LESSON 1| PROSE NARRATIVES (ARTICLES & ESSAYS)

• The writing of the essay was formally conceived in France by a Frenchman named
Michael Eyquiem de Montaigne in the year 1850.
• He wrote about his thoughts, feelings and insights about the world; his original work in
an essay is numbering from 107 pieces with three volumes.
▪ It was the golden era of science and mathematics during that time, when people were
scientists rather than artists.
▪ People were busy with new discoveries rather than appreciating the value of writing and
other forms of art.
▪ In the year 1897, Francis Bacon, a British writer, gained interest in imitating the works
of Montaigne.
▪ Bacon’s works are more of Formal Essays.
▪ He is considered to be the father of English essays.
Essay Defined
▪ the word essay was derived from a French word ‘ESSAI’ meaning an attempt or trial, as
discussed earlier, it was conceived in France in the year 1850
▪ simply defined as a literary composition on a particular subject
▪ a specific form of literature in prose dealing with any subject matter
Kinds of Essay
1. Informal Essay or Personal Essay
a. this kind of essay gives emphasis to the writer’s personality
b. it reflects his temperament, moods, habits, tastes, likes and dislikes
c. its purpose is to entertain and express his personal observation of human
behavior
d. its moods can be humorous, witty, satirical, nostalgic, whimsical, or affectionate
e. its style is can be light, fanciful, playful, and conventional
2. Formal or Impersonal Essay
a. calls for emphasis on subject & purpose of the writer
b. its primary concern is the presentation of information and ideas
c. it may instruct, expound, appraise,, criticize, or dwell on social manners, religion,
politics or ideologies
Common Subjects of Essay
1. Politics – it displays man’s battle in the arena of politics, “Nationalism & Culture” by
Claro M. Recto is an example of a political subject.
2. Societal – the author depicts the functions & importance of man as a social being, his
duties & responsibilities, his culture & contributions for the good of humanity.
3. Religion – it talks more on the relationship of man with his creator, the claim for which
is the true way to heaven. Essays with emphasis on religion are usually written by church
scholars explaining their doctrines.
4. Ideology – it discusses mainly the destiny of the Filipino people under the rule of
democracy.
Clarification of Essay
1. Historical – the writer writes about an important event which happened in the past,
and its consequences in contemporary life.
2. Biographical – a narrative essay in which the author traces the life of an important
person from birth to death or simply just a slice of his adventure.
- This must be solidly based on facts
3. Contemporary – essays of the modern times inked by writers of the period.
- It discusses mainly current issues which affect the society as a whole.
The Author
● Born on June 22, 1920 – March 10, 2016) was a Filipino statesman and a lawyer
● the 14th President of the Senate of the Philippines, serving from 1987 to 1992.
● a leading opposition leader during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos from the declaration
of martial law in 1972 until the People Power Revolution in 1986, which removed Marcos
from power.
● Salonga was the 14th President of the Senate of the Philippines, serving from 1987 to
1992.
● He was born in poverty in Pasig on June 22, 1920. His father was a Presbyterian pastor,
Esteban Salonga and his mother, Bernardita Reyes, was a market vendor
● During his senior year at the College of Law at the University of the Philippines (U.P.),
he quit his job to prepare for the bar exam. Due to the beginning of World War II, he
postponed taking the Philippine Bar Examination until 1944, when he and Jose Diokno
both topped with a grade point average of 95.3%.
● After passing the bar, he went back to the U.P. College of Law where he earned an
LL.B in 1946. He traveled to
the U.S. when he won a scholarship to attend Harvard for his master's degree.
● Salonga returned to the Philippines to pursue teaching and the practice of law. He
authored several books on corporate law and international law, and was appointed Dean
of the College of Law, Far Eastern University (F.E.U.) in 1956. On December 16, 1988,
Arizona State University selected him to receive an honorary degree.
The Essay
When I use the term "educated man," I do not mean the individual who has memorized a
thousand facts and assembled in his mind a million pieces of data. I do not mean to
minimize the importance of memory.
When I say "educated man," I do not refer to the skilled engineer, the able trial lawyer,
the talented musician, the gifted writer, or the expert surgeon. But I would like to submit
the proposition that one becomes a great scientist, an able lawyer, or a noted writer, only
because he is first — and pre-eminently a good man.
What, then, is the educated man? Is he the man who has read a lot? Partly yes, because
his reading is serious and discriminate and uplifting. Is he the man who remembers many
facts and events? Partly yes, because the training of memory is a wholesome discipline
that requires effort and application. But there is one thing we should always remember
and it is this — that far more important than the making of a living, is a living of life — a
good life, a meaningful life, an abundant life.
The educated man lives this kind of a life, because he has opened the windows of his
mind to great thoughts and ennobling ideas; because he is not imprisoned by the printed
page, but chooses to make a relentless, rigorous analysis and evaluation of everything
he reads; because he is less interested in the accumulation of degrees than in the
stimulation of his mind and the cultivation of a generous spirit; because his interest is less
in knowing who is right but more importantly, in discerning what is right and defending it
with all the resources at his command; because he has a healthy sense of values, a
breadth of outlook and the depth of compassion which a purposeful education generates;
and because he lives a life of relevance to the world in which we live, sharing in the
problems of his time and doing whatever he can with intelligence and fairness and
understanding.
"Youth is not entirely a time of life; it is a state of mind.
It is not wholly a matter of ripe cheeks, red lips or supple
knees. It is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a
freshness of the springs of life.
● His message was that the educated man is responsible enough to take part in his role
in the nation. He wanted to make them believe in the real meaning of youth and educated
man so that he could make them move, so that he could make them help in pursuing
justice and democracy in the nation.
● An educated man is a person who is open-minded, where he does not only focus on
things he knows, but instead, he also considers other people's ideas. He is God fearing
and humble, and he follows ethics where he knows the difference between right and
wrong
● The educated man is a man with certain subtle spiritual qualities which make him calm
in adversity, happy when alone, just in his dealings, rational and sane in the fullest
meaning of that word in all the affairs of his life.“
LESSON 3 |LIFE’S SHORTCUTS BY SUSAN V. OPLE
Shortcuts
● A shorter alternative route
● An accelerated way of doing or achieving something ● A method or means of doing
something more directly and quickly and often not so thoroughly as by ordinary procedure
The Author
● Only daughter of the late Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Blas P. Ople.
● Former Undersecretary of the Office of Communications Director, Office of the
President.
● Anti-drug advocate
● Authored a book “Hugs not Drugs”
● Columnist of Manila Chronicle, Philippine Post, Manila Times, Panorama Magazine,
and Manila Bulletin.
● Researcher and speech writer of some senators and congressmen.
The Essay
Old hands at journalism marvel at how news is being churned out at the top speed using
today’s technology. Best reporters send their news stories by electronic mail and even
receive instantaneous reaction for the senators and other political leaders through text
message. Gone are the days when reporters need to stick around for hours outside a
source’s office doors just to get a reaction.
Nowadays, the more enterprising Cabinet officials or legislators broadcast their position
on current issues by sending out a group text. Remember when we used carbon paper
to duplicate a document.
Painstakingly written using a manual typewriter? We had to type “X” over an error or use
a “snowpake” to obliterate a wrong word. With today’s technology, one can edit his or her
work right on the screen with spell checks and a powerful key that has the word “delete”
on it.
A spell check ghost, who lives inside our computers, uses a red or green wavy line to
mark a text that is ungrammatical or misspelled. This fastidious ghost has doomed the
family dictionary to early retirement while converting proofreading into a simple exercise
of spotting the green and red lines.
But it isn’t just in writing new technology is being felt. Shortcuts to life are happening
because of it, which perhaps is the reason why more people find themselves obese or
intellectually retarded, or both. I know someone who watches television in her room and
is too lazy to even call out her maid’s name, would take out her dainty little phone and
send an SMS for a glass of water.
How many business people and executives place missed calls to their drivers so they
