In this short list chosen among dozens of classic Filipino film dialogue, we have a representative cast of classics from “The King” (Fernando Poe, Jr.) and Vilma Santos which have provided the most memorable aphoristic phrases Filipino movies are known for. They have been copied, rephrased in other film contexts, and parodied numerous times in Philippine movies and television shows as cultural catchphrases. The five listed here have a genuine Filipino context which are truly in touch with the Filipino experience.
1. “Hindi ko naman kasi alam na nakasubscribe ka pala ng UNLIsex sa asawa ko.” Jaw-dropping – the movie moment this line creates is one where you hear a pin drop. It comes from the 2012 hit “One More Try” that starred Dingdong Dantes, Angel Locsin and Angelica Panganiban. Jacq (Angelica Panganiban), Edward’s (Dingdong Dantes) loving and faithful wife says this two Grace (Angel Locsin) after finding out that Grace (Edward’s ex-lover) and Edward had a son. The son’s sickness is the thing that makes Edward and Grace come together again. Uttered out of jealousy and dismay, this line is from a classic catfight scene that is influenced by Filipinos’ love of modern technology: the term UNLI (short for unlimited) plans are among the most popular broadband services offered by Philippine telephone companies.
2. Saging lang ang may puso! The banana tree in bloom has a reddish pod that Filipinos call the heart. In 2006’s “Apoy sa Dibdib ng Samar” it becomes a metaphorical image in tough talk, Filipino style. Mark Lapid says this in his role as a hard case, as somebody throwing away the virtues of kindness and mercy from his Filipino upbringing and replacing it with the heartlessness needed to fight his heartless oppressors. This line also inspired a popular song.
3. “Para kang karinderyang bukas sa lahat ng gustong kumain!” This is a very harsh of way of telling a Filipina that she is a slut. Vilma Santos, the Philippine “Star for All Seasons,” throws this at Dina Bonnevie, who plays the role of Santos’ husband’s mistress. The carinderia is a permanent, well-loved fixture in the Philippine landscape, a small restaurant which offers cheap but nourishing fare for Everyman. But having one’s virtue compared to a carinderia’s proletarian welcome for all is something no Filipina wants.
4. “Marami ka pang bigas na kakainin!” Some of the most classic lines are not uttered by a movie’s star but by its villains, known as “kontrabidas” in Philippine cinema. Eddie Garcia eclipses whatever Fernando Poe, Jr. (“The King of Philippine Movies”) could have answered. The line is classic in the Filipino context, and the movie giants who brought brilliant life to it helped it become a popular aphorism that tells someone that he or she needs to have more experience (more rice to eat) because of inexperience or ignorance. It comes from the action-packed 1987 blockbuster “Batas sa Aking Kamay.”
5. “You’re nothing but a second rate, trying hard copycat!” This line was said by Cherie Gil, a highly talented character actress, to Vilma Santos in 1985’s “Bituing Walang Ningning.” Again, this was a “kontrabida” line that stuck and became a touchstone in the Filipino popular imagination. Filipinos have had a hard time trying to establish a singular culture, but its movie industry has often been thought of as being derivative of Hollywood. Ironically, a movie came up with this classic – and further irony stems from the fact that the line wasn’t in the script, Cherie Gil and her co-actors brainstormed to create this ad lib line.
