I watched the film Orapronobis recently, a film by Lino Brocka. The first thing I noticed was the poor cinematography of the film. I know it was shot during the eighties. But the organizers’ copy must have been taken from a wearing original one as brought by repeated showing. In other words, the original one was already gasgas na before they copied it. The musical score and editing was also poor. But anyway, the screenplay, direction, and acting of the cast were great. Considering that it was taken back in the eighties, with underdeveloped technologies compared to what is currently present, the movie deserves outstanding reviews!
Another one that I observed about the film is its realistic plot. There were many stories about the Marcos dictatorial rule. They were bad. But stories point out that after the regime, it was worse! It must be due to the lack of knowledge and experience of Cory Aquino to lead a country. From an elite housewife, she instantly became the president of the Philippines. Leading a country after a dictatorial regime is like baking for the first time. A recipe may be as complete and comprehensive as it could, but if the baker has no knowledge on what to do when the recipe says “knead” or “fold”, then the resulting product is a far from perfect. Leading a country is very complex. A good politician may start from a university, studying political science, law, and other related courses, then managing district, city, or provincial offices - theories and personal experiences are required.
The Philippines has an inexperienced leader in a time when the country is overjoyed by the end of the dictatorship. The people thought they were very free. The political prisoners who were freed felt even better, thinking that everything would be back into place. But no, everything went worse, especially in the barrios.
As shown in the film, a group of armed civilians in the barrio, known as Orapronobis, were putting up intense crimes – killing innocent people and pointing out that they were rebels when investigators come. They even killed an Italian priest due to the anger of the group’s leader. The group was not protecting the people at all. What made things worse was when the town police does nothing to the point that they were allowing the group to do what they wanted. It was a phase in the history far from the one before the dictatorship. The first EDSA Revolution did stop the dictatorship, but the crimes were not resolved.
History Repeats Itself
The film showed the lives of some Filipinos, which consisted of a dot in the population. But it gave a good idea of what was really happening without the media reports and government interventions. Moving forward fifteen to twenty years later, the events are pretty much the same. Joseph Estrada was not a dictator, but one of his corruption schemes was brought to public, causing his outer. Gloria Arroyo replaced, another woman president. But she was the vice-president at that time. She is well-equipped in terms of knowledge and experience. But things were pretty much the same as what happened during Aquino’s term. The Philippines was longing for a better and more honest leadership after the second EDSA Revolution. Though, economy-wise, Arroyo gave a leadership that is good enough to bring the economy a little higher. But it still was not enough to terminate poverty in the country. In terms of integrity, what can I say. Remember the “Jose Pidal” scam, the fertilizer fund scam, and the “Hello Garci” scandal? Those were just a few. The first two primarily involved other government officials and the first gentleman, but reports say the president herself was also involved. Those were just a part of the media frenzy since Arroyo is still the president. Add to them the “ZTE-deal” scandal that is shaking her seat once again.
Aside from those scandals, remember the number of victims of political killings? The figures were hard to remember since they are constantly changing. Yes, the numbers are still increasing. It is not new, though, since the political killings during the dictatorship did not stop after the first EDSA Revolution, and up to the present, it has not stopped yet. “Enforced disappearances” is not also new. Disappearances of activists and leaders has not stopped when Aquino was the president, and so as at present.
Remember the coup during Aquino’s time? Arroyo does not fall far behind as evidenced by the “Oakwook mutiny” and several other coup attempts such as the one that occurred recently referred as the “Manila Pen situation”. Indeed, history is repeating itself. At present, there is no other way for the Philippine society to get out poverty. The Filipinos will never taste the freedom they desire. The Philippines will never be a first-world country until a president of better skills an economist than Gloria and as pure hearted as Jesus Christ is elected.
Who is there to blame? The Filipinos can put a housewife into presidency. The Filipinos can elect a showbiz personality in different government offices. The society cannot unite in electing the right people. Many of the government officials, or probably all of them, are marked corrupt. The country is known as the second poorest in Asia and second most corrupt in the world. In the end, the Filipinos are to be blamed. On the bright side, the Filipinos are known to be the sixth happiest people in the world, but we cannot just simply smile on what are happening. The Filipinos are also known to be resilient. Thus, it is time to bounce back. To become one of the richest countries in the world once again is not impossible for the hardworking, well-skilled, talented, and resourceful Filipinos. Filipinos can always find better ways to lift up its country. Just look at the movie Orapronobis - it has become an internationally acclaimed film given the technological constraints. It is even considered a national treasure.
My Room
I was the only one who watched the movie. The organizer (NARRA-Youth) has two screenings of the movie – one at 1pm and another one at 3pm. It actually started a couple minutes past 3:30. The proponents were probably assuming that more of my classmates would watch. I went to the FC AVR after my PE class (around 3:15pm), took a seat, waited for a couple minutes, and finally, they started running the film. I was the only one inside. The organizers were outside the room.
I was actually expecting that no one else would come by the time I came to the venue. They totally lacked advertising strategies. They probably invited only at the CSWCD classes and did not go around the other departments and colleges such as the Sociology department. When I was in my Socio11 class, I was required to watch. I failed to see the movie screening at the Film Institute due to a conflicting class. The next time around, I was able to see the movie, all by myself inside the FC AVR, feeling like it was my room. Since I was the only one who watched, there was no discussion that followed the film, unlike what they previously said. It was fine anyway since I had a lot of things to do and I was not in the mood to engage in such a discussion that time. I was tired!
The film, according to my Socio11 teacher (as I could remember), was not allowed to be shown anymore since the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) only had one copy. The CCP was actually trying to conserve the quality of the copy they have as it was considered a legacy by a national artist, Lino Brocka. It was supposed to be the last showing. But the organizer used a computer file. See how Filipinos could find ways? I do not know where they actually got the file. But surely, they can now show the film over and over again.
The film was said to be very controversial (as told during Socio11). It was banned during the time of Cory Aquino’s presidency since it was considered to be a strategy of distabilization. Since it was shown in the campus for “educational purposes”, it was not prohibited. That is also one of the reasons I watched the film – it was a controversial Filipino movie legacy. It was even better when I was the only one watching. It felt like I have my own entertainment room! I did not bring any food and drinks, though. I’m not sure if food and drinks were banned in the FC AVR.
The film showing was actually for the benefit of the refugees displaced by the life threats imposed to them by the CAFGUs, armed civilian groups prettyt much like the Orapronobis. They very much represent the people in the barrio as portrayed in the film. But what could they donate to around 11 refugee families when I was the only one who watched in the second screening? In the first screening, only 9 people watched (I actually peeked at the first screening registrations). That makes us ten, multiplied by fifty (the film cost P50), that is equal to P500. What would P500 do for 11 families? I do not know what else the organizer will do. They would surely find another way to bring more donations as they found a way to have a copy that would not further destroy the one CCP has kept.
Conclusions and Realizations
The film was an authentic portrayal of a reality most filmmakers would not bother do. It was weird, unique, and gory as it may seem, but it depicts something that happened in reality and is still happening. I could just imagine if I were in that scene (in true life, of course). It must have been worse. It is a part of the process more popularly known as “history repeats itself” – just look at the poor refugees who have caused NARRA-Youth such film showing. Arroyo may be ousted (or not) by another EDSA Revolution - or shall I say another People Power as demonstrators are trying to do such in a different part of Metro Manila – due to the “ZTE deal” scandal. If ever she will be ousted, who will took her place, vice-president Noli de Castro, a political newbie, who won the elections due to his journalism popularity? Shall we allow history to repeat itself?