could be fetched at the very doorstep of a restaurant or hotel? The practice of having a
doorman page one’s driver is about to become obsolete.
There are other gadgets, of course. You have the mini-pod which can store thousands of
songs in one tiny package. From jukeboxes to I-Pods, our young people never had it so
good. And I thought having a CD-Walkman was slick! But then carrying that CD case and
having to choose one CD over another takes up so much space and requires one to make
tough choices.
So now, the rich kid – the same ones with maids and drivers that own cell phones can
take away songs from the internet in the comfort of their rooms and put it into one of these
tiny gizmos for push-button retrieval later on.
I remember owning long-played records bought in a record store. When I was growing
up, my elder brother even had to replace the needle on our stereo set from time to time
to prevent it from skipping as it crosses the line to his favorite song.
Turntable
Ours is a spoiled generation. We no longer walk across living room to the television set
to change or reach up or bend low to turn the air condition. Just click on the remote
control. Even electric fans have remote controls to click on for wind to blow on your face.
We have gates that open automatically, machines to wash and dry our clothes, cars that
don’t require keys and phones that can calculate and take pictures, receive and send
faxes and messages.
Born and bored with frenzy hair? That’s okay, you can “rebond” it. Shaped like a pear? A
little “lipo'' can spare you down. When things get blurry, “laser” your way to 20-20 vision.
You can even have your eyebrows immobilized using deadly bacteria. For your spiritual
needs, you don’t even need to open your Bible, you can subscribe to a texting service
that sends you biblical passages akin to one’s “Daily Bread”.
For all the time that we are able to save from having all of the gizmos and electronic
shortcuts, what have we gained? We get children who know more about their favorite
“American Idol” than Rizal, Mabini, Bonifacio and Del Pilar.
Household help that we don’t speak to and bookshelves filled with everything except
books. Music that keeps our children cloistered in their own world and adults content with
an occasional reassuring text from teen-agers they seldom see.
We no longer have to “wake up and smell the roses.” we can have the roses fossilized
yet in perpetual bloom right on our computer screens. Don’t get wrong, new technology
is fine. Heck, I even use it to write my columns. But like the spell check ghost that invisibly
hovers as I write this piece, I wonder how much of the essential “us” are being spirited
away as a result of these digital diversions and electronic shortcuts.
In a fit of nostalgia a publisher-friend told me that in the old days of journalism, cub
reporters were summoned by their editors to be bellowed at and caught the errors of their
ways. As a result, the reporters were forced to be more responsible with how their stories
were researched and written.
“Nowadays, I don’t even get to see our reporters anymore.” My friend jested. I wonder
how many such vital connections are lost because of the technologically-induced
shortcuts that we now take.
Issue:
Technology is everywhere and it’s consuming us.
Writer’s Point of View:
Technology makes people’s lives easier and at the same time makes them lazier.
There is no shortcut to everywhere we're going. You must write to become a writer. And
run to become a runner. As Einstein once said, “Genius is 1% talent and 99% effort”.
Life is not about finding a shortcut, it’s about putting in the required time and effort. Life is
so short so take time to enjoy and appreciate every time you have.
Relevance of the issue to the life of the readers: Technology affects the way individuals
communicate, learn, and think. It helps society and determines how people interact with
each other on a daily basis. Technology plays an important role in society today. It has
positive and negative effects on the world and it impacts daily lives.
LESSON 4 | THE DRAMA
● A play is a work of literary fiction enacted by living persons before the eyes of an
audience.
● Since the drama deals with social relations, a dramatic conflict must be a social conflict.
● The essential character of drama is social conflict in which the conscious will is exerted:
persons are pitted against other persons, or individuals against groups.
● The purpose of the drama is communication; the audience plays, not a passive, but an
active part, in the life of a play.
● Drama is a discipline and an art.
● As a discipline, it is ranked historically by outstanding educators along with great
disciplines of learning as sciences and religion.
● as an art, it is like other arts, a medium of self expression revelation and of course, a
source of entertainment for the audience.
Understanding Drama and its Structure
1. Exposition – introduces background events and characters;
a. rising action - a series of events that create suspense in the narrative
b. climax - the part of the story where the suspense reaches its highest part
c. falling action - the main conflict starts to resolve.
2. Complication – any new element which serves to alter the direction of the action. It
may be new information, opposition to a plan, the arrival of a new character or idea, etc.
Complications narrow the possibilities of action and create suspense. The substance of
most complications is discovery.
3. Crisis (falling action) – a critical happening that naturally follows the course of events
that predicts whether the whole action will turn out well or ill.
4. Denouement (“unraveling”/conclusion) – the inevitable conclusion of the play which is
a consequence in the crisis; the conflict is finally resolved
Depending on the outcome of the crisis, a play may be classified as: 1. Tragedy – one
which imitates actions which excite pity and fear, this being the distinctive function of
tragic imitation. Pity is aroused by unmerited misfortune, fear by the misfortune of a man
like ourselves.
2. Comedy – that which departs from some norm of just and reasonable behavior and
impresses the reader as incongruous and therefore amusing.
Elements of Drama
1. Impact – the following questions may help determine the impact of any play:
a. Is your attention arrested by the first few pages of the script or the first few
minutes of the play?
b. Do you find yourself emotionally or intellectually involved with the characters
and their problems?
c. What is your immediate impression at the close of the play? Are you left with a
vague, indefinite, unsatisfied feeling? Or are you left with a feeling of indifference,
with a “couldn’t care less” Attitude?
2. Theme – what is the play all about? It must have a clear-cut, well-defined main theme,
although there may be some secondary or supplementary themes. But it should never be
such that the play is like a muddle and lacks a central theme.
3. Premise – theme and premise are sometimes thought to be one and the same, but
premise is the proposition or the hypothesis on which the argument of the play is based.
It is the point which the play proves or disapproves of. It can be said that the premise is
the moral which the play points up.
4. Characters – this refer to the people of the play. Each character should be motivated
by objectives and personality traits.
5. Protagonist – this is the main character around which the story centers. In some plays,
the protagonist may
seem to be a couple or a group, there can be one and only one protagonist.
6. Antagonist – is equally essential as the protagonist. He is the villain in the play; in a
well-constructed play, he is a mixture of the good and the bad.
7. Conflict – is the very essence of drama; it is the basic argument between protagonist
and antagonist, or between protagonist and the antagonist forces.
8. Plot – is the conflict carried out in terms of what happens to whom and how and when.
9. Action – is the whole detailed story of the play minus the dialogue; the seen and
unseen movement sometimes called the scenario
10. Dialogue – the lines should be the character’s own words and not the playwright
himself popping off. His lines must seem to come naturally from the kind of person he is.
11. Spectacle – this refers to all things visual: setting, lighting, costumes, properties, and
the movements and the stage picture by which the story of the play is unfolded.
12. Mood – it is the overall quality of the play: gay, gloomy, optimistic, pessimistic, light,
dark, sentimental. 13. Atmosphere – this refers to the quality of a particular scene; the
atmospheric quality of a play may vary, but it should not violate the general mood; it
should add to the contact, to accent rather than violate the mood.
14. Form – this refers to the art structure of the play. This may be as tragedy or comedy,
melodrama or farce, folk play, platform play, chance play, choric drama or pageant,
musical operetta, light opera or grand opera.
LESSON 5 | CADAVER BY ALFREDO S. TOLENTINO
● Alberto S. Florentino (Bert) was born in Nueva Ecija, Philippines on July 28, 1931, the
second of seven children of Alberto San Buenaventura Florentino and Maria Rivera
Sanqueza.
● His father was a teacher who always organized drama and choral groups. 7 Nov 2018
● Alberto S. Florentino is a Filipino playwright and book publisher.
● His plays in English center on the conflicts in the everyday lives of ordinary Filipinos.
● The most famous among his works is The World is an Apple which earned him his first
Palanca Award in 1954 and remains one of the most performed plays in the Philippines.
Characters:

