1. Sultan Kudarat




For many people, Sultan Kudarat is just a place. But Sultan Muhammad Dipatuan Kudarat was a real person who was the sultan of Maguindanao from 1619 to 1671. He is considered as one of the greatest sultans of the region and is considered a national hero for repelling the Spaniards during his reign and maintaining their culture and way of life in Mindanao.



2. Apolinario Mabini




Apolinario Mabini is probably the most well-known Filipino hero without a popular movie to his name. And it’s time we changed that. Sure, it’s not going to be action-packed like Heneral Luna or Goyo because of his disability. But Mabini is a very interesting character who was involved in almost all of the major events in local history and we feel like it would be refreshing to witness those events unfold through his eyes.



3. Gabriela Silang




The time for bad-ass women in cinema is now. And there’s no one more bad-ass than Gabriela Silang. Gabriela took charge of her husband Diego’s revolution after his assassination and fought the Spanish until she was executed in 1763. The image of Gabriela wielding a bolo on a horse is just as iconic as any other female protagonist we know of. It’s time for her own movie.



4. Melchora Aquino




A Tandang Sora movie can be the Shindler’s List of the Pinoy hero cinematic universe. Like Mabini’s movie, it’s not going to be as full of action as the others but the tension of hiding the Katipuneros from the Spaniards should project well on screen. The climax of the movie would be her interrogation and how she refused to give any information to the oppressors.



5. Panday Pira




There are all sorts of interesting characters in our history and one of them was Panday Pira. Pira was a blacksmith who had a foundry along the Pasig River. He was the one who made the cannons that were used to defend the kingdom of Rajah Sulayman during Spanish attacks. After Manila fell, Pira went into hiding and started making farm tools for local farmers. He was eventually forced back to Manila to create cannons for the Spaniards.