GMA’s documentary Lost Sabungeros, which tackles the disappearances of at least 30 sabungeros during the height of the pandemic, was pulled from Cinemalaya before its scheduled screening due to “security concerns.”

In a Facebook post last Sunday, Cinemalaya highlighted potential security issues if the movie premiere were to proceed.

“Due to security concerns, the screenings of Lost Sabungeros on 8 and 9 August have been canceled.”

The film organizers did not specify the nature of the security concerns leading up to the movie premiere.

Lost Sabungeros is the first film-documentary produced by GMA Public Affairs. It is directed by Bryan Kristoffer Brazil, who also produced the network’s GMA newscast, Stand For Truth.

The trailer for Lost Sabungeros was uploaded to the official TikTok account of GMA Public Affairs on Saturday, 3 August.

As of writing, the video has received at least 36,000 likes and 4,700 saves. Lee Joseph Marquez Castel, senior assistant vice president at GMA Public Affairs, expressed his frustration on Facebook, lamenting that Cinemalaya is no longer independent and free.

“Sa hindi pagtuloy ng Lost Sabungeros sa Cinemalaya, sino nga ba ang tunay na pinrotektahan mula sa mga banta? Sino nga ba ang totoong nailigtas sa anumang isisiwalat ng dokyu? (With the cancellation of Lost Sabungeros at Cinemalaya, who exactly is being protected from the threats? Who is truly being saved from what the documentary might reveal)?” Marquez asked.

He also added that with the suspension of Lost Sabungeros, the spread of fear by certain individuals obscures the real truth.

Several netizens encouraged the producers of Lost Sabungeros to upload the documentary to other platforms, such as Netflix and Prime, or to showcase it on global stages.

The highly anticipated documentary will be replaced by another GMA Pictures production, Balota, a film starring Marian Rivera. In Balota, Rivera plays the role of a teacher who flees into the forest with the last copy of the ballot box when political violence erupts in her small town.

Balota, directed by Kip Oebanda, will be screened at various Ayala Mall cinemas.