Sunday, December 24, 2006

Untold Pinoy Story No. 6

Unsolved Pinoy Mysteries

At a tender age of 17, Marcial was a war correspondent for The Manila Times. Marcial’s war experience provided him with a treasure chest of stories which inspired him to write a movie screenplay. His screenplay was made into a movie, starring Jaime de la Rosa and a 16–year old actress named Dorothy. Helmed by renowned director Lamberto Avellana, the movie was a huge success. During the first FAMAS award ceremony in 1952, Dorothy received the first FAMAS trophy for best supporting actress for her role in the movie.

The only child of a US soldier and a Filipina, Dorothy was also a semi-finalist in the 1952 Miss Philippines beauty contest. It was therefore not surprising that Marcial got so enamored with Dorothy that he did everything to court her. Marcial even carried Dorothy’s make-up kit during movie shootings. Marcial became Dorothy’s dakilang alalay.

Dorothy studied pre-Law at the University of Santo Tomas but her booming movie career made it impossible for her to continue. Likewise, Marcial took up Law at the University of the Philippines but the lure of journalism ended his dream of becoming a lawyer.

Marcial became known for his gift of gab and political skill. This led to his victory as a town mayor at a young age of 22. Meanwhile, Dorothy became popular for her acting prowess and dancing skill. This led to her victory in several acting derbies. Marcial’s younger sister was the director of the movie which won for Dorothy her last FAMAS best supporting actress award.

But while Philippine politics and show business naturally intertwine, political kingpin Marcial and movie queen Dorothy were not destined to be together.

Dorothy married a man named Victorino who fathered her only daughter. But their union did not last. After a series of unsuccessful relationships, Dorothy finally tied the knot again with an American B-movie actor-singer. In contrast, Marcial remained faithfully married all his life to an American-educated woman who bore his only son and four daughters.

But while Marcial survived the Korean War which he covered, he did not survive the war on the home front. Likewise, Dorothy did not survive her own war at home.

Both Marcial and Dorothy suffered violent deaths. Marcial was shot. Dorothy was stabbed several times.

Committed 18 years apart, the separate murders of Marcial and Dorothy made headlines several years ago. However, both murders remained unsolved to this day. Some say that identifying their killers is not the issue because everyone, except the authorities, seems to know the identity of their respective killers. Rumors even abound that the masterminds in the murders of Marcial and Dorothy were related to them by affinity. But the real mystery lies in the fact that the perpetrators of these high-profile crimes remain scot-free to this day, despite the enormous clout which the victims’ respective family wields.

Some say that Marcial’s death was a result of his being branded a communist by the government. This is ironic because the screenplay which Marcial wrote and which won for Dorothy her first FAMAS trophy was the second in a trilogy of anti-communist movies which were produced by LVN Pictures in support of the government’s efforts to fight communism.

Dorothy’s shocking death led to embarrassing revelations about her painful personal battle. Marcial’s equally shocking death led to well-deserved recognition of his heroic political battle.

Dorothy was killed amid rows of cars in the covered and dark parking lot of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) building. Despite his escorts, Marcial was killed amid rows of airplanes in a wide open space in broad daylight while descending down the tarmac of what was then known as the Manila International Airport (MIA).

Of course, we all know Dorothy as Dolphy’s TV wife, Marsha.

And we all know Marcial as Cory’s real-life husband, Ninoy.

Yes, Dorothy Jones was the real name of Nida Blanca.

And yes, Marcial Bonifacio was the fictitious name on the passport of Benigno Aquino, Jr. on the day that he was murdered.

And you know the rest of their stories.
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Image from bournemouth.ac.uk
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NEXT: When Tito, Vic and Joey's Saturday Girl and the late Inday Badiday's Boy Friday Battle it Out for a National Office, Can Comedy and Intrigue be Far Behind?

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

Marcial became Dorothy’s dakilang alalay... <-- true?

ang galing...

