The Edjop effect

I’ll get right to the point: my wife Beng and I, along with a younger couple, caught one of the last few screenings of the movie “Edjop”– and we all emerged so moved, albeit in different ways, that we had to spend another hour-plus over coffee just to process what we saw.

It wasn’t even a matter of “liking” or “not liking” the movie or director Katski Flores’ and scriptwriter Jade Castro’s treatment of the life of the martyred activist Edgar “Edjop” Jopson. Grappling with the broader contours of the story, we were in no mood to quibble over details gotten wrong (and yes, there were a few) or political lines blurred, as many subsequent reviews and critiques seem to have focused on, for their own good reasons.

For Beng and me, the impact was personal, having been activists ourselves who came of age during that tumultuous First Quarter Storm that Edjop – perhaps inadvertently – helped launch. We saw “Edjop” for what it likely set out to be – the story of a young middle-class idealist’s radicalization in an environment of gross injustice, poverty, and oppression. What made it particularly poignant – and this for me represented the film’s true strength, although others may have seen it as a needless diversion – was its framing as a father-daughter story, of a younger generation’s belated understanding and acceptance of their elders’ actions and even excesses. I found it well acted, especially the major roles.

Full disclosure: director Katski had interviewed me, among many others, even while the film project was just getting started, to get my views on Edjop. (She had, of course, other excellent sources, including Bing Pimentel’s books on the man and the period and Joe Cuaresma’s documentary.) I told Katski that I could contribute very little beyond impressions gained from one brief encounter with Edjop.

That encounter happened a few days before January 26, 1970 – the date of Ferdinand Marcos’ State of the Nation Address at the old Senate building (now the National Museum), for which the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP), which Edjop headed, was planning a massive protest rally. An organizational meeting for that rally was held somewhere in Quezon City, and for reasons I can no longer remember except possibly that I was already an activist at the Philippine Science High School, I was there, more of a kibitzer than anything.

I had just turned 16 a few days earlier. We had rallied in high school for local demands such as a new and larger building, but January 26 was going to be our first big exposure to national issues, and we took the lead from the NUSP, the so-called “moderates,” being then deeply mistrustful of the radical Left under the Kabataang Makabayan and Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan (KM-SDK). I recall that meeting of senior NUSP leaders and their allies, and Edjop in a white shirt or barong. What struck me was his earnestness, his passionate belief in his cause, conveyed in an even voice and manner.

We joined the January 26 rally, assembling on the grounds of the University of Sto. Tomas, bearing “J26M” armbands. We marched to the Senate where Marcos was speaking. I was too far from the entrance to follow everything, but I could see that the KM-SDK were also there in front, and I would later learn (though this account might yet be corrected) that Edjop had decided to terminate the rally early because things were turning ugly, but then SDK firebrand Gary Olivar, a formidable speaker, grabbed the microphone to agitate the crowd. Marcos emerged, a black cardboard coffin was thrown his way from somewhere, the security forces moved, and a melee ensued. We ran for our lives. The FQS had formally begun.

We moderates were almost as indignant about the way the Left had hijacked the event as by the State’s brutal response; I stayed out of the January 30-31 protest rally that proved even more violent, but watched on the news as students were teargassed and truncheoned along Mendiola and Malacañang. I dreaded what lay ahead; I was due to graduate from high school that year. It should have been a time of hope, but I knew only that something was terribly wrong, that the future was going to be harsh, and that I was as confused as anyone about what to do and whom to follow.

As it turned out, history carried a very wry sense of irony – even humor, were the setting not so tragic.

Within that year, I entered UP and almost immediately joined the Nationalist Corps, the Philippine Collegian, and the Alpha Sigma fraternity. The Nationalist Corps became my entry point to the SDK, and now I saw the “clerico-fascist” moderates to be sorely misguided and wanting in revolutionary fervor. In Alpha Sigma, one of my fraternity brothers was none other than the Gary Olivar we blamed for the J26M fiasco; in the Collegian, our editor was another frat brod, Tony Tagamolila.

As the decade moved on, I would be arrested and imprisoned, and upon my release, I would take on a writing job I needed – with the government. Tony Tagamolila would die in an encounter with the military in Panay. Gary Olivar would move to the US and study at Harvard (and much, much later would become PGMA’s spokesman).

Little did I know that Edjop himself had become radicalized and was performing far more dangerous tasks in Mindanao than most of us ever did even in Manila. His death fell like a rebuke to those who had doubted him. Meanwhile, I had resigned from my NEDA job to go back to UP to study and to teach, and by the time the Ninoy assassination and EDSA happened, I had become convinced – as I still am – that the middle road remains the most viable if not the only one forward. It seems that I’ve returned to Edjop’s NUSP.

I don’t know what Edjop himself would think of our situation now, of another Marcos in Malacañang trying to face down a possibly even more vicious alternative, of a CPP fractured by internecine warfare, of a people too easily swayed by rumor and shadow. If the effect of Edjop – the movie and the man – is to make us think of where we ourselves stand today, then the effort of making this film will well have been worth it.

