For weeks after Andres Bonifacio’s execution, Gregoria de Jesus searched the mountains of Maragondon, Cavite for his remains. She felt it her duty as wife and keeper of the Katipunan’s top secrets to give the Supremo a proper burial.
Though hardened by three years of revolution, her mission was daunting. She trekked dawn to dusk, eating only what the forest offered: unripened fruits. All in vain. “My grimy tattered clothing wouldn’t have kindled had I tried to burn it,” she remarked.
That was one of many trials Gregoria bore as Lakambini of the freedom fight. She had to learn to ride, organize, lead. With granduncle General Mariano Alvarez she plotted initial skirmishes against the colonizers. She stood by Bonifacio opposing KKK factionalists at the Tejeros Convention.
She lost to smallpox her only child with Bonifacio. Years later she lost at infancy two of eight children with second husband, composer-general Julio Nakpil.
Aside from providing historians details of the struggle for liberty, she preserved for posterity two literary opuses:
• Bonifacio’s poem, “Anong pag-ibig pa ang hihigit kaya sa pagkadalisay at pagkadakila, gaya ng pag-ibig sa tinubuang lupa…”
• Nakpil’s Katipunan hymn “Marangal na Dalit ng Katagalugan,” which opens with “Mabuhay, mabuhay yaong kalayaan, at pasulungin ang puri’t kabanalan.”
“Lakambini: Gregoria De Jesus” was rescreened on National Heroes’ Day, Aug. 31st, at Bantayog ng mga Bayani, Quezon City. The mostly female viewers, probably some of the males too, were in tears when the lights turned on at the end. At the open forum they lamented knowing so little about Filipino heroines. And that’s precisely why producer Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil, Gregoria descendant Karen Tañada and historian Michael “Xiao” Chua organized the reshowing.
“Lakambini” took 10 years to complete. It began 2015 as a biopic of Gregoria, portrayed by Lovi Poe, with Rocco Nacino as Bonifacio and Spanky Manikan as Nakpil, directed by Jeffrey Jeturian from Rody Vera’s screenplay. Shooting encountered huge obstacles, including unexpected rejection by that year’s Metro Manila Film Festival and sponsors.
Ellen and indie troupe Pelikulove persisted. The project turned into a meta-docu, looking into the production setbacks and triumphs while incorporating the historical dramatization. Stage actress Elora Espano and veteran Gina Pareño came to portray Gregoria in midlife and late years. Paulo Avelino joined as Nakpil in lieu of Manikan who died in 2017, with Arjanmar Rebeta directing.
“Lakambini” premiered in 2025, Gregoria’s 150th birth anniversary. Ellen and Pelikulove bicycle “Lakambini” nationwide for viewing by students, teachers and interested organizations. For screening schedules and booking requests, visit Lakambini on Facebook or pelikulove.com.
Back to Bantayog ng mga Bayani. Etched among 339 names on the Wall of Remembrance is Edgar “Edjop” Jopson. A contemporary hero, Edjop’s life story is being retold in film as the nation struggles against political amnesia and historical distortions.
“Edjop” will premiere nationwide Sept. 16th. It is an emotionally-charged biopic that spans generations – a portrait of conviction and the cost of standing up to power.
Edjop was a young privileged Ateneo graduate who turned his back on wealth and comfort to confront Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship. He became one of the most wanted political dissidents during Marcos’ military rule.
Beginning as moderate head of the National Union of Students of the Philippines, Edjop initially advocated institutional and peaceful societal change. But as the regime turned increasingly violent, shuttering democratic avenues and cracking down on activists, Edjop abandoned corporate prospects to organize labor unions and stand alongside the marginalized.
Edjop was at the forefront of the First Quarter Storm 1970. In a march of a hundred thousand youths to Malacañang on Jan. 30th, he was among delegates invited to meet with the reelected president, who was scheming an unconstitutional third term.
After making them wait for an hour and a half, Marcos faced them before television cameras. Handing Marcos a paper, Edjop said, “Please sign this pledge to not extend beyond the end of your term in 1973.” Marcos glared, “Who are you to tell me what to do? You’re only a son of a grocer!”
When Marcos imposed martial law and began ruling by decree in 1972, Edjop went underground. Captured in June 1979, Edjop was brutalized for 11 days but escaped. He rejoined the U.G. in Mindanao.
On Sept. 20th, 1982 Marcos troops raided Edjop’s hideout in Davao city. Shot in the leg trying to flee, he was brought to camp for tactical interrogation, ie., torture. Next day, the 10th anniversary of martial law, they announced his death by gunshot wounds during a supposed firefight.
“Edjop” the movie incorporates accounts of wife Joy Asuncion, siblings, comrades. Most of all, the perspective of Edjop’s second of three offspring Joyette as she navigates her father’s legacy, seeking her own identity while reflecting on the nation’s travails.
Joyette, only two when Edjop was summarily executed, grew up thinking he abandoned them for his “bayan” (country). She immersed herself in the family business and in running, becoming the first Filipino to finish the grueling Arctic Marathon.
Joyette found out from kith, kin and strangers how esteemed Edjop is in the eyes of others. She produced the film on realizing that Edjop’s “bayan” was, as Benedict Anderson wrote, “an imagined community in which citizens consider themselves a part.” For in the end, “bayan” is one’s family which s/he struggles to uplift.
Elijah Canlas portrays Edjop and Jodi Sta. Maria, Joyette; direction by Katski Flores; co-written with Jade Castro.
* * *
Catch Sapol radio show, Saturdays, 8 to 10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM).
Follow me on Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/Jarius-Bondoc