# Kumander Bawang: Kalaban ng Mga Aswang

Kumander Bawang: Kalaban ng Mga Aswang (transl. Commander Garlic: Enemy of the Aswang), or simply Kumander Bawang, is a 1988 Filipino fantasy comedy film directed by Ramje and starring Herbert Bautista as the titular character, alongside Mat Ranillo III, Matet, Mia Prats, Timmy Cruz, Jigo Garcia, Jay Jay Salvador, Vina Morales, Joko Diaz, and Ronald Jayme. Produced by Viva Films, the film was released in theaters on September 29, 1988. Critic Lav Diaz gave Kumander Bawang a negative review, criticizing the film's stale and cliché comedy.
Bautista later reprised the role of Kumander Bawang in the 2006 fantaserye Super Inggo. He has a son named Boy Bawang in Super Inggo.

## Plot

In the town of Matang Bato, Tikboy is a bumbling young man who works as moro-moro performer in a theater company operated by his grandfather, Ambo. While performing the play at the town fiesta, Tikboy leaves the stage to take a dump in the woods. However, he flees in terror and gets lost after encountering numerous monsters. He then seeks shelter at a cave inhabited by a hermit, Kulog, who is actually the master of the monsters Tikboy encountered and possesses modern appliances. Tikboy's prolonged absence leads to the play being abandoned
Kulog tells him of his late father, Luis, was the famous Kumander Bawang, a superhero who fights aswangs led by their king, Conde Regalado. Twenty years before, Luis had killed Regalado, who pledged to rise again after that time. Kulog reveals that it is exactly the 20th anniversary of Regalado's death and shows him on a television Regalado and his forces rising up to kill and abduct people in Matang Bato, forcing the survivors, including Ambo and the theater company to flee. Kulog tells Tikboy that he has been called upon to inherit the identity of Kumander Bawang and gives him equipment to fight the aswangs, but tells him to find the necklace that would give him superpowers that Luis gave to a priest.
Tikboy finds the necklace worn by Luningning, a little girl who is the daughter of an aswang and lives with the priest's sisters Trining and Maxima. Tikboy rescues Luningning when the aswangs attack her house and convinces her to give him the necklace, enabling him to transform into Kumander Bawang and defeat the aswangs. However, Luningning's guardians are killed by the aswangs, forcing Tikboy to leave her in the care of an orphanage run by nuns. A surviving aswang, who is an acquaintance of Luningning's mother, reports to Regalado about Luningning, saying that he needs to capture her as she is the princess of the aswangs.
As news of Kumander Bawang's exploits spread, Ambo realizes that Tikboy is actually Kumander Bawang and rejoices at his survival. Inspired by this, Ambo convinces his fellow townspeople to raze the Regalado mansion. Arriving there, they battle numerous aswangs with the help of Kumander Bawang, who engages in a faceoff with Regalado and defeats the latter by feeding him explosive garlic. The remaining aswangs are then killed or flee. However, Regalado's niece, Wanda, discovers Liwayway in the orphanage and shapeshifts into Maxima to lure her. As Wanda is about to escape, Kumander Bawang arrives and exposes her, leading to a chase throughout the orphanage that culminates with Bawang throwing her into a statue of Mary, fatally electrocuting her.
Tikboy returns the necklace to Kulog, but the latter tells him to keep it, saying that Kumander Bawang is still needed as the threat of the aswangs remains. Tikboy then flies off in his Kumander Bawang persona.

## Cast

* Herbert Bautista as Tikboy / Kumander Bawang
* Mat Ranillo III as Conde Regalado
* Matet as Luningning
* Mia Prats as Liwayway
* Timmy Cruz as Carmen
* Jigo Garcia as Odie
* Jay Jay Salvador as Ernesto
* Vina Morales as Vinia
* Joko Diaz as Kiko
* Ronald Jayme as Nestor
* Melissa Perez Rubio
* Berting Labra as Lolo Ambo
* Vangie Labalan as Ek-Ek
* Lito Anzurez
* Bebong Osorio
* Dick Israel
* Balot
* Jenny Francisco
* Paulo Delgado
* Byron Lozano

## Music

The music of Kumander Bawang and the music of Buy One, Take One were released together by Viva Records in one album titled Kumander Bawang: Kalaban ng Aswang/Buy One, Take One: Viva Films Original Movie Soundtrack.

## Critical response

Lav Diaz, writing for the Manila Standard, gave a negative review of the film for its cliché and stale comedy, noting that it is due to it being geared towards children. He commended, however, the engaging plotline involving Berting Labra's grandfather character struggling to keep the moro-moro stage tradition alive.