❖ Torio – the husband of Marina, secretly stealing valuables from the cadaver that caused
him to have serious illness

❖ Marina – the wife of Torio

❖ Carding – Torio’s friend who also stole valuable from the cadaver
Plot of the Story:
Torio: That’s not a silly question! Why should you worry that I might die? Haven’t you
always wanted me to die?
Marina: Torio!
Torio: You were never really happy with me, were you? I know you’ve grown tired of me.
Marina; No, Torio!—
Torio: Don’t be ashamed to admit it. I wouldn’t mind. I confess I also get bored sometimes.
But where I could always seek change, you cannot. I can imagine how you must feel
inside…
Marina: Torio, whatever gave you those ideas?
Torio: So if you think I’m going to die, don’t take this all trouble of pretending you don’t
want it to happen. Just let me alone to die. This could be your chance to get rid of me and
take another man. Carding, for instance —
Marina: Torio!
Torio: Carding hasn’t taken a wife yet. And he’s quite a man too. Even before I’m dead
and gone, he has started to lay his hands on you—
Marina: Torio! He’s our only friend and you dare speak of him like that! Carding, you must
forgive him. He doesn’t know what he's saying.
Carding: Don’t worry. I understand very well.
Torio: See? I’m not yet dead and you have taken his side against me!
Marina: Torio—
Torio: Do you think he can take care of you as I have been doing? He cannot even earn
enough money to support himself. He cannot take over our business when I get sick—
Marina: What business—?
Torio: How much more if he had you taken care of? He’d starve you to death.
Marina: What business does he mean Carding?
Carding: Don’t mind him. He’s gone mad!
Torio: So I’m mad huh? (to Marina) I’ll tell you what kind of business we have.
Carding: Torio!
Torio: It’s a business that requires no capital. All you need is a good, strong stomach—
Carding: (shaking him) Torio, stop it!
Torio: (pushing him off) Why? Are you ashamed to let others know that the dead have
been supporting you all along?
Marina: What does he mean, Carding?
Carding: Don’t listen to him. He’s out of his mind.
Torio: Really? (to Marina) Do you want to know where the money I bought home came
from? Do you believe I really
earned it by breaking my back at the waterfront? I’ve fooled you so well you never
suspected, did you?
Marina: What did you do?
Torio: To put it plainly—
Carding: Torio! Don’t—
Torio: I robbed the dead people around us… (Carding, exasperated, sites at doorway and
looks out)
Marina: (shocked) What! You mean—
Torio: I was one of those who forced open the graves in the cemetery.
Marina: (hardly able to speak) And you stole from them? And you… sold what you found?
Torio: Yes! Why not? Rich people are always being buried with something valuable on
them. Rings, earrings, necklaces—even gold teeth! Why let such treasures rot under the
ground...while above that ground people like us are starving!
Marina: Torio… You didn’t do that!
Torio: But I did! You can ask Carding. He was with me all the time. At first he was scared
to death.— He would tremble and perspire— but later on—
Carding: (turns to them) I didn’t want to—
Torio: But he had to— because he had to eat— even from a dead man’s hand. When he
tries to rob the living, he always gets caught. He’s too slow for them. But with the dead,
once he got used to it, it was so easy . The dead do not report to the police, they don't
fight back, they don’t even scream!
Marina: Stop it! How horrible! I can’t stand it! (sits down) Oh… the poor sacred dead...
Torio: What is so sacred about them? They’re dead!
Marina: (almost crying) Torio...we had nowhere to go, we moved into their place. We
erected this house on their land. They did not complain, they did not call us “squatters”,
they did not drive us away. And what did you do in return, what!
Torio: I hate them! That’s why I robbed them! I hate them!
Marina: Hate them? What did they do to you? Did they ever try to harm you?
Torio: (pointing through the window) Look at them! Doesn’t that sight infuriate you? Look!
Nothing worries them. They lie there day and night, sleeping like babies, mocking our
sufferings...
Carding: (at doorway) Marina, stop listening to him...if you want to keep sane. He used to
tell me that over and over again. Maybe that’s why he made me do what he did.
Torio: One night, as I was coming home, A strong rain overtook me. I ran for shelter to
the nearest tomb, that one near the road, belonging o a dead millionaire. It was so
beautiful. It looked more like a palace than a place for a dead. It had thick marble walls
and a roof and festive lights. Inside it was a dead body in a coffin. It was dry in the rain
and comfortable even in death. Why should that dead merchant have marble walls and a
roof to protect him from the rain, while I was outside, soaked to the bone and shivering,
waiting to go home, to a dark, dank place, with a cardboard roof that leaks even in the
lightest rain! Why? He’s dead and I’m alive! I have more right to the things wasted on him,
don’t you think so? Don’t you think we need thick walls more than the dead?
Marina: He must have seen you..
Torio: Who could’ve seen us? We used to work after midnight...when everyone was
asleep.
Marina: It was God who saw you, Torio. He keeps eternal watch over the dead.
Torio: Why should God keep watch over the dead? Why not you and me who are still
alive?
Marina: Oh...what you did is a horrible sacrilege! If You die, heaven will surely not receive
your soul… Yes, if you die, even hell would refuse your damned soul!
Torio: (mad) Why do you always say “if you die” “if you die”? Do you really want me to
die?
Marina: No, why should I?
Torio: (vehemently) You really want to get rid of me, don’t you? (Marina, throughout, tries
to interrupt—in vain) Now I see that you two have been waiting for me to die so you could
live together! Maybe a little wound like this can put me into bed. You’re praying—praying
that I will die. But I’ll disappoint you both! I will live on and on if only to punish you by
denying you the chance to live together! I’m still young! I have a hundred years before
me! Not all the dead in the world can drag me to the grave! (his raving rises in pitch) I
dare them! Yes, I dare all the dead whom I offended to take me! (raving mad, shouts
through the window) Take me if you can! I

despise all of you! Oh, that you were all alive now and suffering in life! (suddenly
collapses).
Marina: (rushing to him) Torio! What happened? Carding!
Carding: (at Torio’s side) Torio! (to Marina) Get some water quick! (Marina gets water as
Carding tries to revive him. Then makes him drink.)
Marina: Torio...are you all right?
Torio: (he comes to, sees Marina and speaks Between gasps) I’m all right… They cannot
take me... I’m not willing to go yet. (looks around blindly) Where’s Carding? Has he gone?
Carding: (comes to his view) I’m still here.
Torio: I thought.... you had left... You are not mad at me...are you?
Carding: No, I’m not, Torio.
Torio: I didn’t mean it...what I said about you. I had a drunken feeling...I just said
anything…
Carding: You don’t have to explain. I understand very well. Try not to talk...you need rest.
Torio: Yes, I feel tired...You two talk together...I’ll take a short nap...(to Marina) Wake me
up when he’s ready to leave, Marina…
Marina: Yes, Torio.
(Torio closes his eyes; suddenly his head and his arm fall over the edge of the cot)
Marina: (screams, shaking him) Torio! Wake up, Torio! Wake up! (flings her body on him
and cries over The body for a time; later, Carding pulls her away and covers the body as
Marina, now calmed, watches.)
Short Summary
● This play is set on the edge of a cemetery in an impoverished area of Manila. It tells the
tale of the poverty stricken and the lifestyle of the urban poor. The characters in the story
are Torio, Carding and Marina. They are underprivileged and deprived of life's basic
necessities and resources.
● Torio is very ill and can barely function. "The doctor's afraid that instead of paying him,
I would beg from him." Since they have no money, doctors refuse to pay Torio a
household visit even though he is on his deathbed. Torio and Carding end up explaining
to Marina the business they had devised and how they
have been supporting themselves. They inform Marina about how they were forced to
resort to stealing from the tombs and graves of the dead in the cemetery in order to earn
money.
● Torio goes on to explain how it was easier to rob from the deceased than from the living,
because the chances of getting caught were smaller. "Rich people are always being
buried with something valuable on them. Rings, earrings, necklaces-even gold teeth! Why
let these things rot under the ground while above that ground people like us are starving!"
Torio claims how he was resentful towards the elite because they were buried with jewels
and their expensive belongings. The dead will not need these treasures in the afterlife
and here he was, struggling to get by.
● The moral of the story is that sometimes in life, people lose control over their senses,
reason and rationality. When desperate enough, people go to any means possible in an
effort to provide for their family and keep themselves alive.

