At the recent visit of the cast and crew of Pulang Araw at the UP Diliman College of Mass Communication (CMC), Professor Emeritus Elizabeth L. Enriquez hailed Pulang Araw as a “landmark production.”

The historical drama set during World War II, written by Suzette Doctolero and directed by Dominic Zapata, is a production by the GMA Entertainment Group. It features an ensemble cast led by Alden Richards, Barbie Forteza, Sanya Lopez, and David Licauco, with Dennis Trillo in a pivotal role.

Enriquez said an academic journal that she is currently overseeing “will include reviews of Maria Clara at Ibarra [another GMA production] and Pulang Araw.” She added that, at the time of writing, they are still waiting for Pulang Araw’s finale so they can write the show’s full review.

Visiting CMC in the Pulang Araw: School Tour were Doctolero, Zapata, Licauco, Lopez, and Trillo. They were accompanied by Pulang Araw Executive Producer Shielyn Atienza, Program Manager Edlyn Tallada-Abuel, and Production Designer Edgar Martin Littaua, with GMA Vice President for Drama Cheryl Ching-Sy, and GMA Assistant Vice President for Drama Helen Sese.

At the event’s panel discussion, Doctolero explained one of the reasons why she wrote Pulang Araw.

“Bakit ko ginawa? Hindi lang dahil sa ako’y ina at may anak ako na gusto ko ang kaniyang kamalayan ay [nakakabit] sa ating history at culture, kundi dahil hindi mahal ng Pilipino ang Pilipinas. Marami ang hindi nagmamahal. And it’s because hindi natin talaga alam ang history natin. Dahil hindi lahat ng mga Pilipino ay nakapag-aral, kahit [mag]-travel abroad. May mami-meet ka na OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] na domestic helpers na probably elementary lang o grade school ang natapos and then hate nila ang Pilipinas, and I can understand kasi walang opportunities eh, api sila. And then may nakita silang opportunities abroad, probably nakapag-asawa ng foreigner, and then hate na nila ang Pilipinas, lalo na iyong mga taong api rin dito na gustong umalis ng Pilipinas. So, importante, [sa] palagay ko bilang writer, na ang aking kontribusyon sa lipunan ay magsulat ng mga akda na hindi lang pang-sikmura ko kundi makakatulong para kung may isang libo akong audience at may sampu doon na noong pinanood nila [ang Pulang Araw] minahal nila ang Pilipinas, at nagpatuloy sila sa pag-aaral ng history, then palagay ko iyong aming tungkulin bilang manggagawa sa telebisyon ay worth it kasi hindi makasarili ang sining,” Doctolero said.

In his message at the event, CMC Dean Fernando dlC. Paragas said there are three problems facing Philippine media.

“Una, paano nga ba makikipaglaban sa international content mula Korea hanggang Amerika? Parang ang daming kalaban ng ating content. Pangalawa, paano nga ba namin pupukawin ang audience na napaka-distracted ngayon? At pangatlo, paano ba makakatulong ang communication at media sa pagkilala ng ating sarili bilang isang bayan at isang lipunan?”

Paragas said shows like Pulang Araw prove that the country’s media can also stand toe to toe with international shows known for their good content.

“Maraming salamat sa inyo kasi sa pamamagitan ng mga palabas tulad nito, napatunayan na kaya nating makipagsabayan sa international content. Nakita niyo naman, bago pa lang ay Venice-nominated na,” Paragas said. “At higit pa roon naiintindihan natin ang ating kasaysayan,” he added.

Event host Louie Jon A. Sanchez, associate professor of broadcast communication, said Pulang Araw won the Best Promo and Trailer at the Asian Academy Creative Awards 2024 and was nominated at the Venice TV Awards 2024 for Best Soap or Telenovela.

For his part, Chair Alwin C. Aguirre of the Department of Broadcast Communication said the show’s school tour is a special affair.

“There are two things that we should expect. One, we learn a lot about the production of a difficult material, and I say difficult because this is not conventionally tackled in mainstream media. We learn from the cast and crew how being a part of this kind of production has affected them. I think that is one of the things we rarely hear about—how they have been affected by the project that they get themselves involved in. And number 2, we expect to learn about history and how history is a complex way of learning culture, society, and about people,” Aguirre said.

He added that he hopes participants of the event would be able to reflect, “re-realize and re-imagine the kind of history that we’d like generations of Filipinos to have and to talk about. I think shows like these are important. Mahalaga ang ganitong mga palabas but only if we deliberately talk about it. This is one of the ways [through] which we could actually complexify and unpack the many difficult and complex themes in a material such as Pulang Araw.”

The Pulang Araw: School Tour was held on Nov. 5 and was also livestreamed at the DZUP Facebook page and YouTube channel.