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| Courtesy: tattoo-online-2012.blogspot.com |
I was a
freshman in high school when I first watched the movie Mistah (Mga Mandirigma).
VHS and Betamax were the popular media then, and CD’s and DVDs were relatively
unheard of. Robin Padilla’s popularity was then at its peak among us promdis
especially the youth. His movies were instant hits and almost all
movie houses were ‘standing room only' whenever Robin's movie was on show.
Anyway, I
watched Mistah with a couple of other youngsters on an old television set owned
by a neighbor. I can’t recall whether
the movie was PG13 or what because back then, I was as ignorant as everyone
about the MTRCB. As long as it wasn’t lewd, the oldies did not really mind us
watching action movies which naturally depicted blood and violence. In more
remote barangays for example, the more affluent ones owned big televisions with
Betamax players which they use for film showing at night for like five or ten
pesos. The patrons were usually men who troop to the makeshift movie house to
watch the latest action movies of Robin, FPJ, Lito Lapid, Bong Revilla,
Philip Salvador, Ronnie Rickets and other big action stars that time. FPJ was
of course the people’s choice- no doubt about that. He drew audiences from folks
as old as my grandfather to as young elementary pupils like
me. Bong, Philip and Lito were also big crowd- drawers but they did not appeal
much to the youngsters the way Robin did. His rugged
looks and brash personality on and off the silver screen had a certain charisma
to us. I even recall some of my contemporaries who sported long hairs that time
just because Robin or Binoe had long hair. When he shaved his head in one or
two movies, they also shaved their heads in sympathy to their idol.
I was a
religious follower of Robin’s movies but I did not get to the point where I would
also sport long hair or shave my head, or smoke or imitate his movie antics. It
was more like I was drawn to his acting style which was quite a novelty
that time. He wasn’t the ‘pa-pogi’ or pa- cute type but more of a 'barumbado
pero maginoo' one. Like FPJ, he usually portrayed masa roles- that of a ‘tambay’
or a ‘kanto boy’ who constantly defends the oppressed against the rich and
mighty. But unlike FPJ, Robin usually had roles that gave a different meaning
to the word ‘astig’. He walked liked a real ‘maton’- chest out, and a swagger
you would find amusing rather than irritating. His patented ‘Robin Padilla
walk’ is still being imitated by many. Vice Ganda even made a parody of it in
one of his shows. More than his physical attributes though (he is considered one of
the most handsome actors of his generation), many people especially movie
critics praise Robin for his gentlemanly demeanor. He is known to be a very
humble and polite person in and out of the showbiz industry. It is probably one
of the best reasons why woman of all ages still shriek whenever he appears.
Plot
Now back to the
movie. Robin played the character of Sgt. Mar Cariño, a battle- hardened soldier
assigned somewhere in Mindanao (Basilan if I’m not mistaken). He was the
Platoon Sergeant of a Scout Ranger unit in an isolated post where they were
battling Muslim rebels (it wasn’t clear whether they were MNLF, MILF or ASG).
His unit was faced with danger day in and day out as the fighting there was so
intense. Their combat patrols almost always resulted into armed skirmishes with
the ‘enemy’ which claimed numerous casualties from both sides. Sgt. Cariño
being the most senior and most respected soldier in his unit usually led the
combat patrols. He was a classic example of an ‘utak-pulbura’ (war freak)
soldier. He daringly charges towards the enemy even under heavy volume of
fire. Always behind him was his buddy and best friend played by Daniel
Fernando. Cariño was always in conflict with his Platoon Leader, Lieutenant Duterte
(Roy Vinzon) whom he perceived as a coward for always leading retreats, but staying
behind during assaults. Duterte slams Carino for his long hair and for showing
disrespect by chewing gum in front of him. Their tension eventually resulted to
Carino indiscriminately firing his M16 after he got into a confrontation with
Duterte after the latter declined his request to go home to attend the wake of his
father. Duterte said that the security situation in the area was critical and the he needed all
soldiers to be available in the detachment.
Duterte was
eventually relieved of his post and was replaced by a new Lieutenant played by
Rustom Padilla (yes, Rustom). The two got along well at first. Cariño said he
respected the new Platoon Leader for being a brave leader after seeing him fight in an encounter. The two also got
into blows with each other after a heated argument but the fistfight was cut
short after rebels harassed the detachment. A ceasefire was called by higher
headquarters and the soldiers met with the rebels to talk about the situation
in Mindanao albeit no concrete agreement was reached. The rebel commander
recognized Sgt Cariño who told him ‘amanos na tayo’ after the latter saved the
commander’s nephew from drowning, and after he was spared from being killed
when they were caught off guard while bathing in a river.