❖ It tells the tale of the poverty stricken and the lifestyle of the urban poor. The characters
in the story are Torio, Carding and Marina.
❖ They are underprivileged and deprived of life's basic necessities and resources.

❖ It shows us the troubles of what the poor have to face everyday like not having a decent
basic necessities and resources. And because of that sometimes in life, people lose
control over their senses, reason and rationality.

❖ When desperate enough, people go to any means possible in an effort to provide for
their family and keep themselves alive.
LESSON 6 | WANTED: A CHAPERON BY WILFRIDO MA. GUERRERO
Author

❖ Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero (January 1917- May 1995) was a Filipino playwright, director,
teacher and theater artist.

❖ He has written well over a hundred plays, 41 of which have been published.

❖ His unpublished plays have either been broadcast over the radio or staged in various
parts of the Philippines. ❖ His publications include 13 Plays (first published in 1947), 8
Other Plays (1952), 7 More Plays (1962), 12 New Plays (1975), My Favorite 11 Plays
(1976), 4 Latest
Plays (1980), Retribution and eight other selected plays (1990) and The Guerreros of
Ermita (1988).

❖ He has been the teacher of some of the most famous people in the Performing Arts at
present: Behn Cervantes, Celia Diaz-Laurel, Joy Virata, and Joonee Gamboa.

❖ Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero was born in Ermita, Manila; at the Age 14, he had already written
his first play in Spanish, entitled, "No Todo Es Risa.“

❖ This play was produced at the Ateneo de Manila University when he was 15.

❖ Aside from becoming a reporter and a proofreader for La Vanguardia, a Spanish

newspaper, and a drama critic for the Manila Tribune, he also worked for some time in
Philippine Films as a scriptwriter.

❖ He also became the director of Filipino Players from 1941-1947.

❖ In 1947 he was appointed as the University of the Philippines Dramatic Club director
despite lacking a degree, a position he served for sixteen years.

❖ Several Guerrero plays have been translated into and produced in Chinese, Italian,
Spanish, Tagalog, Visayan, Ilocano and Waray.

❖ Six of his plays have been produced abroad: "Half an Hour in a Convent" at the
Pasadena Playhouse, California; "Three Rats" at the University of Kansas;
"Condemned" in Oahu, Hawaii; "One, Two, Three" (premiere performance) at the
University of Washington]], Seattle; "Three Rats and "Wanted: A Chaperon" at the
University of Hawaii; and "Conflict" in Sydney, Australia.

❖ He is the first Filipino to have a theater named after him within his lifetime: The Wilfrido
Ma. Guerrero Theater of the University of the Philippines.
Characters:
Protagonists:

★ Don Francisco - the father, about 60 years old ★ Dona Petra - The Mother, about 55
years old ★ Nena - Their daughter, about 18, senior year in
Education at UST and taking some courses in Home Economics

★ Roberting - Their son, 20 years old

Antagonists:

★ Dona Dolores - A fat arrogant woman of forty. ★ Fred - Her son, 20 years old.
Minor Characters:

➢ Roberting calls Nene, While Dona Dolores approaches

★ Francisco - the servant, A dark, tall ,thin boy. ★ Pablo - The Majordomo, A fat, dark
fellow.
Plot:

➢ “Wanted: A Chaperon” a comedy drama where scene 1 happened at the living room,
simply furnished. A window on the right; at the near, a corridor. A door on the left sofa,
chairs, etc.

➢ Then, the servant named Francisco did a favor to make a sign worded as” Wanted: A
Muchacho.” commanded by Dona Petra.

➢ Don Francisco and Dona Petra still taking conversation about what happened to the
party attended by Nene last night, and confronting Roberting about Lia, which he took to
the party; then, Don Francisco told Roberting that as a man should take care the woman’s
reputation and insisted that the Philippines is different, the climate, the traditions, innate
Psychology compare to the foreigners.

➢ Pablo, is applied as Majordomo and Dona Petra keep interviewing about his personal
experience in the job. Afterwards, at dinner time, several knocks are heard. Pablo is seen
crossing the corridor followed by Dona Dolores and finds Dona Petra and Don Francisco
to say something about what happened to the party between Nena and Fred.
silly things about her treatment with Pablo at home as a Muchacho, and leaving without
a farewell note. ➢ Then again, Nena defends herself from Dona Dolores that the truth is
that she quarreled with Fred during the Party and left him.

➢ Nena came home with Luding and Lolita. Fred’s mother had been trying to interest
Nena with her son.

➢ Don Francisco understands it all, as a lesson, and also asks Roberting about what
happened with him and Lia. ➢ And nothing happens between them. While, Dona Petra
stares out the window, she sees somebody coming (Lia and her Father carrying a gun)

