By LUZ RIMBAN
IF Filipinos are inconsolable over former President Corazon Aquino’s death, that’s because to them she was “Inang Bayan” personified.
Inang Bayan was the role “Tita Cory” played in the big production called Philippine politics, said television and movie director and scriptwriter Joey Reyes, in the documentary “Papogi: The Imaging of Philippine Presidents,” which he wrote and narrated. Papogi was produced by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and directed by award-winning filmmaker Butch Perez.
Papogi examined key periods in the history of the Philippine presidency, and the roles that its most memorable actors played. There was the role of the macho strongman, portrayed by Manuel Quezon and, later, by Ferdinand Marcos, and the role of man of the masses, played by Ramon Magsaysay and Joseph Estrada.
The men who played these roles peddled their messages and polished their images through elections. Voters, whom Reyes likened to movie fans fawning over their favorite idols, elected into office those with either appeal and charisma or a perceived mission needed at that particular moment in history.
Mrs. Aquino was thrust into this political stage reluctantly. When her husband, former Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., was slain, she was forced to pick up his banner. And although she broke stereotype, she represented an image familiar to a public that fed on movies and other media messages: the image of the grieving widow, the martyr wife and mother.
“Ang isang simpleng nanay ang naging simbolo ng liberation at pagbabago. At di lang iyon, nagkaroon ng pangalan ang Inang Bayan. Siya ay tinawag na Tita Cory (The simple mother became the symbol of liberation and change. And not only that, the Motherland suddenly had a name. She was called Tita Cory),” Reyes said in Papogi.
It took PCIJ more than a year to produce Papogi, which was completed in time for the 2004 elections. It was broadcast over Channel 2 and the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) from May 7 to 9, 2004.
Reyes would later recall that on May 8, as he was lounging on a beach in Boracay for a much-needed break, he was stunned to receive a phone call from no less than Tita Cory herself, thanking him for the documentary, and expressing surprise and appreciation at the thought that to her countrymen, she was Inang Bayan.
Papogi: The Imaging of Philippine Presidents, 2004. Butch Perez (director), Joey Reyes (host, narrator and scriptwriter), Luz Rimban (executive producer), David Celdran ( production and editorial Consultant), Butch Perez, David Celdran, Sheila Coronel, Luz Rimban (story idea), Manolo Quezon (consultant), Dave Hukom (director for post-production), Miren Alvarez and Kidlat de Guia (video editors), Kara Magsanoc, Veronica Alcañeses, Jing Racelis, Sonia Bandoy (video research), Joey Reyes and Ryan Cayabyab (original song,“Papogi-pogi”), Cooky Chua (performer), Ditoy Aguila and Soundcrew (musical arrangement).
(VERA Files trustee Luz Rimban was PCIJ’s Broadcast Director when she produced Papogi.)