Anonymous said...

great read! opens up a lot of what if's... what if they end up married, will they produce a krislike daughter?

Citizen of the World said...

AMAZING! Who'd have thought these people's lives are interlinked!!!

Happy New Year po!

Leah said...

wooh..who knew? i guess you...thanks for sharing...I guessed who Dorothy was, Marcial's identity was totally a shocker.

Happy New Year!

sonoftheprodigal said...

whoa! you're a fine writer...

Nick said...

Yes, Paolo. The fact that he once became Dorothy's alalay was well-documented. I'm surprised that not too many people knew about it.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.

Nick said...

Hey Dylan. Thanks.
Happy New Year to you.

Nick said...

Happy New Year, Leah.
Thanks for dropping by.

Nick said...

Hey Noel.
Thanks for the kind words.

Nick said...

Hey Lee.
I hope you had fun reading it.
Watch out for my next story.
Thanks for dropping by.

Nick said...

Hey Bro. Jeff (or should I say Fr. Jeff, S.J.?)
Thanks for the encouraging words.
Please watch out for my next story.

Senorito<- Ako said...

Great blog !

Nick said...

Hey Senorito.
Thanks.

exskindiver said...

hi nick,
love your writing.
will check back in soon.

chesca

Nick said...

Hey Chesca.
Thanks for dropping by. And thanks for the kind words, too.
Please drop by again because I have more stories to tell.

arubato said...

i so love this blog!

Nick said...

Hey Arubato.
Thanks for dropping by.

leroi said...

guess am getting hooked to your blog, a good read full of mind boggling intrigues... ;)

Nick said...

Hey Leroi.
Thanks for dropping by and reading my stories.
Watch out for the next one.

Anonymous said...

I already know this story but you told it in a very interesting manner and that kept me on reading it.

Yup, Ninoy liked Nida Blanca so much, just like how he liked Elvira Manahan I guess.

Jojo Padua

girl named shai said...

Interesting... I work in a magazine editorial and the twentysomething daughter of Elvira Manahan used to be my officemate. :)

This is so cool. I've guessed correctly most of the people being described at the beginning of the stories.

kantogirl said...

"The fact that he once became Dorothy's alalay was well-documented. I'm surprised that not too many people knew about it."

I didn't know about this either. That Ninoy was fond of Nida Blanca and that he wrote a screenplay. Wow. I guess we really learn something new every day.

You have such an entertaining blog. Cheers. :)

Btw, I linked the Lea-Monique story in my own blog. That was the first story of yours I leaned. Grabe, tip of the ice berg lang pala yun. :)

Nick said...

Hey Jojo.
I'm glad that you like the way I told the story.
Thanks for dropping by.

-----------------------------------
Hey Shai.
I'm impressed that you were able to guess the people involved in the beginning of the story.
Thanks for reading my stories.

-----------------------------------
Hey KantoGirl.
I'm glad that you were entertained by my blog.
Thanks for dropping by.

Anonymous said...

so kung nagkatuluyan si nida blanca at ninoy aquino, wala sana si kris aquino ngayon.

Nick said...

Hey Anonymous.
Probably, just another version of her.
I hope that you'll leave your name next time.
Thanks for dropping by.

Anonymous said...

These letters are in bold
R o d D a n d i n g

Nick said...

Hey Anonymous.
Please leave your name next time.
Thanks for dropping by.

Anonymous said...

What a great read! almost 2 hours and am still reading.... intriguing! u r such a good writer. keep it up!

Anonymous said...

whoa.. i've guessed the characters right but was dumb founded with the story.. i never knew those..

i really like your writing kuya.. keep it up.. and by the way, is there any way i can follow you?

toink girl said...

i cried buckets on nida's funeral. whenever i go to loyola marikina, i pass by her tomb. on the pseudonym (hope i spelt that right) of ninoy on his passport, yup, it's been well-mentioned in printed materials and videos about his bloody homecoming.