Analysis: Reader Reception
The poem had been received differently over time, given the gradual unraveling of its smuggled message. The Focus Magazine reviewers initially marked it as a passive and intellectual poem, as it is what was idealized as the typical Marcosian Era literature (Melendez 2018). It had been solely interpreted as that of a harmless poem with Greek references. With the realization of the poem’s intention, an order to recall all published magazines under that issue was made, snatching the publications from their placement on the stalls. However, the fire that Lacaba had brought to the people had spread fast and scorched a mark within their spirits. The phrase “MARCOS HITLER DIKTADOR TUTA”, had then been raised on placards by the protesters on the streets, to which remnants of the phrase are still observed today.
TIMELINE
FIRST QUARTER STORM
In 1970, students and activists of Manila decried and protested on a myriad of issues, from civil rights, human rights, to labor rights and student's rights. Clashes between protesters and constabularies soon to rise which gave birth to the First Quarter Storm.
ON THE FRONTLINES
At the frontlines, Jose Lacaba was a journalist who witnessed the brutal disperses in the skirmishes of Manila which brought him closer to his critical stances against the administration and the system it had given birth to.
In 1971, Jose Lacaba took an active role in union organizing when the Free Press lost its certification which resulted to the mass resignation of its staff. Shortly after the declaration of Martial Law, Lacaba was hunted down by the military in their family home in Pastero. This prompted him to join the underground press - a publication named "Taliba ng Bayan".
During his time, he thought of writing an acrostic since a lot of anti-government pieces through this form were being published at that time. Lacaba understood the risks of publishing the poem, after all, it hand only been a year since the President Marcos' declaration.
His stringers (members from the College Editors Guild of the Philippines) were instructed to send the poem to The Varsitarian to which they must highlight the acrostic. The editors did not support for its publication which prompted Lacaba to send it to Focus Magazine - the only government-sanctioned magazine at that time. The work was acknowledged by their editors, given that it adhered to the Marcosian standards of Literature, wherein no subjects of taboo - anything that can be attributed to the ill government - were grazed by Lacaba's piece. Prometheus Unbound by Ruben Cuevas seemed to be a work worthy of publishing, given its references to Greek Mythology, thus, giving an elegant image to that of the education system of the country. The piece is then perceived as safe, and is regarded as one that deserves a spot in the magazine. Prometheus Unbound then got published in 1973, though the piece was bound to be decrypted and led to it being taken down from the newstands. The hunt for the author then began.
In April 1974, Lacaba was captured and was held at Camp Crame, where he was tortured on regular basis. When his tuberculosis recurred, he was confined with strict guards. He joined the other imprisoned writers and political victims across the country, who had no way of getting out while the writ of habeas corpus was suspended.
He was freed from the prison in 1976, thanks to Nick Joaquin's intervention. Lacaba was granted conditional freedom but was still required to report at Camp Crame every week to prove that he is in Manila.
In a meeting with Ramos, he found that his brother, Eman Lacaba who was an activist, was currently missing in Davao. Eman was later found as a dead body, having signs of torture and brutal execution.
Jose Marie Lacaba's "Prometheus Unbound" is one of the first, and in the context of legal media, one of the most striking, psychological blow ever dealt to Ferdinand Marcos and his administration under Martial Law. It demonstrates that the dictator is flawed, his subordinates are shortsighted, and their strength and balance are lacking on the uneven ground where a propaganda war is always engaged.