๐๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐. ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ
When it comes to remembering our countryโs history of struggle, most peopleโs memories seem to be selective, and rather short, including World War II.
The stories of Filipina comfort women became viral due to the airing of the locally produced television drama series entitled โPulang Araw,โ produced by GMA Entertainment, which is also streamed on Netflix.
Set during World War II, โPulang Arawโ traces the intertwined lives of four childhood friendsโEduardo (Alden Richards) , Teresita (Sanya Lopez), Adelina (Barbie Forteza), and Hiroshi (David Licauco). As war ravages their homeland and Japanese forces occupy the country, their dreams, friendships, and loyalties are tested, leading them on a journey of self-discovery and resilience.
Kapuso stars Lopez, Ashley Ortega, Rochelle Pangilinan, and Angeli Nicole Sanoy portray the roles of Filipina comfort women.
About 200,000 women from Korea, China, Burma, New Guinea, and the Philippines were held in captivity and raped as part of one of the largest operations of sexual violence in modern history.
During the day, they were forced to wash the soldiersโ clothes and cook the menโs meals. In the afternoon and evening, the men would come for them and sexually abuse them.
The girls, who were abducted, trafficked or brought to the Japanese military camps, had their own dreams and visions for the future. All these were shattered. The victims spent their lives in misery, having endured physical injuries, pain and disability, and mental and emotional suffering.
“Napakabigat ng topic. Artista lang naman ako pero ramdam ko ang mga ipinaglalaban ng mga kababaihan natin,” Lopez said who played Teresita Boromeo, a vaudeville star from a wealthy family who catches the attention of the fierce Japanese Col. Yuta Saitoh (played by Dennis Trillo).
With the help of the group Lila Filipina, Lopez and Ortega had the chance to listen to the stories of Lola Estelita Dy (94) and Lola Narcisa Claveria (93) who became comfort women at the young ages 14 and 12 years, respectively.
โNung nakausap ko sila, sobrang durog na durog po ako. Sobrang sakit po sa puso na marinig yung kuwento nila, dahil totoo po yung nangyari sa kanila at hindi po biro. โ Lopez narrated during the Pandesal Forum at Kamuning Bakery.
Ortega plays the role of nun Sister Manuela who admitted that she initially knew nothing of the comfort women stories because these are not taught in history classes in school.
“Kapag ginagawa namin yung mga eksena, hindi ko talaga maisip na nangyari yun. Masakit talaga sa puso,โ Ortega said as she hoped that telling their stories will prevent these sufferings from happening again and for justice for the comfort women be attained soon.
Ortega said that she is happy that ‘Pulang Araw’ has become the voice of the comfort women as the young generation is becoming aware of what happened during the war.
โNarealize ko sobrang suwerte pala ng henerasyon natin ngayon. Hindi natin naranasan yung pinagdaanan nila nung panahon ng Hapon. Napakapalad po talaga sobra natin,โ Lopez said.
As a reporter in the 1990s, I covered the Asian sex slaves who were brave enough to tell the world about this inhuman practice of the Japanese during the war.
From the more than 200 documented survivors in the late 1990s, less than 30 Filipino comfort women are still alive.
โKailan kaya nila matatanggap yung hustisya na nararapat para sa kanila.Kasi, konti na lang sila. So, kailan pa? Lopez said.
Lopez assured that โPulang Arawโ would honor their stories and expressed hope that the series could contribute to their ongoing fight for justice.
โKaya sa mga lola po natin na nakipaglaban, nakipagsapalaran at ipinaglaban ang mga sarili nila bilang kababaihan, saludo po ako sa inyo! Saludo po ako sa katatagan ninyo.โ Lopez said,
On International Womenโs Day last year, March 8, 2023, the United Nations Committee on Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) released a decision which found that the โPhilippines violated the rights of victims of sexual slavery perpetrated by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second World War by failing to provide reparation, social support and recognition commensurate with the harm suffered.โ
The dwindling number highlights a sense of urgency for them to receive a formal, unequivocal public apology and just compensation from Japan as well as accurate historical inclusion while their voices can still be heard.
The Pandesal Forum panel included Flowers for Lolas, Gabriela Partylist, Lila Pilipina and Malaya Lolas.
The Flowers for Lolas network was formed due to the removal and subsequent disappearance of the Lola statue that represents Filipino womenโs dignity and stands as โa reminder that wars of aggression must always be opposed, and that sexual slavery and violence should never happen again to any woman, anywhere at any time.โ
Mainstream media plays a significant role in shaping public opinion, influencing societal beliefs, and even impacting political landscapes.
With each passing death, the generation that fought and suffered during the war will be gone. So too will the memory of the war.
Through Pulang Araw, may we #Neverforget the sufferings of the comfort women during World War II as a dark moment of our history.
(๐ด๐ก๐ก๐ฆ. ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ . ๐บ๐๐๐๐โ๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฝ๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐คโ๐ โ๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ โ ๐ท๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ง ๐ต๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ . ๐น๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ , ๐-๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐@๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ง.๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ 09175025808 or 09088665786.)
