Lit 131: Literary Criticism

Reymark P. Manding Mark Louie Tabunan

Children’s fight for survival in a marginalized society in Anton Juan

Jr.’s Hinabing Pakpak ng Ating mga Anak

Woven Wings of Our Children (Hinabing Pakpak ng Ating Mga Anak) talks about the

harsh realities and experiences of abused, neglected, and deprived children and how they fight for

survival in a society that is not a mother to her own children. It also shows how the rich continues

to exploit the poor. It explores the ways in which a “child” is not seen as a “child”, but an old

person with a bunch of struggles trapped in a young and small body. It also elucidates the

importance of a child’s dream and hope for a bright future. The stories of these six children: Mara,

Felipe, Luna, Rosa, Nognog, and Karim shows the reality behind the innocent smiles and laughter

of children who, deep inside, has wounded dreams and broken wings.

The movie starts with the grandmother of Mara telling the story of Meybuyen, a half-human

and half-pig who has a lot of breasts. She looks out for children who, in this life, are hungry and

downtrodden – and from the sky, they sleep, suckling her breasts and her milk is made from the

light of stars. Meybuyen symbolizes hope and motherhood for these children. Mara was always

fascinated with these myths and stories and she believes that there are demons living underneath

the ground. When she was planting her sampaguitas, she told Felipe that she felt like she was

stabbing the wings of these devils. Her belief and perception on these beings can be interpreted as

an opposing force between good and evil, lightness and darkness, and the barrier between the rich

and the poor which can be seen throughout the show.

 Mara’s story, a young girl who is selling sampaguitas and rug sleeps on the streets with

her friend, Felipe. Despite having their own house which is crowded and full of retasos (scraps of

cloth from the rugs) as she described, the main reason why she doesn’t want to go home or sleep

on their house is because she is a victim of incest. This is the truth that she tries to hide when the

grandmother of Felipe asks her why she doesn’t want to go home. “Are you still sleeping in your

parents’ house sometimes?” Felipe’s grandmother asked. “Yes, Lola. I just choose not to stay there

because there are scraps everywhere and it makes it hard for me to sleep at night. At least, here,

you still have a floor where you can lie on.” Felipe’s grandmother looked intently at Mara. “Is that

really the only reason why you are not going home?” She tries to escape and put off the

conversation. In Lois Tyson’s psychoanalytic theory, repression does not eliminate the painful

experiences and emotions that we are feeling. Rather, it gives them force by making them the

organizers of our current experience: we unconsciously behave in ways that allows us to “play

out,” without admitting it to ourselves, our conflicted feelings about the painful experiences and

emotions we repress.

Mara’s repression of her own emotional trauma manifests in her fear and denial of the

abuse that happened to her. Her belief in demons and the devil in her dreams represent the beast

crawling on her every night. “Tell me, really, where’s the devil? And where’s hell? Sometimes, I

think… I’m the angel in the church, the one with the sword, and I’m killing the demons in the

ground.” She has this imagination and desire for beating the devil. This manifestation on her

dreams and imagination of fighting the devil represents her desire of escaping the abuse she is

experiencing. Her desire of running away also represents how children do not perceive their

houses as ‘homes’ that are safe places to sleep on, but a nightmare they want to avoid and forget.
 Felipe, on the other hand, is a young boy who cleans the shoes of passengers in jeepneys

in exchange for a few coins. He loves to sing and make songs, poems, and verses. He has a skill

and talent in the field of singing and writing. He works hard for his grandfather who is sick and

seldom goes to school because he needs to make money to buy medicine. When they were on Ms.

Nieves’ class, he was called in front and they had a conversation. “What do you want to become

when you grow up?” Ms. Nieves asked. “Nothing. The box has no meaning. I don’t have dreams.

I just live day by day.” Despite having a talent, Felipe’s perception of the world is just a game of

survival. Ms. Nieves keeps his poems and writings because she believes in his potential. Children

like Felipe were not taught how to dream, they were only taught how to survive on the streets.

When he was talking to Mara before they go to sleep, she told him, “How long will you be cleaning

other people’s shoes? Why don’t you dream a little?” In the end, Felipe was not able to push

through his dreams as he died when they tried to escape from the kidnappers and got hit by a

jeepney. However, after several years when Mara, Nognog, and Ms. Nieves visited his tomb, they

told him that his works are getting published. “You have a life, Ipe. You are alive.” Ms Nieves

said.

