Knowing it is the truth she’s portraying is what gives Glaiza de Castro courage in doing 58th—a Rotterdam-featured animated documentary film chronicling the world’s deadliest single attack on journalists, which happened 17 years ago in Maguindanao.
Directed by Carl John Papa, the movie revisits the Maguindanao massacre from the viewpoint of the daughter of slain photojournalist Reynaldo “Bebot” Momay, the murderous crime’s 58th victim whose remains to this day have yet to be found.
“Naniniwala ako na tama ang ginawa natin, based sya sa facts eh, at hindi siya gawa-gawang istorya. Naniniwala akong kailangan siyang sabihin at i-share– at dahil don tumatapang ako,” the 38-year-old actress told GMA Regional TV News in an exclusive interview.
The award-winning Kapuso actress bannered the film’s delegation at the 2026 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in the Netherlands in late January where “58th” made its successful world premiere.
Glaiza plays Reynafe Momay-Castillo, Bebot’s daughter whose personal account of the tragedy serves as the plot’s backbone, and whose fight for her father’s judicial recognition 17 years after the attack reflects the victims’ families’ unchanging desire for complete justice.
According to the veteran actress, what somewhat worried her at first was the emotional toll of having to reenact pivotal cruxes of such a heinous crime through the intimate purview of a victim’s daughter.
“Initially, kinabahan ako sa proseso emotionally, kasi mabigat ang pinagdaanan ni Ms. Reynafe, and mabigat yung subject itself,” said Glaiza, also crediting Reynafe for her unparalleled resolve in carrying the burden, and for her refusal to stop pushing the boulder against gravity over a long period of time.
“Personally, nakaka-connect ako with Ms. Reyna sa pagiging matapang nya, hindi talaga siya tumigil hanapin ang hustisya para sa tatay nya at yun yung isa sa mga bagay na hinahangaan ko sa kanya,” she reflected, ”pwede naman kasing ipagpaliban na lang nya yun kasi powerful yung mga involved dun sa massacre. Para sa akin, nakakahanga yung ginagawa niya para sa tatay niya at iba pang biktima.”
The attack happened in November 2009, orchestrated by convicted mass murderers Andal Ampatuan Jr., Zaldy Ampatuan, and other members of the powerful political clan.
Brutally killed were 58 individuals including female relatives of then-Buluan City mayor and now Maguindanao del Sur’s representative Esmael ‘Toto’ Mangudadatu, alongside journalists and civilians.
Glaiza also admits feeling a bit fearful after watching the film for the first time, citing the inherent fact that many sides of a story can dilute the conversation, and eventually blur the truth.
“Nung pinanod ko yung pelikula, kinabahan ako kasi there was something in me that felt, ‘are we safe?’ Pag pinalabas ito, if this comes to a point na mapanood ng mas maraming tao, hindi ba nila i-question yung truth about the film as a whole? May mga sides kasi ang istorya na pwede rin pang isama sa pelikula,” explained the Encantadia star.
The veteran artist’s focus, though, has remained clear and steady– she wanted to give an appropriate and justified cinematic depiction of Reynafe’s arduous fight for his father’s legal inclusion.
The latter’s uphill battle for acknowledgment stems from a Supreme Court decision in 2019 that excluded her father – the killed Mindanaoan mediaman – from the official tally of murder victims, on the basis of his remains never being found save for a set of dentures claimed to be his by family members.
The SC decision convicted the Ampatuans and some co-perpetrators (many were acquitted and are still at large at present) on 57 counts of murder. Reynaldo was victim No. 58.
In November 2025, a 15-page petition was submitted by the family members of the victims to the Court of Appeals, requesting for a resolution to a number of appeals including the judicial acknowledgment of Reynaldo “Bebot” Momay as one of the world-infamous crime’s victims.
Asked for her most glaring takeaway from the meaningful opportunity, Glaiza paused intently, as if gathering cluttered thoughts while squeezing them into one sweeping statement: “Never ever give up, never stop questioning about injustice.”
"58th" is a GMA Public Affairs and GMA Pictures documentary film, and was the first GMA Network-produced title to be part of the official selection of the prestigious IFFR in the Netherlands.
It stars the late Ricky Davao, who played photojournalist Bebot Momay, and is listed as the last project the veteran actor worked on before his passing in May 2025.
