ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE CRUTCHES for Filipino resilience is our ability to laugh at adversity. We gawk at the ugly face of corruption not with vigilance but in sadist entertainment, thinking there's humor somewhere in that gross visage, like there's satisfaction to be had watching someone extract an ingrown toenail. You thought it was a joke. "To obtain a valid ID, you need to present two valid IDs," a premise so ridiculous it escapes any rhyme or reason.
But it's not a joke—only maybe...it is. Because where else, other than the Philippines, do you have to pay the government just to prove you are who you say you are, a tax-paying citizen? Where else, if not in this backwards country, are you levied premiums for your basic constitutional rights, like travel? Only in the Philippines, where no less than thirty-five million Filipinos still don't have their national IDs. It reaches a point where these regressive policies become anything but amusing; they are unbearable.
Thankfully, Ma-an L. Asuncion-Dagñalan's 2 Valid IDs conveys that seething frustration with a straight face and aligns with the frustrations of millions. A moving depiction of the absurd rigmaroles in our civic affairs, the film paints a clear picture of who bears the brunt of the broken systems we allow.
The film follows an elder woman named Sylvia (Marietta Subong) who's forced to brave the arduous process of obtaining identification so she can collect a remittance for her ailing husband, Ramon (Joey Marquez). Time's not on her side—as her husband's condition worsens by the day, given the sorry state of healthcare in the country—and as anyone who's had to process their valid IDs will know, our processes aren't on her side either.
Working with Subong, who is far better known as the comedienne Pokwang, Asuncion-Dagñalan could have easily struck a more comedic tone for the film, but she knows that 2 Valid IDs is no laughing matter. That isn't to imply that her film is self-serious to the point that it already exploits its subjects. On the contrary, the characters in her film are beaming with humanity. I found Zaijan Jaranilla's Denver especially magnetic. His scenes with Sylvia and Ramon move you to the point of welling up. That togetherness among strangers only happens in shared miseries, and it's that resilience that gets you.
And yet, 2 Valid IDs doesn't take this idea of resilience as consolation. After carrying such a heavy weight for the entirety of the film, Sylvia finally erupts, and you're overcome by the same fury after hearing her thunderous plea. If there's anything the past year's exposed—the billions of pesos swindled, safety and security infrastructures stolen, and inhumane extrajudicial violence—it's that terrible things can only come undone if you pull hard enough apart.
2 Valid IDs
dir. Ma-an L. Asuncion-Dagñalan | 2026 | Drama | 4
A poor farmer, unable to claim a remittance because she lacks the required two valid IDs, finds herself in a situation that challenges her character, beliefs, and morality.
Official trailer for Ma-an L. Asuncion-Dagñalan's film, 2 Valid IDs. ©Be True Entertainment