Luna, a girl who collects scrap metals to sell in Mang Romy’s junk shop made a decision

to sell her body in exchange for heavier metals. She is the one who feeds and looks after her

siblings and they live in the cemetery. It only started with the supervisor one night in the mountains

of sand in the construction site until such time that the four men were lining up to ‘use’ her at

night. One of the workers, Gabriel, had an interest in her. He decided to help her without asking

for anything in return. One time, they went outside and talked. “I am going to ask you a question

but I hope you won’t be offended.” Gabriel said. “I am not a prostitute, Gabriel. My body in

exchange of scrap metal. There’s a lot of difference in there. I give them what they want, they also
give me what I need.” Luna knew the fact that her job was not as different as selling her body, she

just couldn’t accept it. Gabriel assured her that he was not judging her. In fact, he also gone through

the same thing. “The construction head, he had hidden desires. I gave my body so I could get the

job.” Gabriel revealed. Their experiences shows how one would do anything just to survive and

have something to eat. In a cruel society where you have no choice, you are forced to do things

that may be against your will.

When Gabriel was having a conversation with his fellow men, he asked them if they have

daughters. Almost all of them have their own family and yet, they decided to ‘gang rape’ Luna,

lining up one after the other. They think that Gabriel only wants to have Luna for himself, but in

fact, he was not using Luna the way that they are using her. He loved her. “Okay, the next time

you go solo flight, no others dipping into the sauce.” Mang Ben and the other men laughed at him.

He was really serious and he was insisting that they stop doing that to the young woman. “You

know, Gabriel, our bosses, they don’t really care about us. That is the least that we can have to

enjoy ourselves. Scrap metals in exchange for fun. That girl wanted it, and she needed those metals

so it’s not that bad.” Gabriel was persistent to make them realize their mistakes. “Does it mean

that just because there are those in power over us, we will also victimize those who are weaker

than us?” he said. Their subjects of their own life stories were always about the bosses and their

employees, the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak. It is not about who they are, but how

the system of the society made them feel. From a Marxist perspective, people are divided according

to their socioeconomic class. There are bourgeoisies who are in control of the world’s resources,

and the proletariats who are always doing the manual labor that fills the coffer of the rich. The

experiences of Luna, Gabriel, and the other children shows how those in the lower classes always
suffer from the hands of those who are powerful and how they abuse their power to satisfy their

needs.

Nognog, whose real name is Haram, is a kid from Mindanao who is also a friend of the

other children. He was with Karim on the first part of the movie where they were on the fighting

area. “Even if you fall, don’t ever kiss the ground.” These were the words that made a big impact

on him when Karim was teaching him how to fight. One must be fast and strong to defeat the

enemy. Nognog believed him and he followed the steps of Karim. Mara and Felipe always warned

him to stop fighting, but he insisted to do so. Karim’s death didn’t scare him. He shows the tattoo

in his body, like birds crossing to the other branch, but instead, he sees himself as a ‘fighting cock’

and not a ‘proud bird’. He eventually came to a realization on how corrupt cockfighting is; they

only saw these children as cocks in a ring, putting their lives at risk as if they were some kind of

wild animals and not as human beings whose lives matter. “Just pawns fielded in battle by the

beasts, the bosses. A seemingly endless fight just to survive each day.”. “We, all of us, have just

one enemy. We need to stay in the truth.” Mara responded. In the end, Nognog chose to sell

balloons and teach martial arts to the kids with the help of the priest. When he grew up, he decided

to also become a priest.

Rosa is a 14-year-old girl from Samar who went to Metro Manila to work as a kasambahay.

She was employed by a family of Chinese, one of many who dominates the upper-class population

of the Philippines. Rosa, with her inability to speak Tagalog, communicates with her native

language, Visaya. She keeps a statue of a particular female saint dressed and veiled in black, she

was also holding a cross and a skull which exactly captures the image of St. Rita of Cascia, one of

only six Catholic saints who were formally declared stigmatic. Rosa cherished her image with all

her heart as shown in her immense effort to secure her when she was told that her image is “bad
luck” by her employers. She asked Mara to take care of her beloved St. Rita while she stays in the

miserable house of her employers. The girl tightly holds onto her faith every time she experiences

a traumatic event in her employers’ house. The female employer and her mother bully and scold

her harshly while the son causes heavy troubles for her. The harsh treatment and verbal assaults

against her were no match to how she was treated by the head of the family, his display of sexual

actions tormented her. Her daily agony inside that Chinese house of terror were all piled inside

