Dogeaters

Severo Alacran, a figure of immense power and influence, commands respect and fear even from the President and the First Lady. His authority extends to having a personal army of mercenaries and a friendship with General Ledesma. He owns major companies including TruCola, SPORTEX, and various munitions factories, and holds significant stakes in the movie industry, record labels, and elite country clubs.

Severo is a man who can have almost anything he desires, but he lacks a legitimate male heir. He and his stunning wife, Isabel, share a disdain for their daughter, Rosario, known as Baby. Their marriage is fraught with conflict and violence, but despite their mutual dislike, Isabel’s beauty and charm make her a valuable asset to Severo at social events. In an interview with Cora Camacho, the “Barbara Walters of the Philippines” (31), Severo maintains a façade of charm and arrogance. He openly brags and flirts with the journalist, fully aware that she will accompany him home.

Baby Alacran’s decision to marry Pepe Carreon stirs controversy within her family. Isabel strongly opposes the union, criticizing Pepe’s age, military occupation, and appearance. However, Severo, approves of Pepe. Amidst this family disagreement, Severo is preoccupied with personal issues, such as adhering to a strict diet for his health. Isabel continues to demean Baby, disparaging her looks and intelligence. Baby, not particularly attracted to Pepe, wishes their relationship could remain just over the phone. She doesn’t want to marry him but feels a sense of duty to do so, finding some comfort in Pepe’s affection and his refraining from calling her names.

Reflecting on her childhood, Baby recalls her mother’s indifference and her father’s distance, preoccupied with other matters. Baby has battled numerous health issues, including excessive sweating, eczema, and a painful tropical fungus, leading to a secluded childhood with extensive medical treatments.

Defiantly, Baby elopes with Pepe, leaving for an unknown location. The aftermath includes scandalous media coverage, her expulsion from school by nuns, and rumors of her being kidnapped by communists. Despite these challenges, Baby and Pepe’s wedding, dubbed the event of the decade, proceeds with Baby wearing a silk and lace gown with a corset to hide her pregnancy. General Ledesma serves as Pepe’s best man. While Baby’s mother and grandmother are distressed, Severo seems satisfied with the turn of events. Baby’s grandmother, dressed in black, ominously warns of bad luck, but her concerns go unnoticed.

Joey Sands narrates this chapter, detailing his experiences as a DJ at CocoRico, a well-known gay club. Andres Alacran is the club’s owner. Andres, part of the Alacran family but from its less affluent branch, expresses his frustrations to Joey about maintaining the family’s image and the challenges with Pedro, the club’s janitor. CocoRico serves as a haven for both Andres and Joey. Despite his struggles, Joey is disciplined in managing his drug addiction.

Andres, who once affectionately nicknamed Joey “Mister Heartbreak” after being turned down by him, shows a compassionate side toward marginalized individuals but also harshly treats Pedro. Prior to running CocoRico, Andres had a career teaching dance to movie stars. He fondly remembers a lost love, Eugenio/Eugenia, an intersex performer from a traveling show. Andres keeps a scrapbook filled with faded photos of Eugenio/Eugenia and memories of their romance, which was cut short by Eugenio/Eugenia’s mysterious disappearance during Japan’s occupation of Manila.

Joey describes his enjoyment of the late-night lifestyle of being a sex worker but also his discomfort with waking up next to strangers in opulent settings. He often steals small items from these encounters but never keeps any gifts given to him. His true home is a shack in Tondo, where he lives with Uncle, amidst other boys, pigs, and goats. Joey remembers a night when he and Boy-Boy drunkenly tormented Uncle’s dog, leading to a beating from Uncle. With most of the other boys having left, Joey yearns for his opportunity to move on, hoping that a wealthy foreigner, regardless of their gender, might take him away to the United States.

The narrative shifts to an excerpt from Jean Mallat’s The Philippines. The quote describes the mountain areas inhabited by a group of small-statured indigenous people. Mallat notes that these people are captured and taken as prisoners. The younger ones are often selected to live in the homes of the inhabitants until they reach the age of reason. During this period, they are employed to perform various household chores. After reaching a certain age, they are then set free.

Joey Sands recounts his mother, Zenaida, a “legendary” sex worker, who was driven to sell her son for 50 pesos to Uncle before dying by suicide in the river. Joey is indebted to Uncle, who took care of the funeral arrangements for his mother. At just six years old, Joey stopped talking after this event for several months. He shows no desire to learn about his mother and avoids talking about her.

From an early age, Uncle put Joey to work, starting with selling small items like boiled peanuts and cigarettes on the streets. By the age of seven, Uncle had taught Joey how to steal, a skill at which he quickly excelled, becoming one of the best pickpockets and Uncle’s favored protégé. When Joey was 10, one of Uncle’s sex workers was directed by Uncle to sexually abuse Joey. 

Joey eventually starts working for Uncle as sex worker but does not prefer either gender. He finds working with men more straightforward but doesn’t exclude the possibility of being with a woman. His main objective is to get out of Manila. Determined not to follow in Uncle’s footsteps, Joey believes he’s in control and is biding his time until his opportunity arrives.

Metro Manila Daily reports mutilated bodies being found in the Makupit River that are causing harm to the fishing industry by reducing the demand.

