Gabia, Frank Louie A.

October 2, 2014
PI 10 S2-2R
Heroes on History
Sakay
Before watching Sakay, I barely know Macario Sakay. I may have heard his
name but I have no idea as to how or why he is considered a hero. The film Sakay really
brought a lot of thoughts about an unfamiliar hero and how he bravely fought the American
government despite having no assurance of defeating the Americans.
In the film, Macario Sakay is portrayed first as one of the members of the secret
group, the Katipunan, which was led by Andres Bonifacio. The ideology of revolution helped
Macario Sakay in deciding to join the Katipunan.
After Andres Bonifacio was assassinated and Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by
the Americans, the Philippine revolution was, in a way, put to state of jeopardy since its leaders
are gone. During these troubled times, Macario Sakay stepped up. He formed a new breed of
Katipunan in the Tagalog region. With the help of town folks, his group went to the mountainous
part of the province of Morong to organize the revolution. The town folks helped them by giving
them food, medicines and other necessities that are needed by the people involved in the
revolution. Macario Sakay was welcomed by the town folks and was recognized as a hero.
Also, in the mountains of Morong, the group of Sakay met some ethnic communities which
helped with the cause of Macario Sakay. Ethnic groups made an alliance with the group of
Macario Sakay.
As the revolution against the Americans continues, Sakays group was largely
unnoticed. The group was not seen as seen as a revolutionary pact. Instead, they were tagged by
the Americans as group of bandits. Identifying the group of Sakay as bandits may be a tactic of
the Americans so that Filipinos will fight against fellow Filipinos.
Then came a time when Sakays group became more active and soon after,
Americans recognized them as a threat. Thus, American government wanted to put an end to
their cause.
When the group of Sakay was slowly losing financial support from wealthy
Filipinos, Sakay made a decision to go down the mountain. Alongside with this, a well-known
personality came to Sakay saying that he had a document signed by the Americans. The contents
of this document included the statement that the Philippines would be freed by the Americans
and let Filipinos have their own government under the supervision of the Americans. This
reaffirmed Sakays decision to go down the mountain.
The well-known personality invited Sakay and his companions to meet American
officials. The American officials then invited Sakay to attend a gathering. Little did they know
that the Americans were planning to arrest Sakay.
Then came the gathering. As everyone enjoyed it, Sakay was arrested. He was
charged of being a bandit. Sakay and his companions underwent a trial and was found guilty of
being a bandit. They were sentenced to death. This marked the end of the film.
Bontoc Eulogy
I find Bontoc Eulogy quite confusing and at the same time amusing. It is
certainly different from the usual films that I watch. It is also a new experience for me.
What strikes me most about the film is the fact that it told the story of migration.
It was fascinating to find out that migration already happened in the Philippines even before
great advancements (i.e., commercial planes) in transportation was popular.
Another striking thing is that I do not know the part of history when ethnic
minorities today were displayed in a world fair, the St. Louis Fair. I first learned of have known
this fact through the film.
I felt like it was inhumane for the Americans to do the displaying of Filipinos.
Ethnic groups were treated like properties that can be used any time. I think this is very wrong.
During the discussion with the distinguished professor from UP Diliman, I learned that the
Americans did this in order to show their triumphs and victories and to show other superpowers
that they are the new superpower.
It is interesting to note how the narrator is referring to Markod as his
grandfather when in reality, as the distinguished professor from UP Diliman explained, the
film was not a documentary of the narrators life. It is just a collection of clips weaved together
and the director created a story out of it.
Another thing to point out is the fact that the ones guarding the Philippine
reservation in the St. Louis Fair are also Filipinos. This is another way of the Americans to create
a divide among Filipinos.
The narrator then said how Markod disappeared after the fair. His grandfather
disappeared. He has no news of Makods whereabouts. The film ended this way. It seemed an
open ended film. The narrator is still searching for his lost grandfather.