The movie also
depicted a scene where a soldier was brutally killed while his wife was raped by the
rebels which severely affected the morale of his buddies. The soldiers swore
revenge against the perpetrators. As fate may have it, the ceasefire agreement
was eventually broken after both sides claimed violations. In the end, a throng
of rebels attacked the platoon’s detachment with an overwhelming force. Pitted
against a more superior enemy, the soldiers was close to running out of ammunition
when they decided to challenge and fight
the rebels in hand to hand combat using their bolos. As if on cue, the rebels
charged against their positions- with their sharp bolos aslo. A hand to hand
fighting ensued and the soldiers were close to being wiped out when helicopters
and reinforcements arrived prompting the rebels to retreat. Sgt Cariño was left
dazed and exhausted, lamenting about the futility of war and the pain and sorrow
of losing his comrades-in-arms.
Childhood dream
The movie made
me (secretly) make a promise to myself to pursue a childhood dream of becoming a
soldier like Sgt Cariño someday. Stupid as it may sound,all I wanted was to brandish an M16 rifle and sport
long hair Robin and Rambo- style. I simply wanted to wear combat boots and army
greens, and carry grenades and ammunition on my chest.
Back then, all I
wanted was to be a plain soldier because nobody told me about the PMA or the
Officers Candidate School or other Army Training Schools. Soldiery was quite
unpopular in our school as nobody from the Army or the AFP went there to say
something about the military. We seldom saw soldiers because we lived in the town proper.
We would just wave our hands to soldiers whenever they pass our school to and
from their detachments (in the remote barangays). On few occasions when
soldiers were temporarily halted in our school, I would stay behind school
hours just pestering them with questions about their job, their weapons and
their adventures in the jungles.
I almost failed
to realize my ambition to become a soldier after high school. As I’ve said,
there was no active recruitment in our town except for the Preparatory Military
Training/ Citizens Army Training. Although our town has produced a number of
PMAers, most of them were seldom seen there so nobody really introduced real soldiery to us.
In short, I went to college to pursue a different course.
However, the passion for soldiery remained and I never really abandoned my
hope of becoming soldier. Mid-way through my course, somebody told me about the
academy and encouraged me to just try if I could make it. I tried and the rest
is history.
Looking back, I
would still claim that it was really Robin’s movie that kept my ambition to
become a soldier burning. I have watched the movie more than 20 times already
and yet, I think I would never find it boring, corny or jologs. I
would discover later when I became a Platoon Leader that most of the younger
soldiers derived the same inspiration to join the army from the said movie. I
was amused that whenever the movie was played (this time with a DVD), soldiers
would still gather around and pretend they have not seen it yet. Others
would steal the show by narrating the next scenes, usually to the dismay of
others. Then they would criticize among themselves how lousy the soldiers were
that time for sporting long hairs and wearing so and so uniforms. They’d make
fun of how the radioman requested reinforcement with random and unrealistic grid coordinates;
and the obvious violations of combat SOPs. They would laugh at the marital woes
and the soldiers’ penchant for wooing women in the barrios. They’d also point
out the mistakes of the leaders and the soldiers that resulted to debacles for
the unit.
As I watched with
them, I can’t help but relate with the characters in the movie. Although I have
never been assigned in Muslim areas, I can feel the kind of sacrifice our soldiers are experiencing. I can understand the physical and psychological
fatigue that our men out there suffer from because of the danger that they face each day.
I understand how it is to lose a comrade-in-arms, and accepting the reality
that the same fate could fall on you anytime. Then there’s also the various sacrifices being experienced by the soldier’s family, not to mention living with the
constant fear that their husband, father, brother or son might one day come
home in a coffin.
Todays Kawal Pinoy
Soldiers are as
human as everyone. Like Sgt Carino who broke down in tears and confusion at the
end of the movie, soldiers also feel the most extreme of emotions, although
they usually keep it to themselves. But gone are the days when the Army had the
same soldiers like a Sgt Cariño who had unkempt hair and brazen attitude. What
we have now are Sgt. Cariños clad in snappy uniforms- well- trained and well- equipped. The Filipino soldier has retained the bold and daring personality
that characterized Cariño, but this time, he is a more professional one.
