| Bakit May Kahapon Pa? | |
| Director: | Joel Lamangan |
| Producer: | [1] |
| Story: | Roy Iglesias |
| Music: | Jessie Lasaten |
| Cinematography: | Romeo Vitug |
| Editing: | Jess Navarro |
| Distributor: | Viva Films |
| Runtime: | 109 minutes |
| Country: | Philippines |
| Language: | Filipino |
Bakit may Kahapon Pa? (Why Is There a Yesterday?) is a 1996 Filipino drama film directed by Joel Lamangan.[2] It features a rogue New People's Army hitwoman, played by Nora Aunor, who takes revenge on an Army General, played by Eddie Garcia, for ordering the massacre of her village.[3] [4] The movie gave Nora Aunor her second international acting award from 1st East Asia Film and Television Award (Malaysia).[5]
In 1971, the inhabitants of San Marco in Laguna are 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 of 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.
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| Year | Group | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1st East Asia Film and Television Award (Malaysia)[9] | Best Actress | Nora Aunor | |
| 1997 | Cairo International Film Festival | Golden Pyramid | ||
| Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards (FAMAS) | Best Actor | Eddie Garcia | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Dawn Zulueta | |||
| Best Story | Roy C. Iglesias | |||
| Best Screenplay | Roy C. Iglesias Julius Alfonso | |||
| Gawad Urian Awards (Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino) | Best Actress | Nora Aunor | ||
| Best Cinematography | Romeo Vitug | |||
| Best Picture | ||||
| Best Director | Joel Lamangan | |||
| Best Actor | Eddie Garcia | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Dawn Zulueta | |||
| Best Screenplay | Roy C. Iglesias Julius Alfonso | |||
| Best Sound | Ramon Reyes | |||
| Best Editing | Jess Navarro | |||
| Luna Awards (Film Academy of the Philippines) | Best Picture | |||
| Star Awards for Movies (Philippine Movie Press Club) | Best Picture | |||
| Best Actress | Nora Aunor | |||
| Best Actor | Eddie Garcia | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Melisse Santiago | |||
| Best Director | Joel Lamangan | |||
| Best Screenplay | Roy C. Iglesias Julius Alfonso | |||
| Best in Sound | Ramon Reyes | |||
| Best in Editing | Jess Navarro | |||
| Young Critics Circle | Best Performance by Male or Female, Adult or Child, Individual or Ensemble in Leading or Supporting Role | Nora Aunor |