Rationale: Inspired by “indie” filmmaking, the project is conceived in September this year. Using the standpoint of a small, defunct kapihan called “barakuhan” that’s for a short time from 2002 to 2004 become a movement in Ibaan, Batangas, the story sets to unravel a century in this virtually unknown Batangueño town, from the tragic battle-for-Batangas chapter of the Philippine-American War to the more recent struggles of the common Filipino as related to us by the “unnamed unknowns” of barakuhan. The story also has interesting glimpses of Asia’s longest “lingering” insurgency in Ka Roger as the town’s most popular son, jueteng, and the sensational 2004 elections.

Importance: Barako paints a picture of a century of democracy in the Philippines. The “unnamed unknowns” of barakuhan are not your typical street parliamentarians or activists. They have ingeniously blended an aspect of their culture in the exercise of their rights under a democracy, using the coffee-drinking habit of the Batangueño, and turning huntahan from a petty pastime of the locals into a vital exercise of freedom of expression, eventually catching the ire of the town’s powerful elite consisting of politicians and wealthy proprietors. While it inspires us to see these ordinary people (“unnamed unknowns”) making a contribution to society, the dissipation of the barakuhan is a heart-breaking moment as we see in it a democracy stunted by the efforts of the few in their bid to preserve the status quo and a system that does more than assure them of wealth and power over society, but also hides many of their destructive means to control it.