Produced by Viva Films and IAM Film Productions, the film was theatrically released on September 18, 1996, and gave Aunor her second international acting award from 1st East Asia Film and Television Awards in Malaysia.[5]
Plot
In October 1971, the inhabitants of San Marco in Laguna were massacred by soldiers led by Colonel Valderama for allegedly sympathizing with communists. The only survivor is a little girl, Helen Morda, who is taken into the care of the Catholic Church. More than twenty years later, she joins a New People's Army hit squad but suffers from flashbacks caused by post-traumatic stress disorder and goes rogue, killing relatives of Valderama, now a decorated General, in separate ambushes. The death of Valderama's son Mario leads to his return from Washington DC, where he serves as military attaché, to attend the funeral, unaware that this is part of Helen's plan to lure and kill him as part of her desire for revenge, which she sees as a religious crusade.
Helen rents a room in the Valderama residence under the name Karina Salvacion, while discreetly gathering explosives and other materials for her plan. The general is wary of her while his daughter, Lea, harbors ambiguous feelings for her tenant. On the other hand, Helen/Karina bonds with Lea's daughter, Mumay, whom she seeks to protect from the repercussions of her plan and warns her of monsters lurking around. Lea, while making a documentary tribute for her father, learns from multiple sources that he was involved in several human rights violations, including the massacre in San Marco. She confronts her father, but is disgusted at how he justifies his actions as part of his duty to the country.
While Lea is away, Helen cuts off the Valderama residence's power supply, drugs the housekeep and security guards, and expels the remaining staff at gunpoint before sealing off the house and setting up explosives inside. She then wakes a sleeping Valderama by shooting him in his sleep, injuring him. She confronts him for his role in the massacre, but Valderama shows no remorse. While arguing, Helen is distracted by Mumay, who is awakened by the outage and disoriented. While Helen tells Mumay to hide, claiming that there are monsters in the house, Valderama escapes and gets into a shootout with Helen.
Lea arrives at the house and is told by the maids what happened. She calls for help and enters the house to save her family after a policeman tells him of Karina's real identity. She pleads with Helen to stop her revenge, but is angered by Helen's admitting her role in her brother's death. The two struggle for Helen's gun, but Helen manages to shoot Lea in the arm, forcing her to flee. As Helen prepares the charges for the explosives, she is mortally shot by General Valderama in front of Mumay. Helen comforts a distraught Mumay and assures her that she will always watch over her before telling her to leave the house. Helen dies contentedly as Valderama approaches, but the latter fails to stop the timed explosion, which consumes the house and kills him.
Angel Baldomar as Lt. Mario Valderama, Lea's brother
Elmer Jamias as Major Victa
Julie Fe Navarro as Reporter
Raul Dimaano as Bodyguard
Production
Principal photography for Bakit May Kahapon Pa? was completed on July 17, 1996.[7]
Reception
Critical reception
Isah V. Red, writing for Manila Standard, stated that the film is described as the "most significant Filipino film" to be shown for the year 1996. Besides giving praise to the acting performances of Aunor, Garcia, and Zulueta, he gave praise to its screenplay for its use of "unorthodox narratives" while featuring a "daring subject".[6]
Accolades
Year
Group
Category
Nominee
Result
1996
1st East Asia Film and Television Award (Malaysia)[8]
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