Kuwentong Peyups
Atty. Dennis Gorecho
MMFF films on law as tool for justice and dignity
The 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) highlighted legal and societal issues through films that showed law as a tool for justice and dignity.
The films Bar Boys, Call Me Mother, Manila’s Finest, ImPerfect and Unmarry showcased diverse legal realities focusing on issues like adoption, human rights, family law, and corruption reflecting the festival’s theme, “A New Era for Philippine Cinema.”
“Bar Boys After School “ (2025) is a sequel set a decade after the events in the original film Bar Boys (2017). It follows best friends Erik (Carlo Aquino), Torran (Rocco Nacino), Chris (Enzo Pineda) and Joshua (Kean Cipriano) as they grapple with the continuous search for meaning in their careers and personal lives.
They confront their life choices, and find new roles as mentors to the next generation of law students Sassa Gurl, Will Ashley, and Therese Malvar who are dealing with the same systemic pressures.
The film shows how they are rediscovering and navigating their careers while caring for their sick former professor, Justice Hernandez ( Odette Khan).
“Call Me Mother” deals with adoption for members of the LGBT+ community and the queer struggle of being an adoptive parent.
It follows Twinkle (Vice Ganda), a queer mother, who is preparing to formally adopt his son, Angelo, by finalizing his adoption papers. However, a legal requirement forces him to reconnect with Angelo’s biological mother, former beauty queen Mara (Nadine Lustre).
The film depicted what it truly means to be a mother as it takes into account the perspectives of both the biological and adoptive mother, showing how the two mothers are right in their own ways.
“Manila’s Finest” depicts the degradation of police integrity shortly before the declaration of Martial Law under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
Set in 1969 and the early 1970s, it is a tale of policemen seeking to uphold justice amid gang wars, student protests led by activists from the University of the Philippines , and government intervention
Policemen Homer (Piolo Pascual), Conrad (Ariel Rivera), and Billy (Enrique Gil), are consumed by the murder case of troublemaking teenagers in the slums.
It revolves around a group of police officers in Manila’s Police District led by its interservice rivalry and eventual integration with the Philippine Constabulary Metropolitan Command (MetroCom) under the pretense of disputed incidents cited as justification for Martial law.
A scene depicted Pascual insinuating his option to continue his legal studies as the film shows how an institution intended for justice can be transformed into an instrument of state oppression.
In Aberca vs. Ver (G.R. No. L-69866 April 15, 1988), the Supreme Court said that “the duty to prevent or suppress lawless violence, insurrection, rebellion and subversion xxx cannot be construed as a blanket license or a roving commission untramelled by any constitutional restraint, to disregard or transgress upon the rights and liberties of the individual citizen enshrined in and protected by the Constitution.”
“Unmarry” revolves around Celine ( Angelica Panganiban) and Ivan ( Zanjoe Marudo) who separately process the dissolution of their marriage through annulment cases handled by a common lawyer, Atty. Lambridas ( Eugene Domingo).
Both used as ground the psychological incapacity under Article 36 of the Family Code which the Supreme Court interprets “as a serious, grave, and incurable condition existing at the time of marriage, making a spouse unable to fulfill marital duties”. Recent rulings emphasize that the incapacity doesn’t need to be a diagnosed illness that can manifest later.
“ImPerfect” revolves around the romantic relationship of two adults with Down syndrome. Jessica (Krystel Go) and Jiro (Earl Amaba) as they strive for independence in a world that often limits them. The movie celebrates their journey, emphasizing that they have the right to love and live fully, challenging stigmas and showcasing their abilities.
The script essentially incorporates aspects of R.A. No. 7277 (Magna Carta for Persons with Disability) that provides for self-development, self-reliance, and integration of PWDs into mainstream society. It also prohibits discrimination and outlines basic rights across various areas such as employment, education, and health.
Movies play a powerful role in shaping public perception of crime and justice by creating narratives that influence how society views victims and offenders.
Films can act as catalysts for public discourse by dramatizing real legal cases or introducing fictional narratives steeped in contemporary ethical dilemmas.
Movies with legal undertones have always held up a mirror to our society, forcing us to confront uncomfortable truths about how justice really works—and how it fails.
(Peyups is the moniker of the Universiity of the Philippines Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, email info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09088665786)