According to Vangie Labalan, the actress who played Didong's mother, Didong (Dinoy, according to some sources) was originally named "Ninoy", after Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., who was assassinated on August 21, 1983. However, in order to avoid controversy or complications in the political climate at that time (Marcos dictatorship), his name was renamed to Didong during the dubbing. This is the main reason why the date "August 21", which is the day Ninoy was assassinated, was written on the blackboard at the camp headquarters,
A METRO MANILA FILM FESTIVAL ENTRY.
Although this film was released in 1984, the copyright year was credited as "1983".