Untold story of Karagatan in I-Witness

MANILA, Philippines - Tonight on GMA 7’s I-Witness, join Howie Severino as he discovers one of the untold stories of the country’s history that lies deep beneath the waters of the Philippines’ northern Pacific coast.

Somewhere in these waters lies the wreck of a secret ship. Sailing from China in 1972, the MV Karagatan was bearing Chinese guns for the New People’s Army intended to speed up the NPA’s campaign to defeat the government. 

Things did not proceed according to plan and the ship ended up at the bottom of the sea. Then Pres. Ferdinand Marcos used the incident to justify his declaration of martial law that same year, 40 years ago. 

What happened to the NPA’s ambitious plan? 

Four decades later, Severino and his documentary team travel to the remote, roadless northern Sierra Madre to search for the boat and for answers to burning questions from history. They are accompanied by Victor Corpus, the legendary NPA commander and military defector who led the rebel force that met the ship and was assigned to receive the arms. 

After a journey of more than 24 hours, they finally reach the site where Corpus remembers battling the Army over the arms that the NPA badly needed. Together, Corpus and Severino search the depths for any sign of the secret ship that could have meant victory for the NPA. I-Witness airs after Saksi.