THE SAFE

HOUSE
Written by Sandra Nicole Roldan
BOUT THE AUTHOR
Sandra Nicole Roldan is a Ph.D. Media and
Communication candidate at RMIT University through its
offshore PRS Asia program. She is an Assistant Professor at
the University of the Philippines Diliman where she teaches
creative writing and literature. The name of her husband is
Paul S. De Guzman. Her father was a political prisoner that
been criticized by the government.

She was awarded a 2016 fellowship at Seoul Art Space, a

2007 Philippines Free Press award for the essay, and a 2006
LTI Korea writing residency.
 CHARACTERS
The five-year-old girl – the protagonist in the story
Father – leader of the activists
Mother
younger brother
“relatives” – activists
 SETTING

This happened during the reign of Former President

Ferdinand Marcos in the year 1972. Most of the events
that occurred during this time are in what they called
“safe house”.
 PLOT
exposition

Exposition – The five-year-old girl and her family lived

inside a house identical to other houses in all the thirty-
odd other buildings nestled within the gate of their
complex.
 PLOT
Rising Action

Something is unique about their “safe house”, people who the girl call
“relatives” know where to look for even though their house is identical with
all the other houses.

Some would stay in for the night, some would be there to be fed, sometimes
to get money, to treat the wounds or change their bandages. However, they
all do it in a way not to arouse suspicion from the people around. They talk
about important things unbeknownst to the little girl.
 PLOT
Rising Action

These relatives came more frequently on those times, treating

the apartment like their own house. And that was also the time
she lost her mother. When the house was crowded, the little girl’s
mother was quietly crying in the kitchen, murmuring about
underground, revolution, taxes, and bills.
 PLOT
climax

Soon, maybe about a few days or months, the mother left, with the
emphasis that she will never return. A year after, her father was arrested
right outside their house one August afternoon. All the neighbors were
watching.
 PLOT
FALLING ACTION

The girl and her brother lived with their grandparents.

The little girl would sleep with her father in the cell during weekends. One
time she had a dream about war: she saw a blood orange sky of where the
bedroom and the living room should’ve been. To make her house look
livable again, she painted it with different colors. She also painted a sun, a
moon, and a star on their red floor so she would have light.
 PLOT
Denouement

It was years later when she realized that those relatives weren’t actually
her relatives. They have given her falsified names of themselves. She then
saw a familiar face from fifteen years ago. By then she realized that not
even her house was safe enough, that not everyone can be trusted.
 A NOTE ON THE TEXT
This is an important reminder of the sacrifices that have been made in order to
liberate the Filipino nation. There have also been reparations made to the
family members of those who died such as portions of the Marcos millions
have also been given to the family members of human rights victims.
( [REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10368]
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR REPARATION AND RECOGNITION OF
VICTIMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS DURING THE MARCOS
REGIME, DOCUMENTATION OF SAID VIOLATIONS, APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES)
 REFERENCES
- https://www.journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/jescl/article/viewFile/7306/6366
- Guest. (n.d.). 21st Centry Lit -Reflection Paper on Safe House - PDFCOFFEE.COM.
pdfcoffee.com. https://pdfcoffee.com/21st-centry-lit-reflection-paper-on-safe-house-pdf-
free.html