‘Sa Likod ng Tsapa’: Bio flick on Davao top cop ‘a boost for regional filmmakers’

A new documentary drama titled 'Sa Likod Ng Tsapa' (Behind the Badge), focusing on the life story of controversial police colonel Hansel Marantan, is set to hit cinemas nationwide starting August 13.

The film's producer, Editha Caduaya, who also wrote and directed the movie, highlighted its significance as a positive development for regional filmmakers and actors. Caduaya noted that the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board recently granted the trailer a "G" rating, allowing it to be shown to general audiences in movie houses, regardless of the final film's rating.

Produced by POP Moviehouse and Newsline Philippines and distributed by Solar Pictures, 'Sa Likod Ng Tsapa' traces the career of Marantan, an Ilocano native, through various assignments from Northern Luzon to Mindanao. The production proudly features a cast and crew primarily composed of talents based in Davao City.

Colonel Marantan was the chief of police in Davao City during the widely reported arrest of doomsday preacher and alleged trafficker Apollo Quiboloy.

He was also previously involved in a major incident in Calabarzon in 2013. At the time, as a police superintendent, Marantan was the officer in charge of a checkpoint in Quezon province where an alleged shootout resulted in the deaths of 13 individuals, including suspected jueteng operator Victor Siman.

The National Bureau of Investigation had stated that the operation, dubbed “Coplan Armado,” was based on Marantan's intelligence regarding alleged members of private armed groups. However, Marantan and eleven other police officers were recently acquitted by a Manila court concerning the killings.

Before his current role as the acting city director of the Davao City Police Office, Marantan also served as the head of the Philippine National Police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Metro Manila.

Caduaya emphasized the film's regional production as a source of pride, expressing hope that its success will encourage more stories from different regions of the country to be brought to the screen. She described Colonel Marantan's life as a narrative of "resilience and truth," which they are keen to share nationally.

According to a media release from the producer, the film aims to provide an unvarnished look into the "unseen battles and moral dilemmas faced by law enforcers behind the badge." Caduaya added that the movie uses Marantan’s personal journey to explore broader themes related to Philippine politics and the internal challenges within the police force, shedding light on the sacrifices made by officers in the line of duty.