The Story Behind: 2 Valid IDs
Written by Beatrice Macarilay
“Kaya ka nga kukuha ng ID dahil wala kang ID, tapos hahanapan ka ng ID. Eh kanino bang idea ‘to?” A line so relatable that it made the Cinemalaya 2026 entry “2 Valid IDs” a certified box-office hit.
Since the release of the film’s official trailer, it has already made a buzz on social media, as it presents a story on the silver screen that is oh-so familiar to ordinary Filipinos. Thus, 2 Valid IDs got Filipinos hooked with its promise to explore the same struggles ordinary Filipinos face, brought about by the glaringly flawed bureaucracy in the Philippines, through its relatable characters and realistic storytelling.
And so, it came as no surprise that the film drew a full house at its first screening at Gateway Cineplex 18 — heck, even I only got a corner seat despite booking my ticket two days in advance. Because of this, I was more intrigued than ever. Is the film going to be worth the hype?
Get UP Cine Manileño’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
The movie follows the journey of a woman named Sylvia, played by Marietta “Pokwang” Subong, as she obtains two valid government IDs to claim the money she desperately needs to pay for her husband’s surgery.
As the film unfolded and the characters expressed their frustration over how difficult it was to obtain an ID, I noticed that the audience would laugh for a while, then be followed by silence. As if they were laughing at the line said by the actor because of how they relate to it, and then immediately come to a realization that this is also their reality, and sympathize with the characters. Especially in the last scene, I felt every single emotion Sylvia felt — the sadness, the anger, and the restraint — emotions that made me wonder how they captured such a realistic reaction to that situation (I am not going to spoil what the situation was, so that you would see 2 Valid IDs in cinemas).
Luckily, a few days after the premiere, at the Red Carpet Cinema in EDSA Shangri-La, my questions were answered by none other than the man himself, Abet Pagdagdagan Raz, the writer of 2 Valid IDs.
As I sat down with him, I asked him about his inspiration for writing 2 Valid IDs, to which he responded that he was inspired by the viral meme “yung kukuha ka ng ID pero hinanapan ka rin ng valid ID.” But beyond that, he revealed that the movie felt so realistic because the story was based on his own experience when his mother was hospitalized, during which he noticed flaws in the country’s healthcare system, such as crowded waiting areas and a lack of necessary equipment for patients. In addition to this, he also narrated that when his mother passed, on top of dealing with grief, he also had to deal with the flawed bureaucracy in the country.
But during our interview with him, one thing really stuck with me, and that was when he told us the story that after his mother’s passing, he temporarily stopped writing to grieve. So it means so much to him to write a story inspired by his experience with his mother, because even though she is no longer here, writing something inspired by her, in a way, feels as though she is still at the heart of everything he writes, and that every story he tells still carries a little piece of her.
With this, the film centers on the dehumanizing nature of the Philippines’ bureaucratic process. However, 2 Valid IDs is not just about the country’s flawed bureaucracy. Rather, it also exposes the harsh realities of the inadequacy of the Philippine healthcare system, the prevalence of “palakasan”, how poverty can hinder access to basic needs, and how desperation can lead people to choose survival over ethics. Hence, aside from merely exposing the reality, 2 Valid IDs also serve as a call for action and reform, to make basic needs more attainable and bureaucratic processes more humane for Filipinos.