➢ Roberting panicked and told her Mother that he was out; Don Francisco laughed, and
he said that they need two Chaperons for Nena and Roberting.
Full Story:
TIME: One Sunday morning, at about eleven.
SCENE: The living-room. Simply furnished. A window on the right. At the rear, a corridor.
A door on the left Sofa, chairs, etc. at the discretion of the director.
When the curtain rises, DON FRANCISCO, about sixty, is seen sitting on the sofa,
smoking a cigar. He wears a nice-looking lounging robe. Presently ROBERTING, his
twenty-year old son, good-looking, well-dressed, enters. He wants to ask some. thing
from his father, but before he gathers enough courage, he maneuvers about the stage
and clears his throat several times before he finally approaches him.
ROBERTING (Clearing his throat). Ehem-ehem-ehem! FRANCISCO (Looking up briefly).
Ehem
ROBERTING. -Father
FRANCISCO (Without looking at him). What?
ROBERTING. Father
FRANCISCO. Well?
ROBERTING. Father
FRANCISCO. Again?
ROBERTING. Well, you see it's like this
FRANCISCO. Like what?
ROBERTING. It's not easy to explain, Father
FRANCISCO. If it isn't then come back when I'm through with the paper
ROBERTING. Better now, Father. It's about-money. FRANCISCO. Money! What money?
ROBERTING. Well, you see
FRANCISCO (imitating his tone). Well, you see-I'm busy! ROBERTING. I need money.
FRANCISCO (Dropping the paper). Need money! Aren't you working already?
ROBERTING. Yes, but-it isn't enough.
FRANCISCO. How much are you earning?
ROBERTING. Eight hundred, Father.
FRANCISCO. Eight hundred! Why, you're earning almost as much as your father!
ROBERTING. You don't understand, Father. FRANCISCO. Humph! I don't understand!
ROBERTING. Don't misunderstand me, Father.
ROBERTING (Embarrassed). I-I
FRANCISCO. Flowers? (ROBERTING nods.) Twenty-or
thirty-peso flowers? (ROBERTING nods again.) Que hombre
este! When I was courting your mother I used to give her only
mani or balut.
FRANCISCO. Aba! You just said I don't understand-that means I'm not capable of
understanding. Now you say not to misunderstand you-meaning I'm capable of
understanding pala. Make up your mind, Roberting!
ROBERTING. You see, Father, what I'm driving at I~ I want-er -I want-my old allowance.
FRANCISCO (jumping). Diablos! You want your old allowance! You’re working and
earning eight hundred, you don't pay me a single centavo for your board and lodging in
my house-and now you're asking for your old allowance!
ROBERTING. I have so many expenses, Father.
FRANCISCO. How much have you got saved up in the bank? ROBERTING. How can I
save anything?
FRANCISCO. So you have nothing in the bank! What kind of gifts do you give your girl-
friend?
(DONA PETRA, about fifty-five,. enters and catches his last words.)
PETRA. Yes, I remember quite well, If you only knew what my mother used to say after
you used to give me mani or balut. "Ka kuriput naman!" she'd say.
FRANCISCO. Pero, Petra, this son of ours is earning eight hundred. He doesn't give us
a centavo for house expenses, and on top of that he's asking for his old allowance. Where
in the world have you heard such a thing?
PETRA I know a place where the children work and don't give their-parents any money
and still ask for their allowance.
FRANCISCO. Where?
PETRA. In the Philippines.
FRANCISCO. Aba! How ilustrada you are, Petra!
PETRA. (To ROBERTING). You're not going to get a centavo. ROBERTING. But, Mother
PETRA If you've no money to ride in a taxi, take a jeepney. ROBERTING. Jeepney to
visit a girl! Ay!
PETRA.. (imitating him). Ay what? (ROBERTING goes out mumbling.)
PETRA. (Calling). Francisco!
FRANCISCO. Ha?
PETRA. I'm calling the servant!
FRANCISCO. Demontres with that Servant! Having the same name as the owner of the
house!
PETRA. I'm going to kick him out soon. He broke your plate again.
FRANCISCO. Again! I don't know why he always breaks my plates. He never breaks your
plates, or Roberting's, or Nena's. No, he breaks only my plates?
(FRANCISCO, the servant, enters. He is a dark, tall, thin boy. He looks foolish and is. He
has his mouth open all the time.)
SERVANT. Opo, senora.
PETRA. Did you make that sign I told you?
SERVANT. The one you told me to make?
PETRA. (Emphatically). Of course!
SERVANT. The one you told me to write: "Wanted: a Muchacho?"
PETRA. (irritated). Yes, Don Francisco!
FRANCISCO. Ha?
PETRA. I'm talking to the servant. Well, did you do it? SERVANT. No, senora. I haven't
made it yet.
PETRA. And why not?
SERVANT. I forgot how it should be worded. I suddenly remember now.,
FRANCISCO. Yes, I know, but imagine a Filipino girl going to a
PETRA. Que estupido! Hala, go out and make it immediately! (SERVANT goes out.)
FRANCISCO. Where's Nena?
PETRA. Asleep in her room.
FRANCISCO. At this time? It's eleven o'clock.
PETRA. Anyhow, it's Sunday.
FRANCISCO. Has she heard Mass?
PETRA. I suppose she did at four
FRANCISCO. And so Nena went to the party last night without a chaperon?
PETRA. It was the first time.
FRANCISCO. I hope nothing happened.
PETRA. What could have happened? We discussed this already yesterday.
party without a chaperon.
PETRA. After all, she didn't go out with Fred alone. She went with her friends, Lolita and
Luding.
FRANCISCO. Yes, those two girls, since they arrived from abroad, they've been trying to
teach our daughter all the wrong things they learned from those places.
PETRA. Wrong things? Ay, you exaggerate, Francisco! (FRANCISCO, the servant enters
with a sign in his hands.) PETRA. Are you through with that? So soon?
SERVANT. I finished it last night, senora.
PETRA. Last night!
SERVANT. Opo, señora, but I forgot where I placed it.
PETRA. Estupido itong taong ito! Let me see it. (She takes hold Of the sign, reads aloud.)
Wanted: A Muchacho." All right, hang it out there at the window. (The SERVANT hangs
it outside the window sill but with the sign facing inside.) I said outside-not inside!
FRANCISCO. Ay, Francisco, he had to be my namesake! (The SERVANT, after placing
the sign, stays by the window, making signs and faces to somebody outside.)
PETRA. As I was saying. Francisco--
FRANCISCO. Were you talking to me, Petra, or to the servant?
PETRA (Addressing the SERVANT). Francisco! What are you still doing here? Go back
to the kitchen! (SERVANT goes out.)
FRANCISCO. You were saying, Petra
PETRA. As I was saying, I think you're being very unfair to Nena. After all, she's grown
up
FRANCISCO. Petra, my dear, virtue is ageless.
PETRA. I know that, Francisco, but chaperoning is rather old-fashioned.
FRANCISCO. Old-fashioned, maybe, in some other civilized countries.
PETRA. But isn't the Philippines civilized?
FRANCISCO. In many ways, yes,-but in some ways it's uncivilized.
PETRA. Ay. Francisco, if Saturnino Balagtas, our great patriot, should hear you now!
FRANCISCO. Where did you get the idea that Balagtas' first name is Saturnino? You
mean Francisco.
PETRA. Saturnino-Francisco-both end in o.
FRANCISCO. Yes, that's why when you call out my name, Francisco the muchacho
rushes in.
PETRA. Anyhow our women can take care of themselves., FRANCISCO. Are you sure?
PETRA. Especially if they've received an education. For instance, our Nena is in her
senior year in education at the University of Santo Tomas. She's even taking some
courses in home economics.
FRANCISCO. I suppose that makes her immune from any moral falls.
PETRA. Moral falls, Francisco! Ay, que exagerada naman tu! No,. what I mean is that
Nena is better educated and more enlightened to take care of herself.
FRANCISCO. (Annoyed). This Petra naman! You don't see the point. Education, even a
university education, with all the letters of the alphabet after a graduate's name AB, BSE
LLB, PhD, is not moral education. Training the mind is not training the heart.
PETRA. But if the mind is trained, why, the heart will be ruled by the mind.
FRANCISCO. No, Petra, if a person is intellectual, it doesn't ipso facto make him moral.
PETRA. Ipso facto. That's very deep for me naman, Francisco.
FRANCISCO. Very deep! Our daughter Nena will fall in deep water if you don't watch out!
PETRA (Exaggeratedly, just like a woman). Ay, you're so apprehensive, Francisco. (The
SERVANT rushes in.)
SERVANT. Did you call me, senora?
FRANCISCO. Hoy- you!
SERVANT. Yes, senorito.
FRANCISCO. I'm married to the senora, therefore I'm not the senorito anymore, but the
senor, understand?
SERVANT. Opo, senorito.
FRANCISCO. I'm going to change your name. From now on you'll be called Francis.
SERVANT. Francis, po?
FRANCISCO. Yes, Francis, understand?
SERVANT. Why not Paquito, senor? Or Paco or Francisquito? FRANCISCO. Because I
don't want it! Now get out! (SERVANT goes out. ROBERTING comes in.)
ROBERTING. Father, I couldn't get a taxi.
FRANCISCO. Your mother told you to take a jeepney. ROBERTING. But I'm visiting my
girl-friend.

