Dianne A.

Boco 5BSA

Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral Reflection Paper

Part I.

Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral is the second entry in director Jerrold Tarog’s planned series of
historical biopics. While the first entry, “Heneral Luna”, was all rage and fury, the second entry
discovers the parameters of leadership, mortality, and fame. The beginning of the movie takes place
immediately after the events of “Heneral Luna” where Philippines was still in a state of war. The
Americans began to take tighter hold in our country and President Aguinaldo was trying his best to
sustain his revolutionary government. General Gregorio del Pilar was said to be the youngest in the
revolutionary government at the age of 24. He was was one of the youngest generals during the
Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War, earning him the moniker “Boy General.”
He fought bravely for Aguinaldo and took all Aguinaldo’s orders. He was the favorite soldier of
President Aguinaldo due to his undying loyalty to the President. President Aguinaldo fully trusted
Goyo and promoted him to become a General that would lead the revolutionary forces in Nueva
Ecija and Bulacan against the Americans. Goyo also sought to eliminate Aguinaldo’s enemies
including the Bernal brothers who were loyal to Luna and their principles. He was depicted as a talk
of the town and has the eye of every young women in every town that he visits because of his good
looks. He is confident, swinging towards arrogance, and quite infatuated by his own popularity. He
and his men made an assault in the town of Bulacan to get rid if the Americans, followed by an attack
in Quingua. They were able to win over the Americans despite their small number. Aguinaldo was
forced to retreat further north when the Americans began to attack different areas and the Filipinos
were caught off-guard. Goyo and his men had to escort Aguinaldo’s family. He led the battle in Tirad
Pass, however, he was shot and killed by an American when the Americans found a route around the
mountain.

Aside from the war that was happening around him, there was also a war raging inside Goyo.
He was haunted by visions. It was fueled by paranoia, mistrust and doubt. He was frequently plagued
by visions of his death and flashbacks to the trauma he went through during his previous battles. He
was probably questioning his own heroism. He was probably contemplating whether he has been a
leader or just a naïve guard dog that blindly follows Aguinaldo’s order like what Manual Bernal told
him due to his unwavering loyalty to President Aguinaldo. Manual Bernal’s words continued to
haunt him throughout the film. He seemed to be a leader whose youth seemed to go against him and
a conflicted person fighting his inner demons. Eventually, his vision inspired him to finish the fight
before he was shot by an American in Tirad Pass.

I believe that the film succeeds in humanizing Goyo because the film was able to show the
viewers the life of Goyo during the revolution and his private life during the months of uneasy peace.
The film was able to depict Goyo’s personality as a young soldier. Flaws of Goyo were also depicted
in the film. The director depicted the hero as womanizing, self-doubting, and reckless leader of the
revolution. The responsibility that suddenly landed on his lap wasn’t easy for him. Their march to the
north, together with the daily attacks of the Americans, and the pressure that Goyo had when he had
to escort Aguinaldo’s family to bring them to a safe place took a toll on Goyo which led him to
ignore the sound of bullets from an American attack that wiped out some of their soldiers and
allowed the Americans to capture President Aguinaldo’s son and mother. The battle in the Tirad Pass
showed what the general lacked. Their strategy seemed to be unorganized and ill-planned. I believe
that every hero has his weaknesses, and the flaws of Goyo that were depicted in the film did not
change my view of him as a hero.

Part II.

Manuel Bernal believes that Goyo is just being a naïve guard dog of Goyo’s idol which is
Aguinaldo. He believes that Goyo doesn’t have the same principles as Luna and he was just blindly
following Aguinaldo’s orders due to his unwavering loyalty to Aguinaldo. He thinks that Goyo
serves his President, not his country. I still do believe that Goyo is a hero. Goyo seemed to be
troubled with Bernal’s words throughout the film, but later on when he was watching the view of the
valley from the top he was able to realize that he is fighting for our nation. It showed his personal
return to the true meaning of heroism. He was able to reawaken his principles, aligning it with his
love for his country. He decided on his own volition. Away from the loyalty and devotion that he had
to his idol President Aguinaldo. It took him a while before he realized and chose to be a soldier for
our country and not Aguinaldo’s ‘dog’. His visions that haunted him, eventually inspired him to
finish the battle. He seemed to lack military skills, but this was probably because of his young age.
He does not have enough experience as compared to Luna. I believe that he could have been a better
soldier, leader, and hero if he was not killed and given more time to grow and develop his skills.
What he has done for our country is enough for him to be considered as one of the heroes of our
country.