Maynila: Sa mga kuko ng liwanag
Júlio Madiaga is a probinciano, a young rustic from the island of Marinduque, who arrives in Manila. From time to time, Júlio would pass by the corner of Ongpin and Misericordia, as he stares at a peculiar building from a distance. While pursuing his quest, he has to work in order to survive the conditions of the urban jungle.
At first, Júlio lands a job as a construction worker. Not used to such labour, he falls unconscious due to fatigue and hunger. In the site, he befriends Atong, a fellow construction worker who was hired some five weeks before. Another co-worker advises Júlio that city life is quite difficult unless one has the income to enjoy urban comforts. Júlio begins to slowly observe the harsh reality of society, even witnessing the accidental death of one of the workers.
One day, while Júlio and Atong are shopping for clothes in the marketplace, a fat lady dressed in black and wearing sunglasses catches Júlio's attention. The lady reminds him of Mrs Cruz—the woman who brought his childhood sweetheart, Ligaya, to Manila for schooling. Júlio immediately runs through the crowd to follow the woman, and locates her. He tries to approach her, but before he could even say anything, the lady shrieks in distress. Júlio flees in order to prevent making a scene, running back to Atong and leaving the marketplace with him.
This was followed by other chance encounters with Mrs Cruz, leading him to discover that Ligaya was, in fact, brought to the capital for prostitution. Ligaya explains everything to Julio upon their reunion. Julio plots with Ligaya of their return to Marinduque. Both agree to meet at Arranque. However, Ligaya fails to appear at the appointed time.
Júlio returns to the house of a friend, Pol, who informs him the next day that Ligaya had died in the night; having fallen down a flight of stairs during a struggle with Ah-Tek, the brothel owner. Enraged, Júlio stalks Ah-Tek, who he saw at Ligaya's funeral, and successfully dispatches his target. Seeing Julio's crime, a mob pursues and eventually corners him; the film ends with a slow motion close-up of Júlio's terrified face, just as his assailants are about to strike.
murder, flashback