Email me at [email protected] and visit my blog at www.penmanila.ph.

abtestabtest Sara’s unbeatable myth shattered By THE POLITICAL HECKLER | By Ronald Llamas | 1 day ago The OCTA Research was in the news this week after releasing its September report on the viability of possible presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the 2028 elections. Opinion USCIS to issue instant denials By IMMIGRATION CORNER | By Michael J. Gurfinkel | 1 day ago The US Citizenship and Immigration Services recently issued a Policy Alert, warning people that USCIS may immediately deny any benefit request (a petition or application) if the applicant “fails to demonstrate... Opinion Credibility By FIRST PERSON | By Alex Magno | 2 days ago Credibility is the most important asset the impeachment process needs to conserve. Yet it is the asset to casually expended in the process so far. Opinion GCash IPO: Will it end the market spell? By EYES WIDE OPEN | By Iris Gonzales | 1 day ago The historic and long-awaited initial public offering of GCash operator Mynt comes at a time when the Philippine stock market appears to have fallen into a deep slumber and the economy is crawling at a snail’s... Opinion Fostering the future together By BABE’S EYE VIEW FROM WASHINGTON D.C. | By Ambassador B. Romualdez | 1 day ago At a time when world leaders gather in New York to debate wars, trade and divisions between nations, First Lady Melania Trump has brought attention to something which we should all be able to agree on: the future... Opinion Latest More in Opinion NOTA Delaying the inevitable From blueprints for prosperity to real outcomes The bag of tricks abtest EDITORIAL – Lessons from Mary Jane 1 day ago Mary Jane Veloso finally walked free after getting absolute pardon from President Marcos. Opinion Jose F. Lacaba and his romance with language By BREAKTHROUGH | By Elfren S. Cruz | 1 day ago On Saturday, Oct. 10, friends of journalist, poet, screenwriter, translator, essayist, editor par excellence Pete Lacaba are putting together a tribute/benefit for him by having musicians sing his Salinawit music... Opinion The integrity dividend: The value of knowing By POINT OF VIEW | By David Walmsley | 1 day ago We are not short of information. Opinion EDITORIAL — ‘Unli’ postponement 2 days ago With speed as impressive as the railroad of the law creating the Maharlika Investment Fund, Congress and Malacañang passed a law postponing, for the nth time, the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections... Opinion Recommended P2 bilyong sa mga maleta, idineliber kay VP Sara September 27, 2026 - 12:00am Masusing iniimbestigahan ng National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) ang ibinunyag ng isang dating pulis na nagsilbing security aide ni dating House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, na naghatid siya ng male-maletang pera...r OpinionSARAVELASCO Sara-Robin tandem, ungos sa Leni-Bam sa 2028 - survey September 26, 2026 - 12:00am Nangunguna ang hypothetical tandem nina Vice President Sara Duterte at Senator Robin Padilla laban kina Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo at Senator Bam Aquino para sa 2028 Presidential at Vice Pre­sidential ele...r OpinionROBIN PADILLA ‘Your honor’ September 26, 2026 - 12:00am SA mga nagdaang paglilitis ng Senate Impeachment Court laban kay VP Sara Duterte, laging pumapailanglang ang mga katagang, ‘‘Your honor,’’ kapag ang isang saksi ay tumutugon sa mga tanong...r OpinionSARA DUTERTE Pinal na hatol ng Senate court, ‘di maiaapela sa SC September 25, 2026 - 12:00am Kung sakaling ma-convict o maabsuwelto si Vice President Sara Duterte ay hindi ito umano maaaring iapela sa Supreme Court. OpinionSARA DUTERTE 5-taong termino ng barangay, SK, pipirmahan ni Marcos September 25, 2026 - 12:00am Inihayag nitong Huwebes ni Senate President Sherwin Gatcha­lian na ipinadala na kay ­Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ang panukalang batas na nagtatakda sa limang taon na termino ng mga opisyal ng barangay...r OpinionSHERWIN GATCHA­LIAN next Recommended P2 bilyong sa mga maleta, idineliber kay VP Sara Masusing iniimbestigahan ng National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) ang ibinunyag ng isang dating pulis na nagsilbing security aide ni dating House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, na naghatid siya ng male-maletang pera kina Vice President Sara Duterte, dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte, at Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte. 1 day ago SARA VELASCO Sara-Robin tandem, ungos sa Leni-Bam sa 2028 - survey Nangunguna ang hypothetical tandem nina Vice President Sara Duterte at Senator Robin Padilla laban kina Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo at Senator Bam Aquino para sa 2028 Presidential at Vice Pre­sidential elections. 2 days ago ROBIN PADILLA ‘Your honor’ SA mga nagdaang paglilitis ng Senate Impeachment Court laban kay VP Sara Duterte, laging pumapailanglang ang mga katagang, ‘‘Your honor,’’ kapag ang isang saksi ay tumutugon sa mga tanong o paglilinaw ng mga Senador na tumatayong mga judges sa impeachment trial, tulad ng itinatadhana ng Saligang-Batas ng Pilipinas. 2 days ago SARA DUTERTE Pinal na hatol ng Senate court, ‘di maiaapela sa SC Kung sakaling ma-convict o maabsuwelto si Vice President Sara Duterte ay hindi ito umano maaaring iapela sa Supreme Court. 3 days ago SARA DUTERTE 5-taong termino ng barangay, SK, pipirmahan ni Marcos Inihayag nitong Huwebes ni Senate President Sherwin Gatcha­lian na ipinadala na kay ­Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ang panukalang batas na nagtatakda sa limang taon na termino ng mga opisyal ng barangay at Sangguniang Kabataan. 3 days ago SHERWIN GATCHA­LIAN OK Are you sure you want to log out? Yes No X Login Philstar.com is one of the most vibrant, opinionated, discerning communities of readers on cyberspace. With your meaningful insights, help shape the stories that can shape the country. Sign up now!