Romeo (Orlando) Rosales and his girlfriend, Trinidad Gamboa, find themselves in a Chinese restaurant, where Trinidad is trying to lift Romeo’s spirits. Trinidad suggests watching a new film starring Romeo’s favorite actress, Lolita Luna. However, Romeo seems distracted and irritable. Trinidad wonders if his mood is due to his childhood friend Tito Alvarez, who is in the movie but hasn’t responded to any of Romeo’s letters.

Trinidad reflects on the beginning of her relationship with Romeo. Their first encounter was when she sold him a movie ticket, which later led to her boldly inviting him for Chinese food. Their date went well, culminating in a visit to Romeo’s apartment. For Romeo, being with a virgin was a new and somewhat perplexing experience. For Trinidad, despite the physical pain, the experience was meaningful as it symbolized a milestone she was eager to leave behind.

Trinidad dreams of marrying Romeo and has communicated her intentions to her parents. However, they strongly oppose the relationship, threatening to withdraw her allowance if she doesn’t end the relationship and return to Cebu. Unfazed by their disapproval, Trinidad is ready to become self-reliant to be with Romeo. Romeo, though, shows reluctance in taking their relationship to the next level, especially in meeting Trinidad’s parents. He sometimes imagines Trinidad as his favorite actress, Lolita Luna, during their intimate moments.

Trinidad clings to the hope that Romeo will propose to her. She fantasizes about a romantic gesture of proposal from Romeo, mirroring the devotion she shows to the Virgin Mary statue. This dream of hers stands in stark contrast to the reality of their priest’s admonishment, who disapproves of their relationship, deeming it sinful.

On a typical Saturday, while Delores and Florence, Pucha’s mother, spend hours shopping at SPORTEX, Rio and Pucha find themselves at a budget salon for their regular manicures and pedicures. Pucha isn’t pleased with the modest salon, dreaming of more luxurious treatments. However, Rio’s father is against spending more on salons, believing they overcharge. Pucha aspires to marry into wealth and sets her sights on Boomboom Alacran, envisioning a life of luxury and picturing their wedding.

Rio thinks about the day her grandfather Whitman died peacefully in his sleep. Following his death, her life saw several changes: Her mother started dating a Brazilian ambassador, and her father got a promotion at Severo Alacran’s conglomerate company. Freddie spends his weekends golfing with Severo and other influential people, like Congressman Abad, often betting large sums. Delores, uninterested in golf, prefers to watch her new love interest play tennis. Freddie includes Uncle Agustin in these outings, despite his lower social status, and even gets him a well-paying, albeit nominal, job at Severo’s company.

Meanwhile, Pucha gets in trouble at home for giving her pearl ring to Boomboom. Her mother, Florence, is very protective of Pucha’s virginity. Pucha enjoys the attention she gets from men, sometimes acting flirtatiously around Severo, who likes the attention in return. It bothers Rio, the way her cousin acts.

At the country club pool, where Pucha and Rio lounge, a rule prohibits nannies from swimming, highlighting the social divide at the club. Many of the wealthy members don’t even know how to swim themselves, an irony not lost on Rio.

Following a day of golf, Uncle Agustin gripes to the family at the dinner table about General Ledesma and the money he lost to Congressman Abad in a golf game. Agustin accuses Abad of cheating before talking about Severo’s latest mistress.

Post-dinner, the family moves to the sitting room. Mikey, Pucha’s brother, starts a discussion about a rumor involving an army general who supposedly gives his soldiers putok, a concoction of rubbing alcohol, to make them more aggressive. Florence then shares another rumor, claiming that General Ledesma is actually the illegitimate brother of Senator Domingo Avila, suggesting this as the root of Ledesma’s animosity toward the Senator. The conversation takes a more serious turn when Raul brings up “the camps” allegedly run by General Ledesma, denounced by Senator Avila to be places where political dissidents are tortured. Mikey cites his source for the rumors as Boomboom Alacran, but Agustin and Freddie don’t believe them. The evening ends with Freddie making a discreet phone call. As the gathering disperses, Pucha signals to Rio that they need to talk the next day about the various pieces of gossip that came to light.

Outside General Nicasio Ledesma’s large villa, uniformed guards stand watch, conversing in hushed tones. Inside, Ledesma is engrossed in a meeting with his protégé, Pepe Carreon. Meanwhile, upstairs, Ledesma’s wife, Leonor, lies restless in her bed. Her marriage to Ledesma was not a matter of choice; her true aspiration had always been a life of self-denial, possibly even reaching sainthood. She finds her marriage relatively peaceful, spared from attending social events and not required to share a room with her husband. Ledesma seems to expect little from her beyond prayers on his behalf and even encourages her reclusive, religious lifestyle.

Leonor spends her days engaged in church activities and prayer. She is troubled by the knowledge that General Ledesma has fathered several illegitimate children and suspects that they might be hidden somewhere in the house. In her room, her servant, Hortensia, is reluctantly coaxed into singing a hymn with Leonor. Hortensia, who does not share her mistress’s religious beliefs and finds her difficult to endure, complies with the request.

As Leonor eventually drifts off to sleep, she reflects on her wish that she had made Hortensia sleep on a mat on the floor next to her. Her final thoughts before sleep are a prayer for a peaceful and painless end.

This chapter is a historical speech made by President William McKinley, addressing a group of Methodists about the American occupation of the Philippines. McKinley shares the reflections that led to his decision, framing it as a moment of divine guidance.

McKinley dismisses the idea of leaving the Filipinos to govern themselves, arguing that they were unfit for self-government and would only descend into chaos and misrule. 

He concludes that the only viable course of action was for the United States to take control of the Philippines.