Joselito "Joel" B. Saracho is a Filipino activist, actor, and former journalist. He is credited with coining the name "Magdalo" for the group of soldiers that engaged in the Oakwood mutiny in 2003.
In the mid-1980s, Saracho served as a reporter for the newspaper Malaya during the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos. [1] In December 1985, Saracho formed the group Discussions of Writers and Artists (DIWA) with A. R. Pascua, which sought to bring together journalists and artists from various fields to collaborate with each other. [2]
In 1990, he formed Bagong Dugo, a theatre group that staged plays themed around politics and human rights. [3]
In July 2003, while serving as a news writer during ABS-CBN News's coverage of the Oakwood mutiny by aggrieved soldiers, Saracho suggested using the name "Magdalo" to describe the group, citing the red armbands the soldiers wore that had a white sun at the center. Although his attribution for the red armbands to the flag of Katipunan's Magdalo faction was mistaken (the armbands more closely resembled the flag of Katipunan's Magdiwang faction), with the group itself actually using the name "Bagong Katipunan" (lit. 'New Katipunan'), the name "Magdalo" became widely used among the media to refer to the soldiers. [4] Naval officer Antonio Trillanes IV, one of the spokespersons for the Bagong Katipunan during the mutiny, [4] later acquiesced to using the Magdalo moniker for his own senatorial campaign in 2007; [5] organizations representing members of Bagong Katipunan would also use the name, such as the Samahang Magdalo civic organization in 2008 and the Magdalo Party-List in 2010.
As a member of T'bak Inc., Saracho assisted Ferdinand Llanes in the compilation of stories set during the martial law period under President Marcos for the book Tibak Rising: Activism in the Days of Martial Law, a project initiated in 2004 which would later be published in July 2012. [6] [7]
In February 2020, Saracho was accused of narrating the video series Ang Totoong Narcolist that claimed president Rodrigo Duterte to be involved in the illegal drug trade, being charged by the Department of Justice with conspiracy to commit sedition alongside former senator Antonio Trillanes and Eduardo Acierto. [8] [9] After he posted bail in October, Saracho was joined by Trillanes in filing a motion to quash before the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 138. [9]
| Year | Title | Role | Note(s) | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay | [10] | ||
| 2013 | Mana | [11] | ||
| 2014 | From What Is Before | Father Guido | Original title: Mula sa Kung Ano ang Noon | [12] |
| Trophy Wife | Clerk of court | |||
| Maratabat: Pride and Honor | ||||
| 2015 | Town in a Lake | Original title: Matangtubig | [11] | |
| Salvage | Bong | |||
| 2016 | A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery | Mang Karyo | Original title: Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis | |
| Pektus | Short film | |||
| Contestant #4 | Short film | |||
| 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten | Mr. Pangan | |||
| 2017 | Pusit | |||
| The Bomb | Original title: Bomba | |||
| 2018 | Season of the Devil | Ahas | Original title: Ang Panahon ng Halimaw | |
| Liway | ||||
| Signal Rock | Manoy Inting | [13] | ||
| Hintayan ng Langit | Elias / Tagasuri | |||
| 2019 | Metamorphosis | Filipino priest 2 | ||
| Lola Igna | Quack doctor | |||
| Culion | Father Salvino | |||
| 2020 | Out of Body | Short film | ||
| Genus Pan | Inggo | Original title: Lahi, Hayop | [14] | |
| 2021 | Coming Home | Short film | ||
| The Exorsis | Mang Ruben | |||
| 2022 | The Baseball Player | |||
| 2023 | Ang Duyan ng Magiting | |||
| 2024 | Balota | SPO2 Pastor | ||
| 2025 | Sampung Utos Kay Josh | |||
| Sa Oras ng Paghuhukom | Short film | |||
| Only We Know | Bert | |||
| Bar Boys: After School |
| Year | Title | Role | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Wansapanataym | Episode: "Ang Hiwaga ng Gintong Piseta" | ||
| 2008 | Ligaw na Bulaklak | Guest | ||
| 2012 | Valiente | Attorney Manalad | ||
| 2015–2016 | On the Wings of Love | Mama Lulu | ||
| 2016 | Ipaglaban Mo! | Episode: "Tapat" | ||
| 2017 | I Heart Davao | Manuel Aruban | ||
| 2018 | Since I Found You | Berto | ||
| 2019 | Sahaya | Usman | ||
| Tadhana | Episode: "Lindol" | |||
| 2019–2020 | Starla | Ambo Soberano | ||
| 2020 | Oh, Mando! | Mr. Siwa | ||
| 2021–2022 | Marry Me, Marry You | Martin Mercado | ||
| 2022 | Maalaala Mo Kaya | Various | 2 episodes: "Logbook" and "Selda" | |
| 2023 | Simula sa Gitna | Elias / Tagasuri | ||
| Replacing Chef Chico | Carlon | |||
| 2024 | Batang Quiapo | Apo Manuel | [15] | |
| 2025 | Sins of the Father | Pastor Ferdie Almonte | Guest | |
| Year | Title | Role | Note(s) | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Magkano Ka, Walong Oras Isang Araw | Translation: "How Much Are You, Eight Hours One Day" | [16] | |
| 2001 | Divinas Palabras | [17] | ||
| 2007 | Passion of the Christ | Lazarus | [18] | |
| 2008 | Hinabing Pakpak ng Ating Mga Anak | Translation: "Woven Wings of Our Children" | [19] | |
| 2009; 2015 | MLQ: Ang Buhay ni Manuel Luis Quezon | Claro M. Recto | Translation: "MLQ: The Life of Manuel Luis Quezon" | [20] |
{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Hindi na maalis kahit sabihin nina Trillanes na mas gusto nila ang pangalang 'Bagong Katipunero'. Kaya noong 2007 na eleksyun, ginamit na rin niya ang pangalang 'Magdalo.'
Conceived in 2004 as a book project of T'bak, Inc., an NGO of national democratic activists, Tibak Rising was launched seven years later in July 2012[...]
Trillanes joined the motion to quash filed by his co-accused Joselito Saracho, the alleged narrator on the "Narcolist" videos that tagged the President's family and close allies of links to the drug trade.
As the older generation looks on, through the eyes of farmhand Sito (Perry Dizon), beleaguered priest Guido (Joel Saracho)[...]
Let's talk about Inggo (Joel Saracho), the villain of the movie.