“Sino ba ang tunay na bayani?”

Loyalty and betrayal. Heroism and cowardice. Self-sacrifice and greed. Sexuality and gender confusion. Acceptance and discrimination.These are only some of the issues tackled in the Philippine Insitutions 100 summer class production of the award-winning play of Prof. Benjamin Mangubat entitled Isang Bakla sa Hukbo ni Aguinaldo. This piece won third place during the 1998 Centennial Literary Awards. It is 1872 and the fire of nationalism starts to burn in the hearts of Filipinos. The execution of insurgent priests Gomez, Burgos and Zamora rekindles the revolutionary spirit of the people.

It is during this time that a young man named Esteban Duque (played by Ardynne Mallari) is sent to study in Manila. He comes under the tutelage of Don Tiburcio Garchitorena (played by Reighben Labilles), an eccentric gay landlord.

Tiburcio confuses Esteban’s concept of sexuality and morality and introduces him to a thriving underground society of homosexuals.

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