Gregoria de Jesus as Lakambini of the Philippine Revolution
3 MIN READ
By ATTY. DENNIS GORECHO
www.nordis.net
All I knew about Gregoria de Jesus was that she was the wife of revolutionary Gat Andres Bonifacio, or Mrs. Andres Bonifacio.
Then I watched “Lakambini: Gregoria de Jesus,” which was recently screened at the University of the Philippines Film Center. It is a 2025 meta-docufiction film directed by Arjanmar Rebeta and Jeffrey Jeturian.
The film is a tribute to de Jesus, also known as “Oriang,” and her role as a leader and “Lakambini” (woman leader) of the Katipunan. Her life story is also featured in “Gregoria Lakambini,” a new stage musical by Tanghalang Pilipino.
Beloved by revolutionaries Andres Bonifacio and Julio Nakpil, Oriang’s quest for justice mirrors the film’s journey to reclaim the legacy of a forgotten heroine.
The meta-docufiction film premiered on November 5, 2025, and uses a unique approach, weaving fictional reenactments with documentary footage from the original 2015 production, which was rejected by a film festival.
The film starred Lovi Poe, Elora Espano, and Gina Parreno as Oriang, Rocco Nacino as Bonifacio, and Paulo Avelino and Spanky Manikan as Nakpil.
The film Lakambini took 12 years to finish due to many reasons, from financial to political to creative difficulties.
“That is why one of our loglines is that ‘her unfinished quest for justice mirrors our own struggle to reclaim the legacy of a heroine.’ 2025-1897=128 years from the trial and death of the Katipunan. So 12 years is actually short,” says the film producer Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil.
Marfil added that “some reasons are gender-based, some for the very reason that she is not well-known or acknowledged, oftentimes forgotten except as Mrs. Andres Bonifacio.”
“Lovi, Gina, and Elora- I can only thank the universe for this blessing; each of them gives a different side to our heroine.”
Andres was 29, and Oriang was 18, when they met in 1892, during the early years of the Katipunan, and fell in love.
The Revolution, led by Bonifacio, exploded on August 21, 1896.
“I went through a number of adventurous experiences during the revolution. I had no fear of facing danger, not even death itself, whenever I accompanied the soldiers in battle, impelled as I was then by no other desire than to see unfurled the flag of an independent Philippines, and, as I was present in and witnessed many encounters, I was considered a soldier, and to be a true one I learned how to ride, to shoot a rifle, and to manipulate other weapons which I had occasions actually to use,” de Jesus said in her autobiography Mga Tala ng Aking Buhay.”
In her letter called Kasulatan, Oriang expresses bitterness over Aguinaldo declaring himself president at the Tejeros Convention and over Bonifacio’s subsequent execution. The letter provides personal and political context surrounding the split between Bonifacio and Aguinaldo and the events leading up to Bonifacio’s death.
Bonifacio and his brother Procopio were later arrested after charges of sedition, treason, and conspiracy were laid against them for allegedly organizing against the revolutionary government led by Emilio Aguinaldo.
On May 9, 1897, Bonifacio was sentenced to death and was executed the next day in the mountains of Maragondon, Cavite.
Oriang searched for his body for thirty days, even calling spirits to help her find her husband.
There was a lack of closure as Bonifacio’s body had never been found, which contributed to Oriang’s enduring sorrow, intense grief, and trauma.
After the death of Bonifacio, Julio Nakpil, one of the revolution’s generals, took care of the widowed De Jesús. The two fell in love and were married on December 10, 1898. She had one son from Bonifacio and five children from Nakpil.
Together with Emilio Jacinto and Gregorio del Pilar, ‘Oriang’ is one of the three heroes commemorated this year on their 150th birth anniversaries. They were all 22 years old during the 1897 revolution.
A bill is filed in Congress to study the inclusion of women heroes in public and private education.
One of the interesting scenes was when the old Oriang heard from the radio that Emilio Aguinaldo lost to Manuel L. Quezon in the 1935 presidential election.
She chews slowly and spits — not in anger, but in vindication. And she whispers the line from scripture “Walang lihim na hindi mabubunyag (Nothing concealed will not be revealed).”
She spat her nganga and sarcastically smiled while crying, as if it were a form of revenge for Aguinaldo’s misdeed against her life.
She brought strength to women at a time when they were portrayed as weak. She has proven that every man’s success has a strong woman behind him.
While Bonifacio has been celebrated as a symbol of freedom and patriotism, Oriang should also be remembered as a heroine and mother of the Philippine Revolution.#nordis.net
