For Pete's sake

Here reads the filmography of Jose “Pete” Lacaba, who received the Natatanging Gawad Urian only last Tuesday when the local film critics’ group, the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, staged its awards ceremonies at the Marriot Hotel Grand Ballroom (the proceedings will be aired tomorrow over Cinema One at 10 p.m.):

Babae … Ngayon at Kailanman (1977)

Jaguar (1979)

Angela Markado (1980)

Pakawalan Mo Ako (co-written with Ishko Lopez and Mauro Gia Samonte, 1981)

Paano Ba ang Magmahal? (co-written with Mara PL. Lanot and Jojo Lapus, 1984)

Experience (co-written with Roy Iglesias, 1984)

Sister Stella L. (co-written with Mike de Leon and Jose Almojuela, 1984)

Boatman (by Rafael Ma. Guerrero and Alfred Yuson, but credited for additional scenes and dialogue, 1984)

Kapit sa Patalim: Bayan Ko (1985)

Operation: Get Victor Corpus (1987)

Orapronobis (1989)

Eskapo (1995)

Bagong Bayani (1995)

Segurista (co-written with Amado Lacuesta, 1996)

Rizal sa Dapitan (1997)

Tatsulok (1998)

Lacaba’s list of film credits is short — given his stature as a screenwriter in local movies. But it is impressive. Oops, I don’t think that is even the appropriate term because some of his works are the most important in the history of Philippine cinema.

 He won the Urian Best Screenplay award four times: for Jaguar, Sister Stella L., Kapit sa Patalim and Segurista. Perhaps he could also have won for Orapronobis, except that there was a technical problem regarding its release in 1989.

The Manunuri, however, made up for that by including Orapronobis as one of the best films of the ‘80s, along with Sister Stella L. and Kapit sa Patalim. (Jaguar was named one of the best of the ‘70s).

The other films listed as part of his body of work may not have won him awards, but these are not necessarily insignificant. Rizal sa Dapitan was one of the best in 1997. His Bagong Bayani (as directed by Tikoy Aguiluz) gave Helen Gamboa an Urian Best Actress trophy.

Pete was not very prolific as a screenwriter maybe because he is also into other fields. As Manunuri Dr. Benilda Santos wrote in the Urian souvenir program, Lacaba is also a poet, freelance journalist, editor (Yes magazine), translator and professional lecturer on journalism and literature. She describes him as “a quintessential Filipino nationalist whose engagement in the humanities and the arts, as well as in film and media, makes him one of our most important living writers and intellectuals.”

Unfortunately, I gave up poetry (or it probably gave up on me) in high school senior year when I realized that early that there was no money there. I doubt if I have the capacity to appreciate Lacaba’s literary talent. But if you ask me to describe his works on the big screen, this is how I will spell it: Quality.

I’ve actually known Pete personally for quite a long time — when his now salt and pepper hair had more pepper than salt. I was aware that he is an award-winning screenwriter. But I have to admit that I never realized how important he is as a Filipino artist until the Manunuri sat down and carefully discussed his works to determine if he was truly deserving of the Natatatanging Gawad Urian. Now, I’m bowled over.

I never accorded him the kind of deference he deserves whenever we are together (officially and even in social functions) maybe because he never required that from the people around him.

Maybe because as a young professional I was often on the phone — very casually — with his mother-in-law Gloria Lanot to order catered food for family affairs. What a wonderful woman — very maternal and caring. But I was totally unaware that she was an acclaimed pianist (she is Cecile Licad’s aunt) and her husband Serafin was an important name in the field of writing (he later went into astrology).

In fact, it was only later that I realized that Pete’s wife Marra is also a distinguished name in the profession. Now I have some of her books stored in my library — read and reread.

In my ignorant mind, they were just an ordinary couple. Why, their son Kris was my gym buddy. We used to run the UP oval together.

Pete’s late brother, Eman, was a political activist who disappeared during the martial law years — that story I just kept hearing.

Maybe because Pete grew up in a home brimming with talent and married into a family that also had exceptional skills having this extraordinary gift was never a big deal to him. He never had to flaunt it. And so I always treated him as just one of us mortals. Pete was fine with that.

Jose F. Lacaba may be a great poet, award-winning screenwriter, brilliant journalist and all that, but to me, and I am appreciating this now more than ever because he just taught me humility by example, he will always be Pete, the nice, likeable fellow.