Philippines my Philippines

In 1988 three years after a triumphal wave of “people power” swept away the Marcos regime and installed Cory Aquino as Head of State, what is the real situation in the Philippines? Human rights abuses are rife, trade unions are being repressed, poverty and violence are spiralling upwards. This documentary contrasts the hopes of the revolution with the realities of prostitution and the absence of genuine land reform. It shows the connections between slumdwellers organising themselves and the rise of vigilante death squads, between a foreign investment boom and police strike-breakers, between Australian development aid to poor peasants and counter-insurgency strategies. The film combines startling images of beauty and terror with the story of a people betrayed.