 | This articleneeds additional or more specificcategories. Pleasehelp out byadding categories to it so that it can be listed with similar articles.(September 2021) |
Bonifacio Parabuac Ilagan, often known just asBoni Ilagan,[1] is a Filipino playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, journalist, and editor best known for numerous socially-conscious, critically-acclaimed works in theater, film and television, most notably the filmsThe Flor Contemplacion Story (1995),Dukot (Desaparecidos, 2009),Sigwa (Rage, 2010), andDeadline (The Reign of Impunity, 2011); as well as his first play,Pagsambang Bayan (1976), which portrayed thehuman rights violations of theMarcoses. He is also one of the prominent torture victims who survived the Marcos dictatorship.[2]
On December 4, 2024, Ilagan and 74 others filed the secondimpeachment complaint against Vice PresidentSara Duterte, citing betrayal of public trust for her office's alleged misuse of confidential funds.[3][4][5]
Ilagan is co-convenor of theCampaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law[6] and was vice chair of the organization Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) in 2017 when it was working to get compensation for the martial law human rights violations victims.[7] As the founding director of the activist theater organization Panday Sining,[8] he is acknowledged to have had a significant impact on the development of protest street theater in the Philippines.[9]
He is the elder brother ofdisappeared anti-martial law activistRizalina Ilagan,[2] one of theSouthern Tagalog 10 activists who were abducted in late July 1977 at theMakati Medical Center inMakati,Metro Manila, and never seen again.[10]
Major award giving bodies that have recognized Ilagan's work over the years include the Catholic Mass Media Awards, theCultural Center of the Philippines Centennial Honors for the Arts, theDon Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, theFilipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences awards, theFilm Academy of the Philippines'Luna Award, the Gawad Balagtas, the Gawad Plaridel, the Palihang Aurelio V. Tolentino, and thePhilippine Movie Press Club Star Awards for Television.[1]
As an activist during theMarcos dictatorship, Ilagan was caught and imprisoned by forces loyal toFerdinand Marcos in 1974, alongside JournalistPete Lacaba.[1] He was brought toCamp Crame and tortured.[1] He was eventually conditionally released in 1976, after which he resumed his studies at the University of the Philippines.[1]
Ilagan wrote the playPagsambang Bayan and dedicated it to his sister Rizalina and other members of the Southern Tagalog 10.[11] It was first staged in September 1977 by directorBehn Cervantes and the University of the Philippines Repertory Company.[12] TheUnited Church of Christ in the Philippines sponsored the production.[13] The play's structure revolved around a Christian liturgical Mass.[13] The staging of the play led to the arrest of Cervantes and the play's musical director Susan Tagle.[14]
According toBulatlat,Pagsambang Bayan "was the first play during martial law that challenged the military regime in a way that no theater piece had dared to do then."[14]
The play has been restaged multiple times around the Philippines.[15] A musical adaptation of the play directed byJoel Lamangan was staged in 2017 at thePolytechnic University of the Philippines and theCultural Center of the Philippines.[13]
He was portrayed byAlden Richards in theGMA Television Network's commemorative documentaryAlaala: A Martial Law Special, marking the 45th anniversary ofFerdinand Marcos'declaration of martial law.[16]Alaala won the Gold Camera Award in the docudrama category of the 2018 U.S. International Film and Video Festival.[17]