her, piercing her heart, her spirit, and even her faith. One night, no less terrible than the other nights

before, she experienced the ultimate terror that drove her to her limits, as the family tramples her

dignity and spirit, she lost herself. The father urinated on her back, in that same night she was

harshly interrogated by the wife and her mother because of the child’s neglect to remember where

he put his phone which they immediately blamed to Rosa and accused her of stealing it. All of the

horrific experiences she acquired in that house of terror destroyed her, her anger and fear paralyzed

the good-hearted young girl. Blinded by all the things that haunts her, she went to the kitchen and

fetched a knife, then she went to kill all four family members of that house. Her rescue never came

from anyone else outside, she alone liberated herself. She was a victim of human trafficking, child

labor, delayed salary, verbal assault, physical and psychological bullying, sexual assault, and

deprivation of childhood. She was an innocent and pure child before she went inside that house of

terror wanting nothing else but decent employment and money to send to her family in Visayas.

During her stay at a center where Fr. Ben, Mara and the others brought her to, she said, “Maybe if

they had been kind, I would have served them all my life.” Rosa was a child who experienced the

harshness and terror of life at an early age. Her lowly status in society deprived her of many things,

including a joyous, worry free childhood. She was humbled and destroyed; a faithful child forced
to murder four people in exchange for her liberty. She was an extraordinary representation of

hopeful children in Metro Manila, dreaming for a better life and striving to survive.

Karim, although he was only a short part of the story, definitely made a great impact to the

characters of the movie. When he died, the priest insisted to take care of his body. When his boss

came, they had a conversation. “But do we even have to think to know that our children are neither

underdog slaves nor cocks for cockfighting? I’ll take care of the child.” the priest said. Karim’s

death was a symbol of how these children were treated like they were cocks for fighting. It revealed

how a society failed to protect them and give them a life where they can live with a dream and

purpose. They were only pawns to a fight where they are never really the ‘winners.’

Every community is composed of different social formations; institutions that oath to serve

all members of the society. The church and educational institutions play a vital role in molding the

younger generations by providing them with guidance, values, and formal education. However,

there are some instances when the people serving as officials on these institutions preyed on the

weak, especially on children. In this story, Fr. Ben shattered the popular views held by many

against ordained priests who are often seen as obese, wealthy, influential, and neglectful “servants

of God”. Fr. Ben was portrayed in the story with thin body, close to the people, simple, and almost

as ordinary as the other people walking on the streets where daily encounters with fellow men

occurs. His careful guidance and concern towards the children, Mara, Felipe, Nognog, and Rosa,

sheds a beam of light that represents hope for the church to fulfill its true mission to serve and care

for the people of God, for the children in particular. His image also debunks another popular belief

about priests that they have illegitimate children despite their vow of chaste. This popular belief

exists as evidently portrayed through the words of Felipe towards Fr. Ben. “Some other priests

there are really a “Father””. Social formations are created to assist in the process of building the
society not to poison the mind of the youth, exploit the influence they have, and suppress the

weaker members of the society. The church plays a crucial role in developing a child’s overall

personality; this is also true for educational institutions. Schools are the second homes of children

where they are not only taught basic literacy, numeracy, and social skills, but also how to live

beyond the four corners of the classroom. Ms. Nieves is the teacher of Mara and Felipe who

represents a teacher who is soulfully dedicating herself to her service as a teacher and to her

vocation as a second mother. She provided her students their needs required for their holistic

development. Ms. Nieves is the embodiment of an ideal schoolteacher, especially in such difficult

contexts where the enemy is poverty and the living conditions of the learners. Schools provide safe

avenues for children to discover their talents and build their dreams. It is through school that Felipe

was able to gain recognition about his talent in writing, singing, and making poems and songs.

Many years went by, Felipe’s works stayed under Ms. Nieves’ care, and she was able to succeed

in campaigning for the creation of a book compiling all his works. Felipe’s identity and talents

were cemented in the memory of his friends and his books. Through a watchful eye of a teacher

and a priest, the children of this story were able to survive the challenges of their childhood. There

are more social formations working in every community, among them the government is the

biggest, most powerful, most influential, and, perhaps, the most incompetent.