FRANCISCO. Visiting girls at this time of the day? It's nearly lunchtime.
ROBERTING. She called me up. She says I must see her, right away. It's very important.
FRANCISCO. Roberting, you went to the party last night? ROBERTING. Yes, Father,
with Lia.
FRANCISCO. You went to the party unchaperoned? PETRA. Does Roberting need a
chaperon?
FRANCISCO. I'm not talking about Roberting! I'm talking about the girl he took out!
PETRA. Well, if you're going to lose your temper, I might as well be in the kitchen. (She
goes out.)
ROBERTING. Yes, Father.
FRANCISCO. Yes, what?
ROBERTING. I took Lia to the party alone.
FRANCISCO. You young modern people. Do you realize that in my time when I was
courting your mother, her father, her mother, her three sisters, her young brother., her
grandmother, five first cousins and two distant relatives sat in the sala with us?
ROBERTING. But why so many, Father?
FRANCISCO, Because in those days we were more careful about a woman's reputation.
ROBERTING. But in those days
FRANCISCO. Don't tell me those days were different. Outward things change, like the
styles of women's dresses and men's ties, but the human heart remains the same.
ROBERTING. But in other countries, Father
FRANCISCO. There you go, in other countries. The Philippines is different, my son. Our
climate, our traditions, our innate psychology-- all these make our people different from
foreigners.
ROBERTING. But my girlfriend has studied abroad-- Columbia University pa. Filipino girls
who have studied in other countries acquire the outward customs and mannerisms of
people with
traditions and temperament different from ours. But a Filipino girl can't easily change her
temperament. It is inborn. (A knock is heard.)
FRANCISCO. Somebody's at the door. Francisc-er-Francis! Francis!
ROBERTING. Who's Francis?
FRANCISCO. The servant. I gave him a new name. (Calling again.) Paquito! (No answer)
Francisquito! (The SERVANT tip pears. FRANCISCO stares at him.)
SERVANT. Yes, senorito.
FRANCISCO. No, no, my son Roberting here is the senorito, but I'm the senor! See who
is knocking. Tell him to sit down.
(SERVANT goes out. ROBERTING and FRANCISCO go to their rooms. Presently
SERVANT comes in, followed by PABLO. He is a fat, dark fellow. He is all dressed up--
wears a tie and everything. He smokes a cigar. PABLO and the SERVANT stare at each
other, the SERVANT open-mouthed as usual.)
SERVANT. What do you want?
PABLO What do I want? Haven't you got any manners?
SERVANT. I said whom do you want to see?
PABLO. Why don't you speak more dearly?.
SERVANT. What shall I tell the owner of the house? PABLO. Who's the owner of the
house?
SERVANT. The senora, of course.
PABLO. Why is she a widow?
SERVANT. Not yet.
PABLO. Tell your senora I want to see her.
SERVANT. Which senora?
PABLO. How many senoras do you have In this home? SERVANT. There's senora Petra,
senorita Nena
PABLO. Gago! Call senora Petra then.
SERVANT. Opo. Sit down. Here are some cigars (SERVANT goes out. PABLO, looking
about, gets one cigar-then a second--when about to get a third, PETRA comes in.)
PETRA. Yes?
PABLO. Good morning.
PETRA. Good morning.
PABLO. I saw that sign at the window. PETRA. Yes?
PABLO. It says "Wanted: A Muchacho."
PABLO (Blushing). I'm applying
PETRA. Applying for what?
PABLO (After mustering enough courage). I’m applying for the
job!
PETRA. What job?
PABLO (Pointing at the sign outside, significantly). That.
PETRA (Looking towards the sign and at PABLO. Incredulous).
PETRA. Why, yes. Are you by any chance a detective?
PABLO. (Giggling). You flatter me, senora! A girl told me that I am very good-looking.
PETRA. Really? That is very interesting.
PABLO Women sometimes tell the sweetest lies. PETRA. Do you mind if
PABLO. Of course I don't mind. Go ahead and ask any questions
PETRA. Do you mind if I ask what I can do you –
You mean
PABLO (Joyfully). Yes, I'm offering my services
PETRA. You mean-you wish to be a muchacho?
PABLO. I wish you wouldn't be so insulting, senora, but I want to be what they call in
Europe a mayordomo.
PETRA. A what?
PABLO. A mayordomo. You know
PETRA. Oh. You mean-?
PABLO. Yes, that's what I mean.
PABLO. I can do many other things. I can even sing.
PETRA (After giving him a dirty look). Well, for a minute I mistook you for an hacendero
or a movie actor.
PABLO. That's right. I don't look like a muchacho~ er-mayordomo. My mother always
used to say I would amount to something. (Cupping his hand towards PETRA's ears.)
Confidentially, my mother wanted me to marry one of the President's daughters.
PETRA. President's daughters? You mean the President of the Philippines?
PABLO. Yes, why not? Is there anything wrong with that? PETRA. And you wish to work
here as a-er-as a mayordomo? PABLO. That's it!
PETRA. What can you do?
PABLO. I can watch the house when you're out, accompany the children, if you've any,
to the movies or to parties.
PETRA. What else?
PETRA. Never mind your social accomplishments. What's your name?
PABLO. I was baptized Marcelino, but my mother calls me Pablo because I remind her
of her brother who spent two years in jail. But my friends, that is, my intimate friends. call
me Paul.
PETRA. I'll pay you eighty pesos. including board and lodging.
PABLO (Jumping). I'll take the job! (PETRA stands up and looks at him frigidly.)
PETRA. Good. You Can start by washing the dishes.
PABLO. The dishes! But it's time for lunch. Haven't the dishes you used for breakfast
been washed yet?
PETRA. No, because our servant Francisco always breaks the plates. So I told him this
morning after breakfast not to wash them yet.
PABLO. I wish I had come after the dishes had been washed. PETRA. All right, ask
Francisco for instructions.
 (PETRA goes out. PABLO lights a cigar and throughout the following scene drops the
ashes everywhere. FRANCISCO enters.)
FRANCISCO. Oh, good morning. Have you been waiting long?
PABLO (Staring at him insolently). No, I just talked to the senora.
FRANCISCO. Oh, yes. Why don't you sit down?
PABLO. I will. (And PABLO sprawls Cleopatra-like on the sofa.) FRANCISCO. Did you
come on some business?
PABLO. Business? Oh, business of a sort.
FRANCISCO. That's good.
PABLO. That's a nice lounging robe you're wearing. FRANCISCO. Do you like it?
PABLO. I certainly am going to buy one exactly like that
FRANCISCO. Thank you. Imitation, they say, is the subtlest form of flattery.
PABLO. Of course mine will be more expensive.
FRANCISCO. Undoubtedly. You must be a man of means.
PABLO. Of means? Well, sort of- Hm, I wonder what's delaying Francisco.
FRANCISCO. Francisco? I am Francisco.
PABLO (Laughing). You are Francisco?
FRANCISCO. Yes.
PABLO. Well, if you're Francisco, the senora told me to ask you for the instructions.
FRANCISCO. Instructions? What kind of instructions?
PABLO. I suppose she meant the instructions for washing the dishes and all that sort of
thing
FRANCISCO (Puzzled). Dishes-all that sort of thing? What do you mean?
PABLO. Aren't you the servant here?
FRANCISCO (Flabbergasted). Servant! I am the owner of the house!
PABLO (Jumping). Oh-the owner! Excuse me! (Gliding away.) I suppose this is the way
to the kitchen! (He runs out to the kitchen)
FRANCISCO. Petra! Petra! (He exits, PETRA enters and arranges the chairs. NENA
comes in. NENA is about eighteen, and she's wearing a nice-looking Pair of slacks. She
obviously has just risen from bed because she keeps yawning atrociously.)
NENA. Where’s the Sunday paper?
PETRA. Oh, so you're awake. How was the party last night?
