ALL I knew about Gregoria de Jesus was that she was the wife of the revolutionary Gat Andres Bonifacio — simply Mrs. Andres Bonifacio.
That changed when I recently saw “Lakambini: Gregoria de Jesus” at the University of the Philippines Film Center. Directed by Arjanmar Rebeta and Jeffrey Jeturian, this 2025 meta-docufiction film is a tribute to De Jesus, also known as "Oriang," and her role as a leader and Lakambini 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 film, which premiered on November 5, 2025, uses a unique approach by weaving fictional reenactments with documentary footage from an original 2015 production that had been rejected from a film festival.
It stars Lovi Poe, Elora Españo, and Gina Pareño as Oriang, and Rocco Nacino as Bonifacio, while Paulo Avelino and Spanky Manikan played Nakpil.Lakambini took 12 years to finish due to a myriad of reasons, ranging from financial to political and 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 minus 1897 equals 128 years from the trial and death of the Katipunan. So 12 years is actually short,” says 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 and fell in love in 1892, during the early years of the Katipunan. 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. 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 Emilio 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 arrested after charges of sedition, treason, and conspiracy were laid against them for allegedly organizing against the revolutionary government led by Aguinaldo.
On May 9, 1897, Bonifacio was sentenced to death and was executed the following day in the mountains of Maragondon, Cavite.
Oriang searched for his body for thirty days, even calling upon spirits to help find her husband. The lack of closure — as Bonifacio's body was never found — contributed to Oriang’s enduring sorrow, intense grief, and trauma.
After the death of Bonifacio, Julio Nakpil, one of the generals of the revolution, took care of the widowed De Jesús. The two fell in love and were married on December 10, 1898. She had one son with Bonifacio and five children with Nakpil.
Together with Emilio Jacinto and Gregorio del Pilar, Oriang is one of the three heroes being commemorated this year on their 150th birth anniversary. They were all 22 years old during the 1897 revolution. A bill has been filed in Congress for the study of women heroes to be included in public and private education.
One of the most interesting scenes in the film was when the elderly Oriang heard on the radio that Emilio Aguinaldo had 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 out her nganga and smiled sarcastically while crying, as if it were a form of revenge for Aguinaldo’s misdeeds against her life.
She brought strength to women at a time when they were portrayed as weak. She proved that in every man's success, there is always a strong woman behind him.
While Bonifacio has been immortalized as a symbol of freedom and love of country, Oriang should likewise be remembered as a heroine and mother of the Philippine Revolution.
(Peyups is the moniker of the University of the Philippines. Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the Seafarers’ Division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan Law Offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025)
