The Patriarch

Kabisera tells the story of a father who is willing to go to any length to fulfill his desires. Set in a provincial seaside town, the story shows us what people are capable of when confronted with the sudden ability to achieve wealth and power. Andres is a well-liked, respected, and middle-aged fisherman who rents out commercial spaces to people in the town market. He seems to have everything a man could ever need: a loving family, a home, sustenance, and good friends he can trust. However, Andres is conflicted about his daughter’s decision to settle down in Manila. His son, AJ, also dreams to taking up architecture in the big city. Andres loves the province and is adamant that his two children need not move to be successful. He wants to keep the family and their home intact. One day, Andres encounters several bricks of shabu floating in the sea. It was thrown off board a ship by its suppliers the previous week. Andres decides to keep the cocaine. Soon, the drugs begin to create an imbalance in the small town as PDEA officers and drug smugglers begin hunting for the lost supply. Andres now needs to decide whether to surrender the drugs for a minimal reward or to use it to gain greater financial leverage in life. He teams up with the former vice-mayor’s son Jose, who knows the ins and outs of the drug trade in town. As Andres chases after his desire for wealth, power, and keeping his family together, his naïve perspective of the world slowly changes. From his simple, everyday routine of coffee, cigarettes, and home-cooked meals, he finds himself face-to-face with the grittier, uglier, and often inevitable side of society. The story of Kabisera comments on the values of the Filipino family, which although admirable, can also often be skewed. It also explores the struggle of every father to be successful and to provide well for his family, even to the questionable point of sacrificing honor and integrity. Ultimately, the story of Kabisera strikes every ordinary man and woman in the core with this question: If given the chance to make millions pesos off drugs, would you take it?