Ganito Sila Noon, Ganito rin Tayo Ngayon

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The movie “Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon” (restored version) directed by Eddie Romero is a dramatic film set during the Spanish colonization era. The plot revolved around the main character of the movie, Nicolas Ocampo and his fortunes and misfortunes after leaving his village and travelled to Manila. Everything started when he met a priest wanting to be reunited with his 7-year-old-son. On his way to return Bindoy (the son) to his father, Nicolas came across another group of performers and fell immediately in love with the singer he soon called “Diding”. Upon arriving in Manila, after a series of events, Nicolas was finally able to bring Bindoy back to his father. In return, Nicolas was rewarded riches and properties in his name with the help of a lawyer named Tibor. But in the end, after gains and mishaps, Nicolas decided to leave his huge house, his riches and the love of his life for he was tired of the life he was living because somehow he still was not happy.

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During Nicolas’ adventures there was a specific question he kept on asking the people around him: “ano po ba ang Pilipino” in which the richer people would respond “ako, ako ang Pilipino” completely ignorant of the fact that even the poor people are Filipinos too. Others will simply respond “hindi ko alam” but  some would also say:  “ang mga ipinanganak at lumaki sa Maynila ay silang mga Pilipino” but Nicolas, upon seeing that some habitants of Manila are clearly Chinese or Spanish he still wondered what a Filipino truly is. In this movie, the ignorance that the Filipino people had for their identity was portrayed; they did not know who they are.

The richer people or the Illustrados were confident to proclaim that they are indeed Filipinos and the poorer people (which are Filipinos as well) were not. The reason behind this might be because of how the Spaniards would call the Filipinos as “indio”. Coinciding with the previous statement, (if I remember correctly) in the movie, Nicolas believed that he was a Filipino but the richer people scolded him for calling himself a Filipino because for the rich he was not a Filipino but an Indio. During these times or era, the term Filipino became a social status, a separation or boundary between the richer and the poorer instead of a nationality of a united people.

Because of the lack of identity it was hard for the Filipinos at that time to distinguish between their enemies and their allies. In the film, it was saddening that most of the time it was not Spanish guards hurting or beating up the Filipinos but Filipino guards hurting their own. Even the revolution was out of control especially when “Kidlat” a revolutionary killed a Filipino guard and throughout the film tried to kill Nicolas as well. Not only that, in the duration of the film Nicolas found only one person he could truly trust, despite the changes happening in his life, and it was Lim. The sad part is that Lim was not even Filipino, yes he was born and raised in the Philippines but he was Chinese by blood. With the many characters in the movie, Nicolas found a friend in a foreigner who was the only human in the movie that really showed care and concern for the poor Nicolas. Unlike the Filipino characters in the film who showed nothing but anger, greed, mistrust and betrayal.

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Nicolas, despite his riches, was never truly happy, and now with the loss of his only friend and trusted ally, he decided to leave Manila. He got tired of the life he has been living not knowing what his true purpose and even what his true identity even is. He left everything, his riches, the love of his life, everything. He had nothing to fight for. As a person struggling with his identity, he left. After a long walk he spotted some children wandering around and asked them what they are, where they are from and if they are Filipinos. The children responded with the places from where they live to the question “are you Filipinos” in which Nicolas said “Heto ang tatandaan niyo, Pilipino kayo”. The children were confused and were somehow unaware of what a Filipino is and that they are one. In the end, Nicolas became aware and more confident that he was a Filipino.

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As Filipinos, we should be aware of our identities, of who we are and that we are Filipinos because as seen in the film, this kind of ignorance could lead to catastrophic events. These events might even lead to the destruction of the Filipino nationality itself. This is very crucial even now in modern society. Even without colonization, influences still exist today and these influences can easily affect what the Filipinos truly are if they do not know their true identity as Filipinos. Without even realizing it, some countries may try to colonize us again although in a more civilized manner unlike the colonization era before. It is now the modern times and yet somehow we are no different from the Filipinos before, divided and ignorant. We are Filipinos and we must learn our past, live our present, and prepare for our future as Filipinos for the Filipinos.