NENA. (Sitting on sofa). So-so. Mother, where's the movie page?
PETRA. Probably your brother Roberting is looking at it. -(FRANCISCO enters.)
FRANCISCO. You're awake at last. Have you had breakfast? PETRA. Breakfast when
it's nearly twelve?
FRANCISCO. How was the party?
NENA. So-so. (FRANCISCO looks for some cigars on the table.) FRANCISCO. Aba!
Where are the cigars, Petra?
PETRA. Why, I placed half a dozen there this morning! FRANCISCO. Half a dozen! I've
smoked only one so far! PETRA. I wonder.
FRANCISCO. Hm- I'm wondering, too!
NENA. (Standing and yawning). I'm still sleepy.
FRANCISCO. Wait a minute, Nena. Sit down.
NENA. What is it, Father?
FRANCISCO. So you went to the party alone last night?
PETRA. This Francisco naman! I told you she was out with Fred.
FRANCISCO. Anyhow I hope that’s the first and last time you go to a party unchaperoned.
NENA. But there's nothing wrong, Father. After all, I'm an educated girl. (NENA yawns so
desperately that she looks like an acrobat. PETRA and FRANCISCO stare at each other.)
PETRA. Yes, Francisco. She can take care of herself. Can't you see she's educated?
(FRANCISCO gulps and wonders if his wife is crazy. ROBERTING enters.)
ROBERTING. (To NENA.) So you're awake! How was the party last night?
NENA. So-so.
FRANCISCO. Why are you here?
ROBERTING. I couldn't hire a taxi. No money.
PETRA. I told you to take a jeepney.
ROBERTIlNG. Anyhow I can see her this afternoon. Incidentally I met Fred's mother a
short while ago.
NENA. Fred's mother?
ROBERTING. She was near Martini's taxi station. PETRA. What were you doing at the
taxi station?
FRANCISCO. Trying to get a taxi on credit, I suppose. ROBERTING. Anyhow Fred's
mother
NENA. What about her?
ROBERTING. She said she was coming today.
PETRA. What for?
ROBERTING. She didn't tell me.
FRANCISCO. Fred's mother? You mean the young fellow Nena went out with last night?
ROBERTING Yes, Father.
NENA. Did she say why she was coming?
ROBERTING. No.. But she seemed sore at me. In fact she seemed sort at you, too,
Father.
FRANCISCO. At me?
ROBERTING (Imitating Dolores' voice) . She said, "Tell your father Kiko I'm going to see
him!"
FRANCISCO. She called me Kiko?
ROBERTING. Yes—
FRANCISCO. Didn't she say Don Kiko at least? ROBERTING. No. She simply said Kiko.
SERVANT. Hoy!
PABLO. What do you mean hay? My name is Pablo. You may
call me Paul.
SERVANT. My name is Francisco. The senor calls me Francis,
but I prefer Paquito. I once had another amo who used to call
me Frankie.
FRANCISCO. Aba! (PABLO's head is seen sticking out by the door)
PABLO (Shouting at the top of his lungs). Dinner is served! FRANCISCO. Hay! Don't
shout that loud! (PABLO exits.) ROBERTING. Who's he, Mother?
PETRA. The new mayordomo.
ROBERTING. Mayor what?
PETRA. He's the new servant!
(They all go out. But NENA lingers for a. while, and there's an expression of worry on her
face. Then she exits. PABLO and the SERVANT come in.)
PABLO. What do you want?
SERVANT. The senora wants you in the dining room PABLO. What for?
SERVANT. To serve the dishes.
PABLO. That's your job. I'm not a muchacho! I'm a mayordomo!
SERVANT. Didn't you. answer that sign over there at the window-"Wanted: A
Muchacho"?
PABLO. Yet why?
SERVANT. Then you're a muchacho, like me!
PABLO. (Threatening him with his fist) I want you to understand that I am not a muchacho!
SERVANT. Ha! You look like a common muchacho to me
PABLO. (Threatening him with the cigar he holds) Don't let me catch you using that word
again!
SERVANT. Soplado! (PETRA enters.)
PETRA. What are you two doing here? Don't you know we're already eating? (PABLO
and SERVANT go out. Presently NENA comes in and goes to the window. She sees
somebody coming, and runs out. Several knocks are heard. PABLO is seen crossing the
corridor Then PABLO enters first trying to cover his face, followed by DONA DOLORES,
a fat arrogant woman of forty, wearing the Filipina dress and sporting more jewels than a
pawn shop. Her twenty-year-old son FRED follows hen FRED is so dumb 'and as dumb-
looking nobody would believe it. PABLO is still trying to hide his face.)
DOLORES (Fanning herself vigorously). Where's Dona Petra? PABLO. She's eating. Sit
down.
DOLORES. Call the senora-and 'mind your own business! (Recognizing him.) Che! So
it's you! You-you! Working here! How much are you earning?
PABLO (Insolently). Why?
DOLORES. After treating you so well at home as a muchacho, now you come to work
here without even leaving me a farewell note. Che!
PABLO (With arms akimbo). I'm not a muchacho! I am a mayordomo!
DOLORES. Mayordomo! Mayor tonto! Che! i(PABLO, who is now all sprinkled with
DOLORES' saliva, gets his handkerchief. PETRA and FRANCISCO enter)
PETRA. You may go, Paul.
DOLORES. Paul? (PABLO leaves.)
PETRA. Good morning.
FRANCISCO. You wanted to see me?
DOLORES. Yes! You and Petra!
PETRA. Won't you sit down?
FRED (Pointing to his mother). Ask her!
FRANCISCO. Speak up; my son!
FRANCISCO. This-this is your son Fred, I imagine. DOLORES. Don't imagine-He is my
son!
PETRA. Ah! So he is your son!
DOLORES. Supposing he is- what's that to you?
FRANCISCO. I was just thinking he doesn't look a bit like you.
DOLORES. Certainly not. He's the spitting image of my third husband!
PETRA. Do sit down.
DOLORES. Are you trying to insult me by implying I've no chairs at home? Che!
FRANCISCO. What can we do for you?
DOLORES (Pointing to FRED). Ask him!
PETRA. What is it, Fred?
DOLORES. Your son!. Your son, eh? So you and your daughter Nena have designs on
my son, eh? Well, you won't hook him!
PETRA. What are you talking about?
FRANCISCO. Call Nena! (Aloud) Nena! Nena! (ROBERTING appears.) Roberting, call
Nena! (ROBERTING goes out.)
FRANCISCO. If you don't mind, I will sit down.
PETRA. I will sit down, too. I'm tired. (FRED tries to sit down too but his mother yanks
him out of the chain. NENA, wearing a sports dress, comes in; followed by ROBERTING)
FRANCISCO. Nena, this lad wants to talk to you. DOLORES (Nudging FRED). Tell her!
FRED. Tell her what?
PETRA. What is all the mystery about?
DOLORES (Ominously). My son-and your daughter-.
FRANCISCO. They went to the party last night, didn't they?.
DOLORES. Of course they went to the party. But how did they go?
FRANCISCO. Does your son have a car? Maybe they went in his ear.
DOLORES. My son has a car, and it's all paid for. But that isn't the point!
FRANCISCO. What's the point then?
DOLORES. That's what I came to find out!
PETRA. Nena, what happened?
NENA. Happened?
DOLORES. Yes, last night!
NENA. What happened?
DOLORES. I'm asking you!
PETRA. What happened, Nena?
NENA. Why nothing, Mother
PETRA. Nothing?
NENA. Nothing, Mother
DOLORES. Nothing. che! A girl going to a party unchaperoned and nothing happened!
PETRA. What really happened, Nena?
NENA (Approaching DOLORES and practically screaming at her). Nothing happened and
you know it!
DOLORES. Che! How dare you shout at me!
FRED. Don't talk to my mother like that, Nena!
NENA (Approaching FRED). Bobo! Estupido! Standing there like a statue!
FRED. Statue? What statue?
NENA. The statue of a dumb-bell, dumb bell!
FRED. Gaga!
ROBERTING. (Approaching FRED and holding him by the neck) Hey, you! Don't start
calling my sister names!
FRED. She started it!
PETRA (Approaching DOLORES). Your son took my daughter out to the party last night
DOLORES. Why do you allow your daughter to go out alone?
FRED. Nena insisted there was nothing wrong! But my intuition told me it might be wrong.
DOLORES. Shut up, Fred!
FRED. Why, mama?
DOLORES. (To PETRA). Why do you allow your daughter to go out alone with my
