Melody of Miseries: A Sociological Perspective on “Inakup! Arekup!”
- deskvalor
- Mar 25
- 4 min read
By: Mackenzie C. Riguer
Introduction
The “Inaku! Arekup!” (2014) is a Family Planning Television Campaign (TVC) of the Department of Health (DOH), directed by Borgy Torre highlighting poor family planning in poverty. The Public Service Announcement (PSA) portrays struggles such as child labor caused by a large family. The title, “Inaku! Arekup!” combines “Ina ko!” (Oh, my mother!) and “Aray ko po!” (Ouch, my pain!) reflecting the family’s hardship and emotional toll. The campaign is inspired by Geneva Cruz’s song from 1994 with the same name. Taking influence from the message of the song, the PSA emphasizes the importance of family planning for healthier and more manageable families (Villanueva-Ong, 2014).
The campaign sheds light on poverty as a structural issue tied to poor family planning. This analysis will explore the PSA through a sociological lens, by evaluating how the visuals, melody, lyrics, and message collectively depict the struggles of an overpopulated family in poverty.
Body
The TVC begins with a girl holding Arabian jasmine (sampaguita in Tagalog) facing the viewer as a text states “A true story.” She starts singing Geneva Cruz’s song with the same title, transitioning to a scene of her mother carrying two infants and one on her lap and sings the following line: “Isang taon palang ako, nasundan na ni Toto.” (“I was only one year old when my little brother was born.”) indicating her parents’ limited considerations of reproductive health and family’s size.
Another scene shows her crying alone as she sings, “Sabi mo: ‘Pasensya na, walang pera. Kaya mag drop-out ka.’” (You said: “I’m sorry, we don’t have money. So you should drop out [from school].”), emphasizing her family’s financial problems. The campaign shifts to the family sleeping together, the girl singing in the middle: “Inakup, sabi mo kami’y mahal niyo, arekup ba’t di kayo nagplano?” (Mother, you said you love us, oh why didn’t you plan?”). The emotional exclamation of the girl conveys her painful feelings of neglect and disappointment.
The PSA ends with the girl selling Arabian jasmine to a happy family of four, staring at them with envy and wishing for the same joy. The final scene conveys a longing for a brighter future, mirroring the campaign’s aim to highlight the societal challenges of overpopulation due to family planning failure. By addressing issues such as overpopulation, inadequate family planning, limited access to education, and poverty, the PSA emphasizes the need for awareness.
Critical Analysis
From a sociological perspective, “Inaku! Arekup!” reveals how poverty, lack of education, and limited access to reproductive health influence family dynamics, creating hardships within families. Letting the viewers look through the girl’s eyes highlights how socioeconomic conditions shape individuals, particularly within large families with strained resources.
Application of dim lighting, dark ambiance, and messy household in the video serve as powerful visual metaphors for poverty, intensifying the sense of hopelessness endured by the family. The elements, along with the emotional portrayals, make the campaign relatable and emotionally impactful. Torre’s modification of Geneva Cruz’s song for the campaign is a good approach since it delivers the message in a straightforward manner, making the message understandable to diverse audiences. The catchiness of the melody and lyrics makes the campaign more memorable to the viewers, ensuring the message resonates with the audience (Hands on Ads: PSA “INAKUP! AREKUP!”, 2015).
Combining joyful melody with serious themes enhances the memorability of the TVC. However, this contrast can overshadow the gravity and heaviness of the societal issue addressed, potentially reducing the urgency and intended impact of the message. As stated by Jones (2021), an advertisement’s message style is a key factor in choosing suitable music. The use of a more reflective melody for the rendition of the song can evoke stronger emotions from the viewers, drawing them deeper into the message.
“Inaku! Arekup!” highlights pressing socio economic issues in the country, emphasizing problems that arise from limited family planning and reproductive health education. The PSA calls for collaborative actions from Filipinos and the government. In 2024, the Philippines’ population is approximately 119.1 million, with a birth rate of 19.6 births per 1,000 people (United Nations Population Fund Organization, n.d). The high birth rate strains resources like education, healthcare, housing, and food, majorly affecting families in the poverty line due to limited access to alternative resources (Thim, 2025). Based on an article by The Global Filipino Magazine (2024), DOH reported that over 10 million Filipinas lack access to family planning amidst the concerns of the rising cases of teenage pregnancy. Such circumstances and challenges heighten the urgency of addressing the issue. Investing in universal access to family planning is essential to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Not addressing this sooner can cause higher costs and longer time to accomplish these goals (Starbird et al., 2016).
Conclusion
“Inaku! Arekup!” directed by Borgy Torre underscores the harsh realities faced by children in large families where family planning is neglected, resulting in child labor, limited resources, and lack of parental care and attention continuing cycles of poverty and hardships in Filipino families.
By the dark ambiance, somber visuals, and catchy but powerful lyrics, the campaign’s emotional weight and impact are heightened, which significantly immerses the audience’s attention in the struggles experienced by the children and their families in the situation in the TVC. Although the PSA has a lively tune, the campaign’s powerful message weighed heavier and managed to provide a reflective, thought-provoking impression on audiences. The campaign sheds light on the urgency to improve access to family planning, reproductive health education, and collective efforts from Filipinos and the government for a healthier future for Filipinos.
REFERENCE LIST
Hands on Ads: PSA “INAKUP! AREKUP!”. (2015). Blogger.
Jones, P. W. (2021, November 15). Can anybody hear me? The power of music in advertising. Kantar.
https://www.kantar.com/inspiration/advertising-media/can-anybody-hear-me-the-power-of-music-in-advertising
Starbird, E., Norton, M., & Marcus, R. (2016). Investing in family planning: key to achieving the sustainable development goals. Global Health Science and Practice,
4(2), 191–210. https://doi.org/10.9745/ghsp-d-15-00374
Thim. (2025, January 15). Philippines: Overpopulation and sustainable growth. Richest Philippines.
United Nations Population Fund Organization. (n.d.). World Population Dashboard - Philippines. United Nations Population Fund.
Villanueva-Ong, Y. (2014, July 5). Inakup! arekup! RAPPLER.
https://www.rappler.com/voices/62444-inakup-arekup-responsible-parenthood-reproductive-health-law/
Comments