Peach Caparas explains ‘Jacqueline Comes Home’ ending

CEBU, Philippines — Donnalyn Bartolome had made a buzz online as she constantly confronted the stream of hate that hounded her since starring in “Jacqueline Comes Home.”

The movie, produced by Viva Films where the actress is a contract artist, is based on the real-life kidnapping and murder case of the Chiong sisters which happened in Cebu 21 years ago.

Receiving the brunt of the criticism were Donnalyn Bartolome and her co-star Meg Imperial who portrayed Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong, respectively. The actresses were criticized online for taking part in the “one-sided” production.

Apart from claiming that they had done their research, did not intend to further incriminate anyone, and were not taking any sides, Donnalyn also called on the attention of Viva Artists Agency.

In a Facebook post, the 24-year-old shared screenshots of the comments under Viva’s now-deleted video of her talking about her “Jacqueline Comes Home” experience. The video, an episode of Viva TV’s series “Ano’ng ganap?” had Donnalyn talking about what supposedly happened to the Chiong sisters. In the video, the recording artist says: “Maraming hindi nakakaalam sa nangyari talaga kay Jacqueline, so I think dito ire-reveal kung ano talaga ang nangyari kay Jacqueline.”

When the Chiong sisters didn’t make it home one night in July 1997, a body that was believed to be Marijoy’s was found in Carcar town, south of Cebu; Jacqueline remains missing to this day. That is, until posts about Jacqueline’s supposed whereabouts became an online topic, implying that she is still alive. But many dismissed the talk, saying that the woman in the photos is Debbie Chiong, the victim’s younger sister.

In the screenshots, commenters once again talked about poor research regarding Donnalyn’s promise about what the film would reveal in the “surprise ending.” Donnalyn called out Viva on this, saying that none in the cast knew about the ending until the premiere but had trusted the production because of Carlo J. Caparas’ interviews with the victims’ mother, Thelma Chiong.

“Hindi ako reklamador na artista, kasi sino ba naman ako. Pero Viva Artists Agency, pakiklaro po sa mga taong ito kung ano ang totoo. You can all say hindi ako nag-research kahit I did but the team led me to believe na may surprise ending na wala sa mga artista ang nakakaalam.  Para ma-curious ang mga tao, saying kung ano talaga nangyari kay Jacqueline,” Donnalyn wrote.

She claimed she heard the team saying that what really happened to Jacqueline would be revealed in the film. Donnalyn added that even she wasn’t certain about what they meant by it, but trusted the production nonetheless.

“Kahit di ako sure sa kung ano man yun, kesyo buhay or patay yung tao dahil si Mrs. Chiong ang source niyo (about what happened kay Jacqueline) I trusted the team. Akala ko sasabihin na dito ni Mrs. Chiong ano totoong nangyari kay Jacqueline. Nakakaiyak sa galit. Kaya nga may ‘I think’ ako sa una when I said that. Pero hindi naman yun iiintindihin ng mga tao,” the “Cry No Fear” star further wrote.

Donnayln said she has had enough of the blame and somehow wants Viva to be more protective of their talents. They should not have uploaded the “Anong ganap?” episode in the first place, she said.

“I am so tired taking all the blame tapos di niyo pa iningatan. In-upload niyo pa ito not thinking ma-misunderstand ng mga tao. Dapat iningatan kami kung ayaw man sabihin sa aming mga artista ang ending. Ngayon yung ‘I think dito mare-reveal ang totoong nangyari kay Jacqueline,’ ‘I thought’ nalang dahil pati kaming mga artista pina-curious sa ending na yan! Pare-pareho lang tayo walang alam kahit nag-research pa.  Nakakaiyak,” said Donnalyn.

Asked to comment on Donnalyn’s grievances, “Jacqueline Comes Home” director Peach Caparas told The Freeman that the ending had also been a surprise for everyone who was part of the movie.

“Nobody really knew the end. It was a deep and personal realization for Mrs. Chiong. She only revealed to my father at the time of scriptwriting. But my dad had to figure out an ending to fit, to make it both cinematic yet truthful. So when he wrote it, I now had to depict it. How was I going to depict such an ending? We kept it from everyone. Only me, my DOP (director of photography) and my dad knew the ending,” the 25-year-old director explained.

People might have been intrigued with the theory that Jacqueline is still alive. On whether they planned to address the talk through the film with a title that implies that Jacqueline might really come home, Peach clarifies that the film was about Mrs. Chiong’s ordeal.

“What we put out there was more of where Jacqueline stood with Mrs. Chiong. Although we did know a lot more about what had transpired, what we wanted to show was who, what and where Jacqueline was in the eyes of her mother,” Peach said.

As for Donnalyn’s post, Peach, who is in good terms with the cast, said: “I’d rather not comment on that specific post because I wouldn’t want to put words in anyone’s mouth. All I have to say about that is, everyone did the job they were supposed to, maybe a few oversights but everyone in the industry at some point must rely on themselves instead of others because they’re not going to get it right every time, and we can’t fault for it all the time.”