respectable son?
NENA. What's respectable about him? (DOLORES gives her a poisonous look.)
DOLORES. People saw them come and go unchaperoned. Yes, unchaperoned! Imagine-
imagine a girl going to a party alone!
FRANCISCO. (Advancing). She was with your son, wasn't she?
DOLORES. Unfortunately!
FRANCISCO. Then if my daughter was with your son, what danger was there?
DOLORES. People are talking about last night
PETRA. But what happened?
DOLORES. (To FRED). What happened, Fred dear? FRED (Tearfully). Nothing, mama!
DOLORES. Try to think! Something must have happened!
FRED. Nothing. nothing! (DOLORES notices that the group's hostile eyes are fastened
on her)
DOLORES (Pinching FRED, but hard). Torpe!
FRED. (Twisting with pain). Aruy!
DOLORES. You-you-you son of my third husband! Why didn't you tell me nothing
happened?
FRED. I’ve been trying to tell you since this morning, but you gave me no chance.
(Embarrassed, DOLORES tries hard to regain her dignity.)
FRANCISCO. (Approaching DOLORES). You mean to tell me you came here and raised
all this rumpus when nothing, absolutely nothing, happened?
DOLORES. Well! I wouldn't be too sure about absolutely nothing! Besides, I have to be
careful- yes, very careful-about my beloved son's upbringing.
FRANCISCO. Your son! Your Son is very stupid!
FRED. What!
DOLORES. My son stupid!
PETRA (Shouting). And definitely!
FRANCISCO. As stupid as you are!
DOLORES. As me!
PETRA. And positively!
FRED. (Approaching NENA). It's your fault!
NENA. What do you mean my fault, dumbbell!
FRED. I'd slap your face if I weren't a gentleman; (ROBERTING flies across the stage
and faces FRED.)
ROBERTING. I'll slap you even if Mother says I'm no gentleman at times!
DOLORES. (To ROBERTING). Don't you dare touch my son! Che!
NENA. (To DOLORES). You can have that human jellyfish! Coming here to say what
might have happened! (NENA grunts so savagely that DOLORES retreats in terror.)
DOLORES. (To FRANCISCO). You should advise your daughter to stop going to parties
unchaperoned! People gossip and include my son!
FRANCISCO. Mind your own business! (Raising his fist to her head) Tell your son to stop
looking dumb!
DOLORES. Che! I never saw such people, che!
FRANCISCO. Get out of here before I call the police! FRED. The police! Mama, the police!
DOLORES. We're going, che!
PETRA. Paul! Paul!
PETRA. Can you imagine! The insolence! Che! (Everybody
stares at her.)
FRANCISCO. Who's Paul, Petra? (PABLO appears.) PABLO. Yes, Don Francisco?
PETRA. Paul, kindly escort these-- these people to the door! FRANCISCO. Roughly,
Paul, roughly!
DOLORES. (Facing PABLO). Canalla! (To PETRA.) I suppose you enticed my muchacho
to come here!
PABLO (Touching DOLORES on the shoulder). Hoy, I am no muchacho! I'm a
mayordomo! Furthermore, Dona Petra gives me eighty pesos a month while you used to
give me fifty pesos only!
DOLORES. Eighty a month! Where will they get that much! PETRA. Dona Dolores!
Dolores de cabeza!
DOLORES. Eighty a month! Che! (Going to the door.) Che! (Turning again.) Che! (She
comes back to recover her son who has remained like a statue.)
FRANCISCO. That's what Nena got for going out unchaperoned. I was already telling
you, Petra
PETRA. How could I know that Dolores would make all that awful fuss?
ROBERTING. You want me to break Fred's neck?
FRANCISCO. You should -have done that when he was here. Your muscle reflexes are
tardy in working, my son.
ROBERTING (Unconsciously). Che!, (They all look at him. NENA has sat on the so/a and
begins to cry.)
PETRA. Don't cry, Nena. It’s over.
NENA (Between sobs). Making all that fuss for nothing! The truth is that I quarreled with
Fred during the party and left him.
PETRA. Left him! Where did you go?
NENA. I came home with Luding and Lolita. Fred's mother had been trying to interest me
in her son-that's why-he told his mother-and—
FRANCISCO. Ay, hija mia, go in now and let this be a lesson to you.
NENA (As she's near the door-unconsciously) Che! (They all stare at her and at each
other.)
PETRA. Finish eating. Roberting.
FRANCISCO. Incidentally, Roberting, I hope nothing happened to you last night.
ROBERTING. Last night?
FRANCISCO. You went out with Lia, didn't you?
ROBERTING. Yes, but nothing happened-- I think. PETRA. You think! (PABLO comes in,
smoking a cigar.)
PABLO. I escorted them out already. senora. What do I do now?
PETRA. You may wash more dishes.
PABLO. Ha? (He is about to go.)
FRANCISCO. Hoy! Where did you get that cigar? PABLO. Ha? Er-why, somebody gave
it to me.
FRANCISCO. Who?
PABLO. Francis, senor.
FRANCISCO. So! Mayordomo smokes the owner's cigars. Owner kicks mayordomo out.
(He makes a gesture of kicking PABLO, but the latter runs outside into the street. The
SERVANT is seen coming in from the corridor. He disappears and comes back with a
coat which he throws out of the window.)
SERVANT. Hoy-- your coat! Mayordomo-mayor yabang! PETRA. Get back to the kitchen,
Francis!
SERVANT. Am I still the servant here, senora?
PETRA. Yes, I suppose we'll have to bear with you for a while.
SERVANT. I won't have to put out the sign anymore-"Wanted A Muchacho"?
FRANCISCO. No! Make another and put "Wanted: A Chaperon"!
PETRA. Wanted a Chaperon?
FRANCISCO. Yes, for our daughter Nena.
PETRA. Que verguenza! I, her mother, will chaperon Nena (She stares out the window.
She sees somebody coming.) Roberting! Roberting! (ROBERTING appears.)
ROBERTING. What is it, Mother?
PETRA (Pointing outside). Isn't that your girl-friend Lia? ROBERTING. Why, yes?
PETRA. And who is that old man along with her? ROBERTING (Swallowing). That's-er-
that's her father! PETRA. And he's carrying something!
ROBERTING. Yes-yes! He's Carrying-a gun!! (Running outside.) Tell them I'm out!
FRANCISCO. Ay, Petra! We need two chaperons! Che! (PETRA stares at him.)
[FIN]
Theme:
“Be careful” because at a young age, there’s no limitation for temptation; think wisely
before taking action.
Conflict:
The scene between the servant Francisco and Pablo; there’s no elaboration in the drama
to emphasize what’s about them. And too long an interview was done by Dona Petra to
Pablo for a job as Majordomo.
Mood:
In every scene of the comedy drama cover-up with artistic form of imagination. It answers
the readers' questions about what, when, how and why.
Form:
Everything has to be valued; still we are young, doing the best for our own success to
achieve certain goals. Be careful what the heart says, and use mind not the heart for a
major decision in life.
ELEMENTS OF ESSAY
1. The Issue
a. Essay must have an issue or else there is no topic.
b. A responsible author must talk on an issue which is interesting, fresh, and
benefitting to the reader.
c. An issue may be an event which may affect the everyday living condition of a
large number of people.
d. Poverty and unemployment are social issues, while a misunderstanding
between the number one love team of the Philippine movies is intrigue.
2. The Writer’s Point & Thought
a. This is the final stand of the writer whether he agrees or disagrees with the issue
being presented after careful analysis and meticulous study and presentation of
facts and reasons.
3. The Relevance of the Issue to the Life of the Reader
a. Refers to the influence made by the author to the readers through his writings.
The Right Subject:
● What I Think of Dates
● Jeans
● Traffic Jams
● Town Fiestas
● Birthdays
● Weekends in the Country
● Wearing a New Pair of Shoes
● Are Wives Women?
● What is in a Name?
● Serve the People
● I Once Believed in Santa Claus
● Etcetera