Features
Wala Na Bang Pag-Ibig? By Harong Queens and Teatro Tao sa Tao Reimagines Love Through Drag and Defiance
February 22, 2026
By Arlene Panlipunan

Drag is resistance - but sometimes, a drag performance isn’t just a protest but an art form that features love in all its different forms. And this was genuniely evident at ‘Wala Na Bang Pag-ibig,’ a valentine’s day offering of Harong Queens and Teatro Tao sa Tao held last February 13, Friday at Harong Cafe, Mother Ignacia, Quezon City.
Welcomed by a homey but nondescript cafe and sprinkled with the usual paper hearts that adorn every venue during this time of year, the venue was packed with an audience, with a few familiar faces from the theater. The narrator, Ava Manawari as Heart, greets everyone with an inquiry on what love is for people? She opens the show with a nostalgic heartbreaking rendition of the classic with the title song by Jaya, while doing a Shibari number.


The anthology of different facets of love are then presented to the audience with a reverse burlesque of Mary Magdalene by Andro Jenny to the music of Takipsilim by Mijon. A fervent and frantic number to the song To Bee or Not to Bee by Roger Williams about processing heartache was performed by Jessie Wanaluvmi J. and a reflection of the plight of women done with a tastefully executed dark humor ala Maalaala Mo Kaya by Maria Cristina and Jemuel Satumba as the lovers and Pura Luka Vega as their Ate Charo.
This act one ending piece accompanies the song of Bita and the Botflies, Peklat Cream. The intermission was still kept alive while Heart invited the audience to join the ‘lamay’ of ‘Tito Tony’ (Satumba) with videoke numbers.
Act two comes in strong introduction of the ‘next PPop sensation’ Iyakin Ladies with a lipsync of the iconic film Crying Ladies where Kennyngina performs as Angel Aquino, Maria Pepita as Sharon Cuneta, and Gabriela She Lang as Hilda Koronel crying at the funeral of Tito Tony. Ironically, they gave the audience a hefty laugh while they emulated the manufactured tears of Cholen, Stella, and Aling Doray’s on the projected film. The audience was then gifted with an explosive rendition of Sex Bomb Girls’ Halukay Ube.

The strongest number of the collection, and the most political, is opened by a protest reenactment covered by journalists (Faye Peña and Jhoanna San Juan) ushered by the song All the Things She Said by t.A.t.u & Harrison and Hindi Tayo Pwede by The Juans, performed as a tumultuous against all odds romance between a mirror to Galinda by Italya and a parody of the current vice president by Dyvina Gracias.
The next number is Babalik Sa'yo by Moira Dela Torre, a story about Skinishaaa, a construction woman, and her love story with a co-worker (Carlon Matobato) who cheats but keeps on coming back anyway.
Closing the show is a ‘charot’ reading and Sinta by AEGIS that was a self-aware number where the characters narrated by Ava’s Heart is called out for all the sad stories (except for Skinishaaa who felt that her love was fulfilled).

To answer the initial question that was presented to those who watched the show wraps up about love being found beyond romance. The love for self, your friends, your community, and the country.
Known for their art and activism, Harong Queens and Teatro Tao sa Tao did not disappoint as they shared love in many other forms this season of hearts.
Credits also go to the poster design by Esther Cortina, choreography by Carlon Matobato, lighting design and operation by Phillip Mathew Gloria and Spinner, Projectionist, Board Op roles by Ivan Panganiban.
The show was co-created and directed by Ivan Panganiban and Alon Kalmado (Ava Manawari).
For updates on their upcoming shows, follow Harong Queens and Teatro Tao sa Tao through their social media platforms.
Photos by Arlene Panlipunan.
