehan ang isa sa mga bagay na talagang na-miss ng mga kababayan natin noong kasagsagan ng pandemya. Iba parin po talaga kapag pinanood natin ang mga pelikulang Pilipino sa big screen.

Ang mga pelikula nitong nakaraang MMFF ay nagpapatunay na buhay na buhay ang industriya ng pelikulang Pilipino, na nagbibigay ng trabaho sa marami nating mga kababayan.

Again, maraming salamat kay Senator Robinhood Padilla, sa ating mga guest na naririto sa pangunguna ni Mr. Dingdong Dantes, Ms. Marian Rivera, Direk Mae Cruz-Alviar, at sa lahat ng mga artista at production staff na bumubuo sa pelikulang Rewind. Mabuhay ang pelikulang Pilipino!

Thank you, Mr. President, and may God bless us all.