The story revolves around the experiences of children in Metro Manila including their

various encounters with the different people in their community. Gays were exposed in this story

as a proof that they are already widely familiar members of the society. The usual image of gays

as feminine in actions, attire, and speaking partnered with seductive words and accents were

portrayed in the story. For instance, there was a scene wherein several gays engaged in a street

pageant wearing female cloths. Another scene portrays a different angle on how other people see
gays. Mr. Ver, the supervisor of Gabriel in the constructions site, told Gabriel, “Maybe the reason

why there are a lot of queers in the Philippines is because their son of a bitch fathers are all

maniacs!” He said these words in a humoristic manner which means that the existence of gays and

queers is no more than a joke. The incapacity of other people to widen their perspective brings

their prejudice against gay people in a more serious level; they would call gay people as “pests”

or “salut sa lipunan”. Gay people have more to offer other than their sexuality. They are also

emotional beings and can understand the complex communities they are living in.

The family that was used to represent power and wealth in the story is a Chinese descent.

This is done, perhaps, since many elite class families in the Philippines can trace their origins from

the early Chinese traders from mainland China. These members of the Chinese diasporas from the

16th and 19th century established their names in trading and other industries throughout the century.

Rosa worked for one of these families who flexes their power as wealthy and, therefore, influential

and respectable members of the society. This notion of “money equals to power” promotes

discrimination in the society and the worship of money. The use of this detail gives a deep meaning

of the story that there are groups in the society that monopolize the industries, influence, and

power.

Poverty causes an array of societal problems intensified by excessive mishandling of

political powers in the entire country. There is another image of the Philippines that can be seen

in the movie from its advertised looks of grandeur and stability; poverty, chaos, insensitivity, and

neglect rampage the nation deep into its core. The government and its allies, the businessmen and

influential families, always dictates the course and fate of the Filipino people. Ordinary citizens

struggle to improve their living conditions due to rapid inflation and the government’s lack of care

for them. Farmers, fisherfolks, and other informal workers are often regarded as the poor in the
Philippines, however, there are other, poorer people aside from them. Within the crevasses of high-

rise buildings and colossal infrastructures, small houses made of plywood, aluminum roof, and

other materials complete the landscape of Imperial Manila. On the streets are rushing company

workers to catch the train or the shuttle to avoid the daily traffic and long lines, as well as some

tinderas, or street vendors. On some other streets are people who struggles to provide for their

family or for their own. Some are adults, some are children. The most pitiful victims of poverty

are the innocent children. Many opened their eyes in a world without assurance of survival and

growth. The extent of the effects of this manmade disaster in immense. Through this movie, this

image of the Philippines is brightly portrayed. Behind the glaring shimmer of the capital are the

corrupt government officials, abusive businessmen, and a rotting system. Every Filipino are aware

of the existence of the children like Mara, Felipe, Nognog, Luna, Karim, and Rosa, however, any

initiative to irradicate poverty by providing them with their real needs and opportunity are always

unprioritized. Poverty had already given birth to many crimes and heinous atrocities against

mankind had been committed. Poverty and abuse of power had led to different societal problems

that had made the lives of many extremely difficult.

The movie ends with Mara who is now a teacher, and Nognog who finally became a priest.

They had the chance to thrive despite living in a world of half men and half beasts waiting for their

prey of the innocent and the powerless. The untold stories of these children are stories of angels

whose wings were woven by their persistence, patience, and courage to face life every day. The

beasts and devils they have to defeat are different. For Mara, it is the devil that crawls on her every

night. For Rosa, it is the house that haunts her every night and the family living inside it. For

Felipe, it is the feeling that everyone around him is just pretending – but in a world where there

are beasts and devils, there is also a Meybuyen who looks out for children. The Meybuyen in these
children’s lives are Ms. Nieves and the Father Ben who helped them to weave their own wings.

The experiences of these children are almost hidden in the eyes of the world. Only a few know

about their lives; some don’t even bother to know or listen – but behind these stories are real people

and real children who are so innocent yet they are victims of a deeper societal problem. The

sickness in our society was never really cured and it still prevails until now. The freedom that our

heroes and ancestors have fought so hard for, is now a ground for demons to play and gamble. It’s

sad how until now, it’s our own people who steals the future of our nation, especially our children.

Ms. Nieves always reminded them that “We are the ones who give meanings to things.” How heavy

is a metal? Who are the real demons and where is the real hell? “Sometimes, I wonder, am I a

child?” This question from the young Mara gave was finally answered. “In this life, what

direction would each one of us take? […] Metal is not metal. The tomb is not a tomb. But a

child…... is a child.” So if we keep on living in a society that cannot be a mother to her own

children, what would be the fate of every child that was born to fly?