Mario and his best friend, Toto, are witnesses to the brutal and unjust arrest of Mario’s father, Tasyo, a suspected rebel, during the early years of Martial Law. The desperate longing leads Mario and his mother, Azon, to devote and surrender themselves to a higher power and perform various Catholic rites and rituals for the family patriarch’s return.
Years of prayer and devotion have passed, still no father is found. Mario takes his father’s roles as breadwinner, mask maker, and rebel sympathiser. Later on, he is reunited with his childhood friend, Toto, now a student activist enlightened by higher ideologies in his studies. Exposed by the chaos brought about by the Marcos’ regime’s decline, Toto brings Mario news of the rebel group’s impending victory against the dictator and invites him to participate in a clandestine gathering in the mountains. (Source: BrillanteMaMendoza)